The rise in development and innovation within the VoIP and satellite technology space will continue to have a substantial impact on trade and commerce; but it can only be successful if service providers increase their level of support.

This is the view of management at Q-KON, a valued service provider within the developing African telecommunications service delivery arena. Q-KON's main strategy to service in the growing market lies in the integration of its capabilities in satellite technology. The company takes a proactive approach to customer support and vendor management to provide the highest level of customer services and technical support.

"Q-KON's support system includes a team of highly skilled engineers certified to support a wide variety of satellite technologies. Our engineers and system developers monitor and maintain efficient operations of the satellite platforms 24/7, ensuring a trouble free service to our customers and partners," says Sonette Bronkhorst, Network Operations Center Manager at Q-KON.

The company's support services include around-the-clock monitoring, telephone and online customer support, automated SMS alerts, graphing systems, SLA and performance reports and lastly, support of remote sites through GSM and satellite networks.

"The method and level of support in a service provider affects the impact on the overall service. We have developed and established a valuable system to handle challenges as they arise and to perform mission-critical remote support and customer service management. In keeping with our general mandate to offer service that distinguishes and differentiates Q-KON within an extremely competitive market, we have structured our support solution to seamlessly deal with challenges," Bronkhorst explains.

"We are witnessing a fast growth in satellite support services because of the reliability and always-on situation, and this is where we are spearheading this support systems into remote areas on our vast Africa continent," she continues. "Our core strengths are process, methodology, and our people. We constantly enhance our knowledge base, train people and measure results to improve our process and methodology. Our expertise is backed up with leading edge monitoring tools, allowing us to pro-actively inform customers of incidents."

VSAT infrastructure must be in place to move into Africa

Bronkhorst adds that in addition to a continually increasing demand for reliable infrastructure and cost-effective applications to handle the dynamics of modern corporate communication, clients require a partner with the resources to offer complete support in order to guarantee no downtime. Q-KON's satellite service platform enables reliable and stable connectivity from any location.

The ability to invest in- and deploy VSAT infrastructure, which is not dependent on terrestrial links and is cost effective for multicasting to multiple sites, represents an advantage for service providers and users alike.

VSAT cost effective solution model

Dr Dawie de Wet, CEO of Q-KON, emphasises that operators must focus on availability and to consider VSAT as a primary link.

"The VSAT solution becomes more appealing when the service provider develops a system keeping costs in mind. VSAT bandwidth for example can be shared between a number of offices and usage of bandwidth can be managed to increase performance and business efficiency. IP broadcasting using multicasting is cost effective and can save enormously compared to other unicast technologies. It also allows the business to adapt and provide a better service to customers," says de Wet.

"VSAT broadband connectivity has little or no downtime. It is the flexibility of this option that appeals to potential investors because it offers the ability to move quickly with the office, if required. This technology results in enhanced overall operations and better service to customers. Our hub of engineers and developers is valuable in planning and preparation to stay abreast of the latest technologies," de Wet concludes.