BT acquires I-ECS & I-ECNS licences (UK)
BT has been awarded full telecommunications licences in South Africa, allowing it to expand the range of the network services it provides in the country. It is operating in South Africa under a Value Added Network Services (VANS) licence. This licence has now been replaced with an individual Electronic Communications Services (i-ECS) licence and an Electronic Communication Network Services (i-ECNS) licence, giving BT the same provisioning rights as local incumbents and mobile operators.
“The new licences will allow us to further expand our portfolio and offer a comprehensive range of networked IT services to our existing and new customers,” said Keith Matthews, Country Manager of BT South Africa.
According to BT, local regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has been under pressure from a number of players calling for it to convert VANS licences into i-ECS and i-ECNS licences.
“This development is part of the broader opening up of the telecommunications market with several VANS operators receiving licences,” said BT.
“This year has already been designated as the ‘year of bandwidth’ in South Africa as the telecommunications market deregulates we welcome this new opportunity,” added Matthews.
