French carrier Wi-Fi specialist Nomosphere, part of the Nomotech Group, has announced plans to expand in South Africa. It will open a subsidiary in Johannesburg, its first office outside France, as it looks to take advantage of an expected boom in Wi-Fi demand in Africa.
Wireless Access Providers’ Association deputy chair Ellie Hagopian, who is co-founder of customer intelligence software company Viento and former CEO of Wi-Fi hotspot company Skyrove, has been appointed as CEO of Nomosphere South Africa. Neelay Pillay, who worked previously in the carrier solutions division at Internet Solutions, has joined the company as chief technology officer. The company now intends hiring an operational team.
“Our overseas business is going to be more and more important for Nomosphere over the next year, and should represent more than 40% of our global business over the next five years,” says Nomosphere vice-president Philippe Le Grand.
The company says growing demand for carrier-grade Wi-Fi services in South Africa and the “huge growth potential” here and in the rest of Africa led Nomosphere to choose the country as the first location for overseas operations, the company says.
However, it will come up against growing competition in South Africa. Telkom and MWeb are aggressively rolling out Wi-Fi infrastructure across the country, while Internet Solutions recently signalled that it takes the Wi-Fi space seriously by snapping up 100% of the equity in AlwaysOn. Vodacom is also said to be gearing up to expand its focus on Wi-Fi through partner WirelessG after the two companies buried the hatchet following a high-profile legal dispute.
Nomotech Group describes itself as the largest wireless access provider in France. It claims to have 15% national market share, with about 30m users connecting via its infrastructure yearly. It has deployed several thousand Wi-Fi hotspots across France.
Key customers and large-scale deployments include SNCF French train stations, the City of Paris public hotspot network and the largest exhibition centre in Paris, the Paris Expo.
Nomosphere says its solutions are powered by carrier-grade Wi-Fi hardware from Xirrus, Ruckus Wireless and Cisco. It also has proprietary open-access and network monitoring solutions. These, it says, allows for “delivery of large-scale installations and proactive monitoring and maintenance of the installations, all the way down to individual Wi-Fi routers.
“Carrier-grade installations are relatively new in South Africa, and Nomosphere believes that its proven track record will allow it to establish itself as a market leader very quickly.”
The company says it hopes to capture 15% to 20% of the South African market within three years by acting as a subcontractor for large telecommunications companies and offering value-added solutions for shopping centres, retailers, restaurants, hotels and large public venues.
In addition to building Wi-Fi networks, Nomosphere intends offering its customers services such as online marketing, geo-positioning, geo-fencing, content delivery and machine-to-machine utilities. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media
