Last-mile telecommunications group Herotel has kicked off the process of consolidating all its assets under one brand, following a successful acquisition drive.
Herotel’s fibre assets and wireless Internet service provider brands will now be merged into a single, scaled-up national entity under the Herotel name with a fresh national trademark, effective April 1.
“Over the last five years, Herotel has been quietly acquiring over 40 owner-operated businesses, which, until now, [continued] trading under their original brands,” says Herotel CEO Van Zyl Botha.
Established in 2014, Herotel has injected R660-million into acquiring businesses, with its acquisition campaign focused on software platforms, voice providers and fibre networks.
By consolidating the market, the company is unlocking this collective value and amassing the scale and capabilities necessary to address the ongoing industry issues that prevent the national availability of Internet sevices.
“By putting all of these pieces together, it brings us closer to our vision: everyone connected. It is the next step in our journey to bring excellent, affordable Internet to all.”
Operating in over 400 towns, Herotel services about 83 000 home and business Internet users.
The company, with 27 000 premises passed, has been building fibre and wireless networks in the more underserviced areas, from larger towns like Potchefstroom, Worcester, Port Elizabeth, Klerksdorp and East London to rural towns such as Queenstown, Cradock, Lichtenburg and Wolmaransstad.
The company has 21 000 other premises in the build phase, in areas such as East London, Worcester, Despatch, Tzaneen, Uitenhage and Swellendam, with another 50 000 stands in the pipeline for the 2021 financial year.
“Our total target for the medium term is 500 000 houses. Our goal is to get to one-million customers,” he tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly.
While the consolidation, integration and rebranding phase is now well under way, Van Zyl says that this is “just the beginning”, with the group remaining open to further acquisitions that could add new geographic areas or fresh skills.
“We will invest R250-million to R300-million in wireless networks over the next two years, connecting 60 000 users. In addition, we are planning to invest R550-million into fibre networks passing 200 000 homes and businesses in the short term,” he continues.
“We at Herotel are in this for the long run. To prove this commitment, we will continue to roll out fibre and fixed-wireless networks in very remote areas, while also heavily investing long-term capital into establishing fibre infrastructure in the denser towns across South Africa,” he concludes.