Sentech Connect to better the lives of rural South Africans with new digital offering

Sentech, one of SA’s biggest digital content services providers, is pushing forward to meet the fourth industrial revolution head-on with its new broadband offering, Sentech Connect. 

“Sentech is well positioned to play a significant role in the implementation of SA Connect’s mandate and servicing of government with wireless broadband services,” says Sentech CEO Mlamli Booi. 

Sentech launched its broadband offering at the 2019 AfricaCom in Cape Town, the biggest Information Communications and Technology exhibition on the continent. 

Various government departments and technology giants who were present at the launch applauded Sentech for its commitment to rolling out its connectivity services. Sentech Connect will digitise health care, education and government services in under-serviced and rural areas, bridging the digital divide with fast, reliable broadband connectivity. 

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The broadband offering, which will range from a bandwidth of 10mbps to 100mbps, allowing for the creation of smart classrooms, smart city services, smart clinics and hospitals; the Internet of Things (IoT); and public safety initiatives. These solutions will use various networks ranging from broadband to ultra-narrow band. 

Booi says Sentech Connect will accelerate connecting the whole country to the high-speed communications infrastructure by 2030, placing SA on the path of meeting the National Development Plan’s targets of creating a truly inclusive information society. 

“As the world progresses towards becoming more digitised and connected, we also need tools that can harness connectivity, bettering the lives of South Africans through reliability and convenience,” says Booi. 

According to BioMed Central (BMC) Public Health, using the internet and related technologies, Sentech e-Health seeks to improve health services locally, regionally and worldwide. It is used within the health sector for clinical, educational, preventive, research and administrative purposes, both on-site and remotely. 

Access to connectivity provides numerous benefits for schools including the upskilling of teachers; interactive localised teaching; additional online notes, videos, exercises and assessments; and interactive global teaching. 

Connectivity will allow SA to produce globally competitive learners while skilling, upskilling and reskilling the current workforce in line with the market’s demands of tomorrow’s skills. Through broadband technology, Sentech Connect can allow for the creation of safer public spaces, more reliable transport and a government that is more connected with its citizens, vastly improving service delivery,” says Booi.

According to the World Economic Forum’s study on Future Jobs, nearly 50% of companies expect that automation will lead to some reduction in their full-time workforce by 2022, based on the job profiles of their employee base today. However, 38% of businesses surveyed expect to extend their workforce to new productivity-enhancing roles, and more than a quarter expect automation to lead to the creation of new roles in their enterprise. 

Booi says Sentech’s voyage into broadband means that the entity will continue to leverage its infrastructure to grow both its current business and its expansion into connectivity. 

“There is no denying how vital connectivity has become and we need to ensure that as a country we can tap into the massive potential it will usher in.

Sentech has gladly accepted the task of ensuring the country’s connectivity, especially in rural and under-serviced areas. Our organisation’s intellect, established infrastructure and experienced personnel makes us the ideal fit to do the job effectively and efficiently,” says Booi.  

Visit the Sentech website for more information.

This article was paid for by Sentech.