Johannesburg – 19 February 2024 – During the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), South Africans heard of government’s plan to end load shedding, and its commitment to bringing substantial new power through private investment on to the grid to reduce load shedding. While it is comforting to know plans are in action to stabalise the current energy crisis, there is a lack of realism observed for business continuity in the face of a national blackout. South Africa was then thrusted back to Stage 6 loadshedding, almost immediately after SONA concluded.
This is according to David Lipton, Founder and CEO of globalCom Africa, an innovative technology solutions company. globalCom provide communication solutions that deliver seamless, uninterrupted connectivity, in the event of grid failure. Lipton urges businesses to be realistic and to prepare for grid failure, adopting proactive measures to safeguard against potential crisis in the future. Most critically, is the urgency for multi-branch organisations to empower off the grid connectivity in preparation for challenging times ahead.
“Every business has the responsibility of risk assessment and contingency planning. Businesses providing essential services have an ethical obligation, especially within a South African context, to ensure they have contingency plans in place for their organisations to be best equipped to navigate crisis. It is not alarmist; it is a responsible action to take. Businesses need to prepare for the potential crisis of a national blackout, regardless of this being due to grid failure, or any unforeseeable disaster,” says Lipton.
Lipton explains that while Stage 8 Loadshedding is the imminent risk people are currently concerned about, the real looming crisis is grid failure, which would throw the country into an entirely different state; an unprecedented, total blackout, with devastating impact on business, safety, and food security.
RAPID CCaaS™ (Crisis Communication as a Service) is a solution that globalCom bring to the market, that ensures seamless communication across sites via the Iridium satellite constellation, enabling uninterrupted communications between multi branch organisations.
The total loss of power has far-reaching implications for business and citizens, leading to significant disruptions in essential services, operations, and overall economic activities, due to lack of communication infrastructure. The objective of RAPID CCaaS is to guarantee uninterrupted communication through a satellite based gateway, even in situations like grid failure or force majeure events.
“In the case of a national blackout, the first couple of days will be the calm before the storm, where those with backup power can sustain communications and still obtain food and fuel. It is the two to three weeks it will take to bring the country back onto the grid, that is critical. During this time, the supply of essential goods and services will have to be maintained, to limit chaos and panic,” he says.
“With loss of electricity, fibre and cell phone towers, fear will set in. That’s when we’re at risk of looting and mass panic. However, essential businesses have the capability to bring calm and stability to the chaos – if they are prepared. If South Africans have access to food, water, fuel and emergency health services, fear will subside,” claims Lipton.
“This cannot be done if companies have no communication. Even with continuous power supply or back-up power such as solar, there’s no use for a cell phone that has power, but no network,” says Lipton.
The RAPID CCaaS™ solution guarantees the ability to make and receive phone calls during emergencies, as it utilizes satellite technology for connectivity, ensuring reliability even when traditional communication networks fail.
“In multi-branch corporations it is critical to stay connected, this means the ability for head offices to contact branches to keep services running. If for example, food suppliers can communicate with their various branches, they will be able to ascertain what supplies are needed, avoiding stock shortages. If citizens are reassured that supplies are available, we can prevent pillaging and stockpiling we experienced in the early stages of the pandemic”, he adds.
Proactivity is a strategy for resilience, businesses that prioritize preparedness now will be better positioned to navigate the uncertainties of a national blackout. This is why products like RAPID CCaaS™ (Crisis Communication as a Service) exist; a failsafe, reliable comms infrastructure, that is simple to install and operate, which can ensure uninterrupted voice connectivity via satellite, even during grid failure or emergencies.
“’Rather be safe than sorry’ is a term that comes to mind, and when it comes to risk assessment and contingency planning, uninterrupted connectivity is critical, and is something all businesses in South Africa should be looking into,” concludes Lipton.