New telecommunications service provider ARC Telecoms has confirmed that it will launch in South Africa this week, targeting the small- and medium-sized business market. The company, which is 50%-owned by former Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig, plans to provide connectivity, voice, managed services and application delivery through cloud computing.
ARC has reportedly signed agreements with significant network carriers such as Wireless Business Solutions, Telkom, Neotel and Vodacom, as well as advanced technical service delivery partners Neology and Think IT. ARC CEO Steve Briggs commented: ‘Rather than get into the bun fight with the other ISPs over who has the biggest network, we partner with a set of carriers. This way, we can source the best last mile connectivity option for our clients on a case by case basis and put our energy into creating products and value added services that make a real difference to our clients’.
Briggs indicated that ARC has deliberately narrowed its focus in order to cater to the kind of mid-sized businesses that fall into the cracks between consumer-centric and large enterprise service providers. He explained: ‘The mid-sized enterprise is the heart of the economy. It’s the 50 to 200-person businesses that employ the majority of our people and contribute to the majority of our GDP (gross domestic product), and yet it remains a massively under-serviced sector when it comes to the telecommunications services’. The company claims it will launch with over 100 active customers.