Smaller Internet Service Providers (ISP) now have the grit to compete against their larger counterparts through collaborative and merged services that eliminate archaic methods with smarter network solutions. Tholo Lerotholi, co-founder of the new platform Merge X, which seeks to consolidate smaller ISPs to eradicate issues such as limited capital and skills that small businesses face, said that the platform was long overdue and represented a pivotal moment for South Africa's ISP industry.

Anew platform, Merge X, has been introduced into the South African market to increase competition among internet service providers (ISPs). The platform creates a shared services backend to address challenges like limited capital and skills, and enable tier 3 and 4 ISPs to compete against tier 1 and 2 counterparts.

With more South Africans getting connected every day and the country on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution (4ID), a new platform, Merge X, has been introduced locally to increase competition among internet service providers (ISPs).

Cape Town, 28 November 2023 – Merge X, positioned to enhance competitiveness for niche ISPs in the ICT industry, creates a shared services backend to address challenges like limited capital and skills. This empowers smaller ISPs to effectively compete against Tier 1 and 2 counterparts. With ICASA’s March 2024 deadline mandating 30% ownership equity for black South Africans and Highly Disadvantaged Groups, Merge X ensures sustainability and growth for businesses, levelling the playing field and advancing the economy.

In a paradoxical twist, our journey into the future commences with a retrospective glance at innovation's history – a lesson in the timeless art of collaboration. Think Thomas Edison, popularly known as the father of invention, this is how far innovation collaboration is traced. His most famous inventions include telecommunications devices like the automatic telegraph, the carbon telephone transmitter and phonograph.

A new platform called Merge X hopes its entry into the local market will create competition in the ICT industry among larger internet service providers.

An innovation on its own only becomes meaningful when it becomes commercially viable and accessible to a vast majority.