Cisco announced on 2 August 2010 that the Wananchi Group, Africa's pioneering provider of triple-play (broadband, multichannel cable television and voice telephony) and VSAT (broadband data and Internet) services, has signed a contract for the purchase of Cisco® network technology solutions and services in East Africa. The agreement is supported by Cisco CapitalSM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, specializing in providing effective financing solutions and a deep understanding of Cisco's products, services and customer business requirements.
Wananchi Group, currently the only triple-play operator in East Africa, will roll out its new services in nine countries in the eastern African region: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan and Zambia. The contract will also enable the Wananchi Group to deploy Cisco's integrated end-to-end network technology solutions, encompassing Cisco's Borderless Networks, collaboration and data center virtualization solutions, as their customer base expands and technology advances.
Highlights / Key Facts:
* The agreement represents an important milestone in Cisco's Africa investment strategy and its goal to deliver advanced communication and collaboration services throughout the sub-Saharan African region. The Wananchi Group is one of the first companies in the region to utilize the additional innovative resources that Cisco has to offer beyond its products and standard maintenance services. Additionally, the agreement demonstrates Cisco's ability to adapt to change and align with an organization's business and financial requirements.
* Cisco has been selected as the Wananchi Group's preferred supplier of the end-to-end infrastructure, encompassing access technologies (fiber and cable), the core Internet Protocol network, optical transport up to the video head-end, data center solutions, and multimedia set-top boxes.
* As a key part of Cisco's total solution, Cisco Capital is uniquely positioned to arrange the most competitive and flexible financing (whether directly or through its finance partners).
* Under this agreement, Cisco and Wananchi Group will provide a number of innovative and competitive managed and hosted communications and collaboration services for the residential, corporate and government sectors.
Executive Quotes:
Mark Schneider, group chairman, the Wananchi Group
"The entertainment market for both home and corporate customers in Africa, as a whole, continues to be reshaped in light of technological advancements and new industry partnerships. The Wananchi Group's key objective is to expand our portfolio and enhance our commercial proposition, revenues and reputation. Cisco will help us to continuously deliver the necessary technology enhancements to our infrastructure to serve our ever-growing customer needs and remain at the forefront of delivering new and innovative services to our customers."
Paul Mountford, president of emerging markets, Cisco
"This agreement with Wananchi is significant for Cisco's business in Africa because it demonstrates our strong business partnership and consultancy capabilities beyond just being an end-to end network solutions technology provider. This is becoming increasingly important for our customers in Africa where we are witnessing major developments in the information, communications and technology landscape."
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