South African communications services provider Telkom and AT&T have entered into an agreement that is expected to allow both companies to explore ways to provide global communication and technology services to multinational customers, either based in or seeking to extend their operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin work towards definitive agreements that would: directly connect the Telkom regional network and the AT&T global network; deliver a wider geographic footprint of telecommunications services, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and other global points; enhance mobile service capabilities for corporate customers in Sub-Saharan Africa; extend global VPN services to support the network requirements of customers either headquartered in or seeking to expand sites in Sub-Saharan Africa; explore other potential opportunities in areas such as telepresence, hosting and professional services; and expand the existing global wholesale voice services relationship between Telkom Group and AT&T.
Ronald Spears, president and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions, said: By working with Telkom we will be able to extend AT&T’s world-class IP based services to Sub-Saharan Africa as well as strengthen our ability to serve the needs of customers in the key South African market. This deal provides AT&T with a significant opportunity to drive IP networking for MNCs to some of the most exciting, dynamic, but so far, under-served markets in the world.
