As barriers to entry drop and the available infrastructure improves, new players will enter the market, bringing fresh services, international best practices, and driving competition. One obvious area of improvement has been South Africa's international connectivity, with the opening of submarine cables like SEACOM and WACS. With an abundance of bandwidth bringing prices down and service levels up, SA is a much more attractive investment prospect for international service providers and their multinational clientele. But it's not just SA – those cables are delivering connectivity to several African countries on their way up the East and West coasts, opening the continent to expansion from a South African base.

British Telecom (BT) is one example of this in action. The company has been present in South Africa for a number of years, but is now ramping up its activities. BT is a global telecom giant with an expansive service portfolio and several customers, with a presence in Africa and South Africa in particular. It has earmarked the African markets for growth, and has looked to local infrastructure providers for the platforms to bring its services to market rapidly, and at a service level consistent with the high demands it expects across the globe. The model is sound and relatively low-risk, and if it takes off, South African businesses can expect to see other European, American and Asian service providers lining up to provide services.