According to Deloitte, advanced networking is the "unsung hero of the digital future, offering a continuum of connectivity that can drive the development of new products and services or transform inefficient operating models". Connectivity is the fuel that drives communication and collaboration across the continent, business and individual. It is an enabler. It can empower and transform both community and company. Yet it remains an elusive tool for more than 45% of the world’s population, specifically in the developing world.
According to statistics released by the ITU, the United Nations’ specialised agency for ICTs, 45.3% of the population in developing countries have access to the Internet as compared with 80.9% in those that are more developed, such as Europe and the Americas. While Africa has shown the strongest growth, only 24.4% of people have access today. These are the statistics that drive the vision and ethos of Etion Connect, a company that grew out of the copper-based connectivity era and into the digital with one very simple premise in mind – invest in technology that advances humanity.
“The founders of Etion Connect started the company more than 10 years ago because they were concerned about how many people were being left behind,” says Teddy Daka, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etion. “In the past, this was defined as the digital divide – the chasm between those who were not a part of the technology realm and those who were. For Etion Connect, the challenge that lay ahead was in finding ways to bridge this chasm and bring connectivity to all aspects of society.”
The goal was to make connections and build solutions that empowered individuals and organisations with accessible connectivity. The company realised early on that the more it could connect communities and improve the livelihoods of people, the more it improved the stability and sustainability of business and country.
“At this stage, communication was built around the copper-based technology, which is where we started out,” adds Daka. “We provided passive connectivity solutions that allowed people and networks to connect and communicate effectively. However, our value proposition was different from other organisations – we focused on what our clients needed and assisted them in designing an optimal network architecture underpinned by our high quality and competitive passive connectivity solutions.”
While Etion Connect was building relationships and solutions with its copper-based platforms, it was also paying attention to the shifting sands of emergent connectivity technology. The demand for bandwidth was growing exponentially and the company transitioned in passive fibre connectivity solutions long before they were ubiquitous in the local market.
“We were well positioned in the fibre space by the time that the market began to switch across,” says Daka. “However, we are conscious that, while fibre will remain in play for the next five to 10 years, wireless is becoming increasingly relevant. There are conversations around 5G, of course, but this is only beginning to step into its true potential. What we are doing today is cementing our foothold in fibre while expanding our solutions and investments into wireless.”
This future-forward approach to the market and connectivity solutions hasn’t changed how the company upholds its commitment to communities and people. Instead, it has allowed for Etion Connect to focus on solutions and investments that support communities and inspire people to connect and collaborate with one another. The company is determined to bring connectivity to all parts of South Africa and has already played a role in connecting significant chunks of the market.
“No matter what part of our business we focus on – Etion Connect, Etion Digitise, Etion Create or Etion Secure – we are focused in technology that advances humanity,” says Daka. “This is the central theme of our business. We have built technology that allows for people of varying skill levels to work in complex and challenging environments and this is breaking the barrier to entry for semi-skilled workers. We have developed technology that helps people stay secure and protect their data. Every step we take is towards furthering the quality of life.”
Today, Etion Connect works with ICT market leaders to provide solutions to vast swathes of the market. The company upholds its ethos of furthering humanity and its commitment to working with customers to create value-driven solutions tailored to their unique needs. With competitive tariffs, advanced solutions, an eye on the technology of tomorrow, and a bespoke approach to customer needs, Etion Connect continues to lead the way in innovation and design.
“We are augmenting our passive solutions with active connectivity solutions and are refining our role in the 5G-fibre blend that’s set to arrive in the very near future,” concludes Daka. “Etion Connect has just appointed a new CEO, Troy Hector, whose skills and values are closely aligned with those of the company. With his drive, the company is moving rapidly in all the right directions, and we are ensuring that our customers and communities are pulled along with us. The benefits of the future are for everyone.”
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Etion
Etion Limited (ETO), previously known as Ansys Limited, is a diversified digital technology solutions provider.
We create, digitise, connect and secure both generic and bespoke digital technology solutions to improve the safety, productivity, connectivity and cybersecurity of our customers, with one purpose, to advance humanity forward. In achieving this we are drawing on our proud 31 years of engineering heritage and extensive original design and manufacturing capabilities.
Etion Create (previously Parsec) is the first component of the digital value chain. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide range of advanced electronic and digital technologies for internal and external customers. Etion Digitise (previously Ansys Rail) provides digital safety and environmental management systems ranging from sensors, asset management, telematics and IoT to robotics, mechatronics and maintenance. Etion Connect (previously Tedaka Network Solutions) offers connectivity and communications products, solutions and services; including fibre wireless deployment, data and digital radio communications networks and network monitoring as well as power related infrastructure solutions. Etion Secure (incorporating LAWTrust) creates confidence in business transactions by providing trusted identity, digital signatures, authentication and encryption, and biometrics solutions to secure countries, citizens and transactions.