New black- and female-owned internet service provider (ISP) Sky Internet is defying the odds in connecting underserviced areas, while taking on the incumbents in Cape Town.
Sky Internet is the brainchild of Gqeberha-born and Nyanga East-raised Lorna Mlonzi (29).
The ISP has been in the making for four years after studying lower income households’ needs and the demand for fast, reliable fibre internet connectivity.
Mlonzi, who is a Cisco-certified network engineer, holds a National Diploma in Information Communication Technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
She has worked for reputable telecoms companies and ISPs, such as Cell C, Vodacom, Dimension Data, RSA Web and Even Flow.
“Sky Internet SA has been in the works for about four years. We have been doing research, looking at funding options and possibilities locally and abroad; this was to set up network infrastructure design, planning and implementation,” she tells ITWeb via e-mail.
“A large part of our efforts were centred around research. We needed to understand the communities we want to service, particularly lower income households, underserviced areas and small businesses, and the informal sector.”
Before fibre network operators deploy fibre in an area, she explains, they look at the property value to determine affordability for the potential subscribers or consumers − which, in turn, deprives everyone who is willing to pay for the service but does not fit their criteria.
“We saw a gap and we maximised it. Officially, we launched as an ICASA [Independent Communications Authority of South Africa] licensed service provider in February and went live in April, connecting our first clients,” says Mlonzi.
Forging alliances
Since launch, Sky Internet has gone live in Nyanga, Langa and Gugulethu, with plans to roll out in Khayelitsha, Phillipi and the rest of the Western Cape.
The company has since forged connectivity partnerships with Openserve and Octotel. According to Mlonzi, Sky Internet is in the process of onboarding Vumatel, Century City Connect; and is in a “certified partnership with one of the leading mobile network operators in Africa”.
“Sky Internet is working with fibre network operators and deploying a wireless network to provide reliable internet access solutions that can be a huge benefit for companies to start doing mass recruitments in townships for work-from-home and help small businesses to drive sales and more business online with our turnkey ICT-as-a-service solutions.
“We have partnered with tier one service providers using existing infrastructure and newly-deployed network infrastructure to reach our clients through last-mile wireless or fibre, and in some cases, LTE. We use high-level technology for households and businesses to be able to access the internet within their properties.”
However, for an industry that is hugely white and male-dominated, it wasn’t an easy ride for Mlonzi.
“This venture did not come without its challenges,” she admits. “Tier one service providers have criteria in place that present barriers to entry. For example, one company advised Sky Internet that it should have 1 000 fibre subscribers existing on its network before it was all systems go.
“However, this was impossible because two years ago, there were no fibre lines in the townships. Administration costs such as client onboarding software, API integration, ICASA licensing are exorbitant for start-ups.”
Mlonzi says with investors’ doors virtually closed in SA, she had to find investment overseas, particularly in Sweden.
Capital is always a challenge for youth, especially from previously disadvantaged communities, she adds.
“An ICASA licence alone is R500 000. That is the cost of the property I was raised in in Nyanga. Plus, walking into a bank and applying for a business loan isn’t as easy as people make it out to be. There are many administrative things that need to be in order; from accounts, to books, to lawyers, etc.
“As a woman and as a black woman, I saw an opportunity to start something that will be extremely beneficial for not only myself but the rest of my community and other industries, to drive a better economy within townships. Breaking all barriers that set so many limitations on South Africans will encourage so many to be agents of change like me.”
Broader opportunities
She points out Sky Internet offers superfast speeds, a minimum of 35Mbps optic fibre for households and quality of service.
“You can connect an unlimited amount of devices within a household, unlike most service providers. Our packages are not capped on data. You pay a standard fee for unlimited monthly access.
“We offer turnkey ICT solutions for businesses to have a digital presence and drive more business online to help better our township economy. We bring the foundation of home automation to households in townships to assist in narrowing the rate of the digital divide.
“24/7 support is offered in English and Xhosa, and we are in the process of recruiting more to accommodate the broader community.
“We have a distribution sales programme for entrepreneurs in areas planned for Sky Internet growth to be a channel for sales and activation within areas where Sky Internet grows its network coverage,” she concludes.
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