In locations where the local fixed infrastructure of telephones lines and exchanges is poor, then the service available from the ISPs and connectivity providers will be too poor to meet organisational requirements.

AfriConnect will undertake cabling and infrastructure project on behalf of clients deploying their local LAN, firewall, email servers, routers and switches.

Where there are multiple sites or buildings and installing fixed Ethernet cable or fibre is not a practical option then wireless networks can be deployed.

A wireless LAN allows increased mobility for users. Anyone with the appropriate adapter on their computer can access the network at any point within the access point's range. This allows notebook users to move about the site with their machines. Wireless LANs can be used as an alternative in places where it would be difficult to install the cable needed to create a wired LAN.

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Networks data sheet

Wireless LANs can also be used as a replacement for wired LANs. In this case, their range is just within a building or its environment. This provides great flexibility of use, as well as ease of installation. A wireless access point can support a small group of users and can have a range of several hundred feet. Users access the WLAN through adapters on their computers.

Africonnect can supply campus style wireless networks using public license free wireless broadband. This includes multi-sector antennae and back haul links as appropriate.

Non line-of-sight (NLOS) systems are also available for larger communities.

For sites which are spaced over much longer-distances wireless microwave links can be an effective and low-cost means of providing Internet connectivity. Such systems can work over distances of 50km given the appropriate line of sight. They can operate on a point to point or point to multipoint basis.

As organisations move from traditional circuit switched telephony services to integrated company network, voice is increasingly handled as Voice over IP (VoIP).

This solution reduces the in-building cabling required at a given site and still offers the organisation the benefits of traditional PBX technology :

Caller ID, conference calling
Call forwarding, call waiting
Voice mail, speed dialling

This enables new sites or offices to be added to existing VPN and secure networks without needing new telephone lines from the local PTT.

Organisations can now have seamless international networks operating over security IPSec technology where voice and data are handled in one technology.

Call quality improves if dedicated links are used but VoIP can also be carried over the public Internet provided care is taken both with its deployment and with user expectations.

Where it is legal, this same technology enables organisations to benefit from very low cost voice gateways around the world, but for call-back to their offices and to make calls outside their corporate network.

This technology then allows organisations to reduce and control their operating expenses.