Digicell
Encyclopedia
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Type
Private - owned by Rordon Cowley
Founded 2007
Headquarters Midrand, South Africa
Key people Rordon Cowley (CEO)
Industry
Mobile tracking
Products
Vehicle Tracking, Fleet Management, GSM Communicators, etc.
Website
Digicell http://www.digicell.co.za
Digicell is a vehicle tracking and management company that serves the whole of South Africa
and some regions of Botswana
and Zimbabwe
. The company, which is situated in Midrand in the heart of South Africa, provides vehicle management services to over 1000 small business owners throughout the whole of South Africa. Early in 2008 Digicell started exporting to other countries including Spain
, USA and Australia
.
for GPS triangulation
. Currently Digicell's units are made from the cinterion modules for GPRS connectivity and a Ublox http://www.ublox.com module for GPS information. The unit has been resized to fit in a smaller package as well and is now the size of a credit card but 2 cm thick. The box of the unit is a full aluminium case, making the unit very strong and creating a Faraday shield around the unit. Digicell is one of the first to make a device for prepaid cellphone numbers so that the client does not have to be signed into a 24-month cellphone contract
.
, grew extensively within eight months. In the two years since the initial launch, Digicell’s South African customer base has grown to more than 2000 users (January 2009) because of the versatility of the product. At first Digicell didn’t brand their own product and actually sold it to be rebranded for other already established companies to have a more reliable product, competing with the likes of Telit
and Falcon's Step3. Digicell is 100% owned by entrepreneur Rordon Cowley and is 100% designed, developed and produced in South Africa, making this a Proudly South African
product.
with 2000 units per year for the following three years. With the South African currency
competing with the euro
at a very low rate, Digicell's pricing seems very low to Europe
an buyers. In November 2008 Digicell got a request to start a local server
for Europe and is currently (March 2009) busy with the planning and installation of this server in Panama
; this will ultimately become the Digicell server for vehicles in Europe.
Private - owned by Rordon Cowley
Founded 2007
Headquarters Midrand, South Africa
Key people Rordon Cowley (CEO)
Industry
Mobile tracking
Products
Vehicle Tracking, Fleet Management, GSM Communicators, etc.
Website
Digicell http://www.digicell.co.za
Digicell is a vehicle tracking and management company that serves the whole of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and some regions of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The company, which is situated in Midrand in the heart of South Africa, provides vehicle management services to over 1000 small business owners throughout the whole of South Africa. Early in 2008 Digicell started exporting to other countries including Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, USA and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Technical
The company combined their own GPS and GPRS devices. The first twenty were built by hand and back then they used IWOW http://www.iwow.com.sg/iwow.php for the GPRS module and NavmanNavman
Established in 1986 as New Zealand-based Talon Technology, Navman is a GPS systems company providing stand-alone GPS units, OEM GPS modules, GPS software for Palm handhelds and Pocket PCs, automotive navigation systems and navigation systems for use at sea.Acquired by Brunswick Corporation in June...
for GPS triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
. Currently Digicell's units are made from the cinterion modules for GPRS connectivity and a Ublox http://www.ublox.com module for GPS information. The unit has been resized to fit in a smaller package as well and is now the size of a credit card but 2 cm thick. The box of the unit is a full aluminium case, making the unit very strong and creating a Faraday shield around the unit. Digicell is one of the first to make a device for prepaid cellphone numbers so that the client does not have to be signed into a 24-month cellphone contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
.
History
Digicell, first established June 2007 in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, grew extensively within eight months. In the two years since the initial launch, Digicell’s South African customer base has grown to more than 2000 users (January 2009) because of the versatility of the product. At first Digicell didn’t brand their own product and actually sold it to be rebranded for other already established companies to have a more reliable product, competing with the likes of Telit
Telit
Telit Communications PLC is a global vendor of wireless machine to machine technology headquartered in London . The company is listed on AIM ....
and Falcon's Step3. Digicell is 100% owned by entrepreneur Rordon Cowley and is 100% designed, developed and produced in South Africa, making this a Proudly South African
Proudly South African
The Proudly South African campaign is a South African 'buy local' marketing campaign and logo.Cost of membership is normally 0,1% of sales of those products bearing the PSA logo, but is negotiable in special circumstances. Non-commercial organisations pay a nominal fee.The group has recently come...
product.
Expansion
In October 2008 Digicell expanded into SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with 2000 units per year for the following three years. With the South African currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
competing with the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
at a very low rate, Digicell's pricing seems very low to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an buyers. In November 2008 Digicell got a request to start a local server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
for Europe and is currently (March 2009) busy with the planning and installation of this server in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
; this will ultimately become the Digicell server for vehicles in Europe.