Ilitha Telecommunications, a new telecommunications business providing affordable, unlimited internet solutions to underserviced areas, has launched its brand and services in Mdantsane.
In addition to the investment by the founders and Microsoft, the company has announced additional funding through the Industrial Development Corporation and The Development Bank of Southern Africa.
The name Ilitha is of African origin and the literal meaning is ‘the rays of the sun or sunshine or light’, and when deciding the name of the company, it was important to keep its core values in mind.
“Initially our informal payoff line was “leave no person behind”, and consistent with this, and in providing the people who pay the most for data access to the internet, the name Ilitha was most fitting,” says Vuyani Jarana, CEO and co-founder at Ilitha.
“Not only will we be providing light at the end of the dark tunnel for people who have been left behind without access to affordable internet, but the speed at which the company is providing this connectivity through fibre is super-fast – much like the speed of light.”
Ilitha offers fibre to the home products with access to the network available in one-day, seven-day and 30-day increments. All products offer unlimited data on a 20/20 Mbps speed basis.
Buying access is simple and can be purchased either online with vouchers from all major retailers or through debit cards, credit cards and other widely used payment methods which are all familiar to ordinary customers.
Adds Jarana, “through our investment in Ilitha, we will connect humanity, create possibilities and change lives. The internet has become the most powerful engine for human development and reduction of inequality, hence access to affordable quality broadband has become a human rights issue.
We see our project going beyond what traditional telcos in South Africa have done all these years, we see internet as a vehicle to create digital jobs in the townships.”
The company sees its affordable, superfast broadband bringing global digital workloads onto the shores of South Africa and creating jobs for the unemployed youth in Mdantsane.
“It is why our partnership with Microsoft’s Airband initiative is so important,” adds Jarana.
The Microsoft Airband Initiative aims to close the digital divide and bring high-speed internet connectivity to unconnected communities around the world.
“We are not launching just another telco, our purpose goes beyond the internet. We can’t see why someone living in a township cannot also live in a smart city. To do this, we need to start with affordable unlimited internet.
We know that the poorest South Africans pay the most for data in South Africa as they cannot afford data contracts or bigger data bundles.”
Ilitha gives its customers the opportunity to use unlimited internet in their home from as little as R5 per day.
As an example of the service offering, a family of five people with five smart devices, two television sets, a gaming console and a personal computer can enjoy unlimited superfast internet at an effective rate of as little as R1 a day per device, a case of truly democratising access to the internet in South Africa.
The company has set itself an ambitious target of connecting homes in the township and rural areas delivering affordable broadband to all.
“Government has been on record about its desire to lower the costs of data, at Ilitha Telecommunications we have just started making that dream a reality,” concludes Jarana.