Independent voice and data provider Otel has acquired fixed and wireless broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP) Jireh Technologies.

On the rationale behind this first acquisition, Otel believes Jireh’s resources will help the company achieve its vision of becoming a fully-fledged ICT systems integrator while continuing to add value to its business customers.

“The strategic acquisition of Jireh not only supports Otel’s growth strategy but has an additional and welcome client focus through the access to last mile services that it provides. This will help drive down data prices which is a current national ICT imperative,” says Rad Jankovic, Otel CEO.

Jireh founding CEO Anthony Engelbrecht will transition to the role of Otel chief technical officer while simultaneously becoming an Otel shareholder.

“I’ve always been a huge supporter of Otel’s vision to drive down end user data costs while at the same time providing resellers with unique business opportunities. It made sense to convert my admiration for the company into a real shareholding enabled by the sale of Jireh,” says Engelbrecht.

Otel is particularly proud of its reseller model that enables voice and data resellers to set their own margins and create ongoing annuity income.

The creation of a bigger entity more able to take on established interests comes at a watershed time in the greater SA telecoms market. South African business and consumers are deeply concerned about how much they spend on data.

To illustrate, the Minister of Telecommunications & Postal Services issued an urgent policy directive to ICASA (the Independent Communications Authority of SA) in March last year requiring it to prioritise an inquiry into competition in South Africa’s broadband market.

Bringing Jireh’s technical resources into the Otel fold helps support ICT market competition in South Africa by enabling Otel to do an even better job of leveling the broadband playing field. Jireh’s internal systems and processes, together with a its core network performance, is already paying dividends for the formerly sales-focused Otel.

Jireh’s professional technical team adds a number of skills to Otel, including fibre and wireless installations, application and software development, as well as an ISP management system that will add value to the Otel reseller channel once fully launched during the course of 2017.

“We continue to be on the look-out for acquisition and partnership opportunities around South Africa that will help Otel deliver value at either the infrastructure or services provision level,” says Jankovic.

From a modest operation in 2008, OTEL is today a licensed FTTH and business-to-business provider of VoIP & broadband Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions.