17 minute read
Cable & Wireless Seychelles
WORLD CLASS
CONNECTION
Providing quality connectivity services for over a century, Cable & Wireless Seychelles continues to change the game in local Telecoms. Former CEO Charles Hammond discusses customer service and the advantage of a national workforce
Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Josh Hyland
No one knows the Seychelles better.” Establishing a stable network connection throughout a region as topographically diverse as the Seychelles is no small feat. Although it may be one of the world’s smallest countries, this island republic is composed of a network of 115 separate islands, creating a natural challenge for connectivity amongst the archipelago.
In spite of this, the Seychelles today is recognised for its developed telecommunications infrastructure, and has one of the highest rates of cellular telephone use in sub-Saharan Africa.
In an age that is increasingly fuelled by technology, Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) is the leading telecommunications service provider that has been catering to the country’s connectivity needs for over 125 years.
This historic company first connected Seychelles to the rest of the world in 1893, and is now reputed Former CEO Charles Hammond
for bringing reliable, state-of-the-art solutions to the islands.
“CWS is the only quad-play Telecoms company in the Seychelles and the only provider for the 5G network,” states the company’s former CEO, Charles Hammond.
“CWS has a good range of connectivity across the three main islands, and other tourism and environment hubs including Aldabra.”
Offering telephone/landline, mobile, internet and television services, CWS prides itself on its status as a national enterprise with first-rate customer service. Boasting the fastest LTE 4G+ and 5G networks, advanced fibre optic link, attractive packages and a loyalty programme for its customers, CWS enjoys an esteemed reputation as a provider of choice.
A CHANGING SPACE
The Telecoms space is one defined by adaptation and innovation, demanding flexibility and agility from providers in order to keep up with rapidly shifting consumer trends.
“It is a challenging environment to work in, as you are constantly on your toes and on the lookout for innovations and trends, customers’ needs and wants, especially given the competitiveness of the environment, and regulatory bodies,” Hammond comments.
The specificities of the Seychelles context create further challenges, where the relationship between regulators and Telecoms providers is likened by Hammond to “a game of cat and mouse”.
CUSTOMERS” - CHARLES HAMMOND, FORMER CEO, CWS
Telecom service providers are frequently asked to reduce their prices without due consideration of the factors contributing to their cost; for instance utilities, taxes, and the costs of goods and services.
“Seychelles, due to its geographical location and business tax regime, is an expensive destination, but we still have the most affordable internet in Africa, according to UTI,” he adds.
In order to keep afloat in this competitive space, CWS embodies a spirit of forward-thinking innovation, keeping its finger firmly on the pulse.
“Our mission statement is to provide world-class communication services and solutions whenever and wherever people work.
“The intention is to be able to play and have fun. Hence, we are constantly upgrading our service and continuously innovating by adapting to new trends,” states Hammond.
This commitment to both quality and continual improvement is enabled through CWS’ strategic relationships with both partners and suppliers, which are integral to the company’s success.
“Day and night, our partners and suppliers are ready to assist and share our vision to customers.
“Furthermore, we have a rigorous procurement policy and process in place, thus enabling us to access the best products and equipment on the market.”
CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY
As a key staple to the development of the Seychelles, CWS is a proudly national enterprise that recognises the role it can play in supporting the community through connection.
With unparalleled local understanding, since 2019 CWS has been entirely owned by a group of Seychellois entrepreneurs, and over 90 percent of its 250 employees are locals.
Based in Victoria, over 50 percent of the customers held by CWS are clients based in the Seychelles.
“We pride ourselves on knowing and understanding the culture, the needs and wants of our customers.”
For Hammond, this predominantly national workforce provides a defining advantage for the company, in allowing CWS to best serve its customers.
“Who can understand our nation better than our people? Culture plays a big role in our service delivery; from the way we talk to customers at their first contact with us, to when they need assistance once the service is operational.
“Literally, we speak our customers’ language,” he tells us.
Alongside a fair remuneration policy, all salaries are frequently reviewed by expert consultants, based on the cost of living and jobreassessment. Bonus schemes are also implemented based on both job and company performance.
“Additionally, we have a monthly, online town hall where colleagues can direct their questions and issues to the Chief Executive and anyone in the management team.”
Reflective of the treatment of CWS staff, the company champions an intimate relationship with its customers centred on trust and communication. CWS continually consults with its customers and collates feedback through various
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platforms to identify areas for improvement.
“As a former British and American owned organisation, the brand established itself as one of the most trusted companies in the country. So, we have the trust of our customers and in return we provide certainty, continuity, and constant innovation,” he comments.
CWS’ commitment to its customers is reflected in both its recent connectivity initiatives, and community outreach programmes as a socially responsible corporate citizen.
At present, CWS is engaged in ongoing work to deliver Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connectivity to residents across the three main islands of the Seychelles. Whilst the impact and restrictive measures of COVID-19 threw a spanner in the works, progress is still underway.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, we have not been spared. Still, we were able to continue our installation of FTTH around the main island, Mahé, and Praslin, the secondary island. The third main island, La Digue, is now 100 percent FTTH,” Hammond shares proudly.
Although an ambitious endeavour, CWS and its customers are reaping the rewards.
THE CWS FOUNDATION (CWSF)
In line with its long–term commitment towards supporting local communities and being responsive to their needs, the company officially launched the CWSF in March 2005. Working under the slogan, “A helping hand for a stronger community”, the aims of the Foundation are:
• To establish and build partnerships with local charitable and community organisations, focusing on groups with special needs.
• To actively contribute to the strengthening of communities.
• To enhance the Cable & Wireless brand by promoting its role as a corporate citizen.
“CWS is a company that gives back to its community. Under its foundation umbrella, CWS has donated and helped through financial support by providing services to key organisations that are making a difference in our community, and we are continuously supporting the good causes of these organisations” - CWS
SpanTech
SpanTech Engineering is a Sri Lankan based company offering Telecommunication Engineering Services in regional countries including Seychelles and Maldives. SpanTech’s service offering includes Optical Fiber Cable Projects, Telecom Equipment Installations, Radio Access Network Optimization, Telecommunication Tower Erections, Active & Passive Managed Services and IT solutions.
SpanTech was established in 2017 with a team of experts in Fiber Optic cables. The first project awarded to the company was by Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) which has been the most valuable client of SpanTech since inception. The growth and sustainability of SpanTech is highly relying on strong cooperation with CWS and therefore SpanTech is delivering CWS projects as top priorities.
SpanTech started the early engagements with CWS with GPON deployments and IPTV New Connections followed by IPTV Fault Rectifications. SpanTech offered their services 24 x 7, supporting CWS to maintain the highest service availability throughout and gain customer satisfaction while leading the competition among other service providers in parallel.
CWS being the most esteemed client of SpanTech, provides all the necessary facilities such as installation accessories, equipment and most importantly the trainings which help SpanTech to achieve and maintain the success secured during the past few years. The CWS officials are truly committed, skilled, talented and always ensure that the quality of service delivered by SpanTech is up to standards.
The utmost focus and commitment to deliver the best service to the clients, which is inherited from the Top Management to each and every employee, is the key element behind the success of SpanTech.
www.spantecheng.com
The Emerging Innovative Solutions Partner for Engineering
Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH)
FTTH provides Fiber-Optic Access solutions designed for residential deployments. In FTTH networks, fibers are directly connected to individual homes or multitenant buildings. FTTH includes various favors of both PONs and PTP Ethernet-based solutions. SpanTech Engineering has vast experience in surveying, designing and implementing FTTH Networks. • FTTH solutions to large scale Hotels / Resorts • Surveying and designing FTTH Networks • Implementation and Maintenance of GPONs • IPVT New Connections and Fault Rectifications • Drop Fiber / Transmission Fiber (Main Cable) Laying & Splicing
Telecom Equipment Installation
SpanTech Engineering offers a comprehensive portfolio of Telecommunication Equipment Installation in Sri Lanka and Overseas, maintaining the highest-level international installation standards. Our support is tailored to customer requirements and has the flexibility to implement and manage key projects. SpanTech Engineering is pioneered in installing the latest telecommunication equipment including: • 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G Base Stations • Microwave Links installation, aligning and commissioning • Site survey for Base Station and MW Link Installations • Indoor Base Stations & Repeater Installations • Core Room Equipment Installation • Power Systems Installation
Civil Engineering
SpanTech Engineering has successfully completed many Telecommunications related Civil Engineering projects in Sri Lanka and overseas. Telecommunication Tower Erection is among the key projects under Civil Engineering which needs unique skills and resources with extraordinary project management skills including risk identification and assessment.
• Telecommunication Tower Erection • Telecommunication Tower Foundations • Refurbishment of Towers & Tower re-painting • Dismantlement of Towers • Telecommunication Tower Verticality Tests and deformation corrections
Active / Passive Managed Services
Managed Services are the most essential services which help to uphold the high availability of telecommunication networks. SpanTech Engineering is capable of handling islandwide Managed Services for Telecommunication Service Providers. • Access & Transmission Network Fault
Rectification • Network Equipment maintenance • Site environment / premises maintenance • Diesel Generators maintenance • Site Power Systems maintenance • Site Air Conditioners Maintenance • Site Pest Control • 24 X 7 Emergency service
Radio Access Network Optimization
Radio Access Network Optimization (RAN Optimization) can be defined as the set of activities those are required in an active wireless communications network in order to improve or maintain performance with the existing resources. SpanTech Engineering, offers a wide range of RAN Optimization services over the last few years to many of the leading Telecommunication Service Providers. • Single Site Verification • Single Site Optimization • Cluster Drive Tests and Optimizations • Network Audit and Optimization • Benchmarking and Drive Tests • Call Quality Tests • In-Building Coverage Tests
IT Solution and Consultation
SpanTech develops innovative and creative products & services that provide total communication and information solutions. Among a profusion of services, web design and development, tailor-made applications, ERPs, CRMs, e-Commerce solutions, business-to-business applications, business-to-client applications, managed hosting and internet portal management are few that we offer. Our business philosophy is to assure the highest quality product, total client satisfaction, timely delivery of solutions, and the best quality/price ratio found in the industry. Our emphasis is on offering a high degree of product user-friendliness through a positive, creative, and focused company staff. • Software Development • Web Application Development • Mobile Application Development • 3rd Party System Integration • SAP implementation Consultation
Design, Supply and Installation of Machinery
SpanTech Engineering can assist clients to design, select and import machinery for their factories, workshops and institutions. In the recent years, SpanTech Engineering has developed a few Facemasks Manufacturing Plants, High Quality Adhesives Processing Factories, CNC Machinery Units and Medium Scale Printing Units. SpanTech Engineering can design and customize machinery according to the client’s requirements such as manufacturing speed, capacity, availability of infrastructure and other resources. • CNC Machines • Injection Molding Machines • Printing Machines • Facemask Manufacturing Machines • Rewinding & Cutting Machines • Slitting Machines
SpanTech Engineering Services (Private) Limited
No. 87/9, Green Land Avenue, Elapitiwala, Ragama, Sri Lanka
Chairman, Amarapali Ekanayake:
+94 77 325 8578 | amarapali@spantecheng.com admin@spantecheng.com | info@spantecheng.com
www.spantecheng.com
“OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS TO PROVIDE WORLD-CLASS COMMUNICATION SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS WHENEVER AND WHEREVER PEOPLE
WORK” - CHARLES HAMMOND, FORMER CEO, CWS
“The difference has been outstanding so far. We have had far less complaints from our customers, and our B2B clients are experiencing the full capacity of our promises in terms of bandwidth.”
Adjacent to this, the Cable & Wireless Foundation acts as a bridge to supporting the community, undertaking initiatives that lend a helping hand in addition to the company’s normal donation activities.
FUTURE CONNECTION
Presently, CWS is undertaking the “monumental project” of redesigning its inter-customer relationship management (ICRM) experience, partnering with software companies to further streamline the user experience.
“This new system will be more flexible and equipped with selfcare that will help with our digitisation plan, thus guaranteeing optimum customer experience, as well as business continuity.
“We are currently in the last stage of vendor selection, and the aim is to sign the contract in early 2022,” Hammond outlines.
Looking to the years ahead, CWS will continue to change the game on a tide of continual innovation on behalf of its customers. For residential customers, unlimited internet data boosters have recently been launched for home broadband, whilst CWS’ B2B clients are transitioning from DIB to Wi-Fi based internet, ensuring a higher quality and bandwidth.
“We made a promise through our mission in providing world-class communication and as our motto states, ‘No one knows Seychelles better’.
“We are aware that our customers are hungry for more data allowance, sophisticated products and services, and an outstanding customer experience. Therefore, we will keep to this promise for their betterment,” Hammond concludes.
Digilive
“We are very appreciative of our cooperation with Cable & Wireless – a strong and reliable partner who enables us to distribute our services across the African market.
By choosing to use our products and services, Cable & Wireless has proven itself as an innovative company, and we believe that we will collaborate in IPTV services across the hospitality sector in hotels, digital signage, and stadiums in the near future.
Our goal is to find similar projects in other parts of Africa and offer our solutions to the next Internet service providers.”
– Tomas Horak, CTO, Digilive.
www.idigilive.com
Tel: +248 4284000 promotions@cwseychelles.com www.cwseychelles.com
Digilive s.r.o. | V Humnech 1590 | Zip: 686 04 | Kunovice | Czech Republic T +420 775 599 799 | E sales@idigilive.com | www.idigilive.com
IPTV Solutions for:
- Internet Service providers - Hotels - Digital signage - Stadiums - Museum and galleries
