Kentrox Opens Operations in Africa, Appoints Managing Director

Kentrox Inc., a provider of site monitoring, management and control solutions, has expanded its presence in Africa and recently opened an office in Johannesburg, South Africa. With more than 12 years providing solutions to African service providers, Kentrox South Africa Pty Ltd is a fully staffed entity providing products, services, project management and training to service providers nationwide.

The African telecommunications market has been growing rapidly over the last several years and is continuing its growth. With mobile phones representing more than 90 percent of phone lines in Africa and market penetration that was expected to pass 50 percent in 20101, Kentrox is involved in providing solutions to help these expanding networks, especially with many of them in remote or hard-to-reach locations.

Kentrox products consist of the Optima management system and Remote suite of products. They are designed to help automate site management while reducing operating expenses and improving network quality. Service providers can proactively monitor and manage all critical site elements remotely. Fuel and hybrid power management are two critical applications throughout Africa that Kentrox is helping manage, and other applications include security systems, environmental equipment and conditions, radios, backhaul circuits, and more, regardless of technology or manufacturer are increasingly important. Additionally, the Kentrox solutions help minimize carbon emissions by reducing truck rolls through the use of remote access.

In addition to Optima and the Remote suite of products for monitoring and management of remote sites, Kentrox also offers deployment and professional services, training and technical support based on the customer’s requirements.

With the opening of the Johannesburg, South Africa office, Kentrox has also appointed Richard Hayter as managing director. Hayter, originally from Zimbabwe, has extensive international expertise creating and selling products for the global telecommunications market. For the last four years, he worked at Performance Technologies in global market development to grow and manage wireless accounts in Africa. Prior to this, he worked for nearly 10 years at Tekelec in various roles in product management, business systems, and market development. Hayter is based in Johannesburg.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome the experience of Mr. Hayter to Kentrox to coincide with the Kentrox direct presence in Africa,” said John Ryan, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Kentrox. “Establishing our new office in Johannesburg enables us to better help service providers while they are rapidly expanding their networks and to provide assistance in managing their current sites. After many years of working with African service providers from abroad, we look forward to the opportunity and expansion into Africa and more direct involvement with our business partners and customers.”

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