Africom decommissions old equipment
Africom today decommissioned its old wireless equipment that
on the roof top of the Causeway Post Office building in Harare
and officially commissioned its new broadband wireless equipment,
which uses licenced frequency bands, at the Causeway building.
Prior to establishing its own public data telecommunications
network, Africom was using frequencies in the Industrial,
Scientific and Medical (ISM) band, (2.$GHz) as was most of
other industry players, in the absence of regulations in the
telecommunications industry.
However, when it obtained its data telecommunications licence
from the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) two years ago Africom applied and paid
for part of the frequency spectrum. Africom uses this spectrum
to rollout data communication services using wireless technology.
Use of licenced frequency technology is one of the conditions
for the data licence that was granted by POTARZ. This is because
service quality can be guaranteed, unlike in unlike in the
ISM band. As such, Africom customers can look forward to superior
data communication services, free from congestion as is currently
the case with ISM technology users.
Potraz officials were present to witness the decommissioning
of the ISM equipment and official commissioning of Africom’s
new equipment at Causeway and expressed satisfaction on Africom’s
initiative to comply with the telecommunications laws of the
land.
The Africom network, which is the first such privately, owned
and operated public network in the country, allows subscribers
to have access to high-speed data transmission platforms.
It allows the transmission of computer data from one physical
location to another, through fibre optic cables and broadband
wireless channels, for such applications as internet access,
file transfers and financial applications such as Point of
Sale and ATM transactions.
The Africom service is already available in the city centre,
Graniteside, Southerton, Kopje, Borrowdale and Avondale. It
is expected to be available in Newlands and Msasa before the
end of the year.
Work is already underway to increase network coverage to
the rest of Harare and Bulawayo.
Africom sees the development of its network as an important
contribution to national development and a critical factor
in the stimulation of the economy.
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