INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
ikeja steps up during
COVID-19 usage surge
with help from eNetworks
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Internet service provider, ikeja Wireless,
which delivers high quality, cost-effective
Internet access services to township
communities around South Africa, has
ensured that it can cater for the surge in
usage during the lockdown period with
the help of ISP and network specialist,
eNetworks, a Datacentrix company.
“With the outbreak of COVID-19, we knew
that we were going to have to move fast to
get the additional needed capacity in place,”
explained Conrad Minnaar, Head of Networks
at ikeja Wireless. “As we entered the lockdown
period, the company has had to react in realtime
to bandwidth ceilings being hit. This has
meant that our own teams have been under
immense pressure to roll out last-minute
installations and infrastructure upgrades. In
fact, within one day, a single segment saw
two significant upgrades take place within
hours of one another.”
Since the start of the lockdown, ikeja has
seen a 25% increase in its total national
bandwidth utilisation. Firm in the belief
that every South African deserves the right
to easy access to the Internet, ikeja has
committed to a host of measures for the
lockdown period, including offering its free
users an additional 30 minutes of browsing
time every day at no charge during this
period, in certain instances scrapping arrears
for home and business accounts, charging
no late fees for the month of April and
lastly whitelisting all major government
Coronavirus websites on its hotspot service
to be accessed free 24/7.
“As a trusted solution provider to ikeja since
2017, eNetworks was brought in specifically
to help us address metered connections
within the Gauteng segments,” Minnaar
said. “As a company that understands how
our business operates and the urgency of the
situation, eNetworks pulled out all the stops
to help us with the necessary upgrades.
“This would not have been possible had
eNetworks operated as your run-of-the-mill
service provider,” he adds. “The company has
played a critical role in helping ikeja to keep
our service offering agile and scalable during
these unprecedented times.”
“Our relationship with ikeja has grown
organically and there is a mutual
understanding that exists between the
two organisations. Our joint focus is on
the underlying technology and the speed
to market, ensuring that the services are
delivered quickly and effectively to ikeja’s
customers,” said Chris Morgan, Senior
Sales Executive: WAN and ISP Services,
Cape Region at eNetworks. “This type of
partnership lends itself well to smooth
operations during times of urgency.” •
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