Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, dealer division manager Zayne Ramos said that AliSom was partnering with Vodacom.
The network would serve as a fulfilment partner in areas where AliSom had no footprint.
In areas such as the Northern Cape where there is little to no connectivity, the VSAT – a satellite system – would be set up, Ramos said.
“Vodacom connectivity will be used where there is infrastructure, otherwise a satellite system that works over long distances would be used,” Ramos said.
The move to provide better cellular access to farming communities follows an agreement between Agri SA and AliSom, a recent Agri SA press statement said.
“AliSom will assist the farming community by providing direct access to these services so that they will not need to go through a call centre to resolve a query, acquire new services or to upgrade existing packages,” it read.
AliSom was established in 2009 as the entity to house an already successful business providing its services in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.
One of Vodacom’s national partners, the company offers a wide variety of Vodacom products such as mobile, data and fixed-line facilities. These include detailed business solutions, cell phone packages and Internet connectivity, the release said.