Telone Products Offering
TelOne is the country’s oldest telecoms company. They started by solely offering fixed telephone services as the sole service provider in this space and to date still hold this monopoly. TelOne have since diversified their products portfolio and in this article, we are going to look at the different products that are offered by TelOne. In summary, TelOne offers voice, VoIP, ADSL, Fibre, LTE as well as satellite.
Voice
Let’s start with the most obvious. TelOne has extensive infrastructure that serves a considerable portion of the country. Most major towns and cities, as well as growth points, are served by TelOne phone lines.
Having said that, there is still a large portion of Zimbabwe that is still not serviced. It’s one of the major reasons that mobile telephone networks have taken off. They have managed to fill the void that was left by TelOne in a relatively short space of time when you put the amount of time TelOne has been around into perspective.
Voice Over Satellite
To cover the parts of the country that are too remote for landlines, TelOne also offers voice-over satellite services. Though it can extend the coverage offered by TelOne, the major drawback of this service is that the equipment cost is prohibitive for the majority of the population.
Internet
TelOne has a vast array of internet-based services. As the sole fixed telephone service provider in the country, they were an integral part of the growth of internet services in the country.
Early players in the internet service provider space depended on existing infrastructure to provide their dial-up internet service. It was only some years later that other options to deliver internet services were introduced to the market.
Today, TelOne offers other products that make it an attractive choice when it comes to internet service provision. Let’s look at some of these products.
TelOne VOIP
VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol which a platform that allows for voice calls to be made over the internet. You simply use your existing TelOne broadband connection to make voice calls.
To achieve this by connecting a standard telephone into an Analogue Telephone Adapter, a device that converts your analogue telephone signal to be converted into a digital one.
This solution is great for businesses as it significantly lowers your communication costs. There are also mobile units available that allow your employees to stay connected while in the field.
TelOne ADSL
TelOne also offers ADSL service which gives you broadband internet connectivity over an existing landline. ADSL is significantly faster than a standard dial-up connection and will also not engage your phone line while you are connected to the internet.
There are home and business solutions on offer under the ADSL banner.
TelOne Fibre
Fibre is a more stable and future proof way to connect to the internet. It allows for fast data transmission rates and allows for future expansion without the need for infrastructure upgrades.
All that needs to change with technological advancement are the devices on the transmission and receiving ends of the fibre lines. It is slightly more expensive than a typical ADSL connection but the service delivery and transmission speeds are unmatched.
TelOne Blaze LTE
TelOne Blaze LTE is a TelOne’s fixed internet service with limited mobility. It is a wireless internet connection that utilises TelOne base stations that have LTE capability.
You can connect to it using a wireless home router or a portable MiFi device. These devices link to the TelOne network via a Blaze LTE Sim Card. Each Sim card is assigned a specific base station in a particular area.
If you leave the radius of the assigned base station, you will lose connectivity even if you were to go somewhere where there is another NetOne LTE enabled base station. That’s why it is called a fixed connection with limited mobility.
TelOne Satellite
TelOne also has satellite solutions for internet connectivity. These are great for remote areas where no other connection options are available. It provides a largely reliable connection at high speeds that, however, may be affected by cloud cover.
Satellite equipment cost is also somewhat prohibitive and not a lot of people can afford it. This connection type is often used by organisations in remote places as well as schools that can afford it.
NetOne currently offers 3 different types of satellite connections.
C Band
C band VSAT is the first of these options. It uses satellite to provide internet access. It can withstand normal rain and cloud interference but will experience some difficulties in heavier cloud cover and rainfall.
KU Band
KU Band has better resistance to the elements than C Band does. It will function well even in extreme circumstances with little to no interference.
Ka-Band Enterprise
Just like KU Band, Ka-Band satellite connections have better weather resistance and throughput. It is a great solution for businesses looking for a steady and reliable connection.