Echo SP South Africa - Connectivity

Serving as your single point of accountability, with short service level agreements and access to over 100 networks, Echo offers flexible and modular solutions through our connectivity and VPN products which can be tailored to your business needs. 

Connectivity has become a critical component of every business's digital strategy. To maximise the benefits of hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and mobile-first environments, enterprises need to take a flexible approach to connectivity, enabling them to scale as required. When considering network structure and connectivity, businesses are becoming less concerned with pure bandwidth and more concerned with direct connections between their databases, software platforms and ISP’s.

In its simplest form, interconnection is achieved through strategic fibre cabling or virtual circuits within a data centre facility, where multiple carriers, clouds, content and application providers, and enterprises connect directly to one another. From 2018 to 2021 there was a 70% increase in interconnection and this growth is accelerating.


 

Affordability: the architecture means implementation overhead costs are significantly reduced, because the cross connects to other parties in the eco-system are more affordable than traditional long haul metro links.

Speed: lower latency is the name of the game, as an interconnected network ensures that data takes the optimal path.

Growth and scalability: enterprises can rapidly tap into new channels and markets. Because deployment is simple and upgrade paths dynamic, it’s easy to scale when you choose the right partner.

Increased resilience and decreased downtime: networks are far more resilient than complex point to point connections. If one part of the network goes down or is prone to error, an interconnected or meshed network ensures that lines of communication and collaboration remain functional.

Direct access: direct access to network providers; global content suppliers; IT services organisations; multiple ISP’s for diverse internet, and exchange points or IXP’s;  content delivery networks; enterprises and financial service providers.

Security: the public internet can largely be bypassed, resulting in reduced vulnerability and fewer places for things to go wrong.


Wireless

We offer several quality and high throughput, fixed wireless point-to-point data services in the licensed and unlicensed spectrum, depending on your specific requirements. 

Licensed Wireless: dedicated connectivity between two specific sites, with guaranteed speeds and unlimited data usage. 

Unlicensed Wireless: while licensed spectrum is often preferred, unlicensed offerings provide a cost-effective and robust alternative to the licensed services. These are often used as failover links, or for sites which are less critical than 99.5% uptime.

Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB)

Our interconnect partnerships with most of South Africa’s infrastructure providers enable us to provide high-speed bandwidth access and true converged services right to your doorstep across multiple networks. 

Through fibre optic installations, we bring our clients access to value-added communication services over a low latency and reliable link. 

Fibre

The increased demand for connectivity has led to a proliferation in last mile technology options. Due to the overall lower cost and greater reliability, more and more fibre has been laid throughout the country, with DSL being phased out in areas where fibre is available. 

Our network architecture caters for multiple connections into our managed service environment, allowing us to independently aggregate a variety of carriers and connectivity types, including fibre, satellite, wireless, and more.

Broadband - Satellite

We offer a range of VSAT solutions including Ka, Ku and C-Band services across Africa, providing high network availability and reliability. From a single user to a small or medium-sized business, our satellite solutions are tailored to deliver cost-effective and high-quality connectivity across the continent; including standard broadband, dedicated capacity for custom solutions and mobile backhaul, backup links for alternative connections, ATM connections, CCTV and IoT deployments in remote locations.

Mobility - APN

Our mobile APN solution offers the benefits of post-paid, fully aggregated mobile data, with the ability to manage and report on every single mobile user. Clients don't need to install any extra physical infrastructure to implement this solution and can procure an enterprise data bundle which will span across all of our APN offerings, regardless of the network. We currently have APN services available on Vodacom, MTN and Telkom 3G and LTE networks, with the choice to deploy a dedicated APN or utilise our shared APN.

Business Broadband

Our business broadband services are provisioned across various last mile technologies and carriers to provide cost-effective, best effort end-to-end connectivity.

Direct Internet Access (DIA)

We offer premium internet access via our multi-carrier converged network, providing the best and most resilient local and international internet breakout options. 

The significant investment in our expansive VPN Exchange and Superswitch platforms enables high-speed and direct access into all local and international transit and peering points, facilitating the best end-user experience possible as well as the ability to easily access and create communities. 

Our framework allows us the flexibility to easily insert new networks and infrastructure into our converged platform, providing our clients with the latest and most cost-effective internet access. This approach accommodates diversity and eliminates single-points-of-failure

Whether we are provisioning internet services separately to multiple sites for a single client, or multiple sites for multiple clients of a wholesale service provider, we are able to aggregate all of the bandwidth into a single port. This model means that our corporate clients and wholesale service providers alike are able to gain economies of scale from their total internet requirements. 

National Backhaul (NLD)

Our redundant national long distance backhaul (NLD) utilises a multitude of the top carriers in the country to provide a resilient service for backhaul between the three major metro regions. 

Our NLD is deployed in a high availability architecture, while using multiple underlying carriers which allows us to offer our NLD as various models to support your business requirements. This includes VPN NLD, high speed internet failover, backhaul, cloud inter-regional replication, and much more.

Core Services - Superswitch

The Echo-owned and managed inter-WAN Superswitch platform routes carrier, hosting, internet access, direct connect, VPN, VoIP and other connectivity services, interconnected with a virtualised cloud-computing platform and a virtual network - the latter providing significant value. 

Specifically designed to allow multiple carrier networks and VPNs to carry traffic safely between one another in a controlled, managed, and secure manner, enabling you to take advantage of our on-net Superswitch community with access to services including internet access, security, MPLS and more. 

Utilising virtual real estate within Teraco's carrier neutral data centre, the resilience within our hosting environment coupled with fail-over and redundant infrastructure that is monitored 24x7, ensures networks are always in communication. 

What our Superswitch core means to you:

  • Low capital investment: benefit from our core network and interconnectivity to a wide range of providers without the cost and complexity of managing your own core
  • Reach: gain access to global connectivity services from a recognised, carrier neutral provider
  • Cost saving: profit from the best rates in the market due to our buying power
  • Business as usual: retain relationships with your current carrier providers, using our Superswitch core as the termination point to bring their services into your network
  • Secure clients: rest easy knowing that we are keeping your data safe with per-network, per-client VPN management
  • Detailed statistics: stay on top of your environment with self-management capabilities via secure access to Mission Control dashboards.
Core Services - IP Addresses

Echo can assist you with a range of IP address allocation options, including assignment of static and dynamic IP addresses

We can support anything from providing full transit for clients with their own autonomous system (AS) and IP ranges, supporting both IPv4 and IPv6, to solutions that optimise carrier grade NAT (cgnat).