Share

Joburg gets connected to aerial fibre broadband

Johannesburg - A company called Fibrehoods has chosen to install fibre broadband cables across Johannesburg’s street light poles rather than dig up trenches along sidewalks.

Fibrehoods, a joint venture between RMBD Holdings and Gauteng’s Waterfall Investment Company, is rolling out ‘aerial’ fibre networks across the city in suburbs such as Craighall, Craighall Park, Winston Ridge, Atholl, Inanda, Illovo and Elton Hill.

The company claims it is the first to roll-out aerial fibre broadband for homes in Johannesburg. Fibrehoods installs the fibre networks along existing street light poles and, where necessary, sets up its own poles.

The Fibrehoods networks will offer speeds between 10Mbps and 100Mbps while the networks will also be open, meaning that users can choose an internet service provider of their choice.

Fibrehoods is further in the process of establishing costs for the service. But Alon Hendel, director of Fibrehoods, told Fin24 that he expects his company's prices to be cheaper than the likes of Telkom and Vumatel fibre broadband products because costs for installing aerial fibre are lower.

"From City of Joburg infrastructure, we're then putting up poles at the back of houses. And much like the existing setup of your old phone lines, it'll be dropped into the house in a similar way,” Hendel told Fin24.

"So, really what we're doing is we're providing fibre to the home high speed internet as well as looking to partner with prominent security companies in each suburb to have them as a tenant on the line as well, and putting up a whole bunch of public space surveillance cameras,” Hendel said.

Currently, Fibrehoods is partnering with the likes of security company CSS Tactical - which is owned by RMBD Holdings - in rolling out aerial fibre in Johannesburg. CSS Tactical is a tenant on the lines, and they sign a lease to use fibre for security surveillance technologies, a move that Hendel says removes risk from the business model.

But Hendel told Fin24 that Fibrehoods intends to partner with other security companies in the city as well, and that demand for the fibre broadband services is primarily driven by the communities themselves.

Hendel also said any natural damage to the fibre can be detected quickly and repaired because the cables are visible. He claims the cables are also robust in tough weather conditions.

Moreover, partnering with security companies ensures that cables can be monitored in case of theft.

SA’s growing fibre broadband networks

Fibre to the home (FTTH) offerings are on the rise in South Africa.

Last month, Fin24 reported that telecommunications company Vumatel is expanding from Parkhurst to Johannesburg’s Greenside and Parktown North suburbs by May 2015. Vumatel plans to roll out services to over 40 suburbs in both Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Telkom also announced last month that it is starting to roll-out its fibre broadband services to Groenkloof, Houghton, Eldoraigne, Parktown and Westcliff in Gauteng.

Telkom is also rolling out fibre broadband to Chelmsfordville, Dawncrest, and Winston Park in KwaZulu-Natal and Claremont, Bishops Court and Plattekloof in the Western Cape.

Steven Ambrose, CEO of research firm Strategy Worx, told Fin24 that there is pent-up demand for high speed, high quality internet in the home.

“Many higher end consumers want to take part in the video streaming revolution that had become fully mainstream in many first world markets,” Ambrose said.

“Telkom’s ADSL had not kept pace, with most homes struggling to get more than a few Mbps at best. Fibre promises far faster, more stable connectivity at prices that many find more than acceptable,” said Ambrose.

Ambrose added that Telkom’s slow move to install fibre broadband services for the home has also “opened a gap for private companies to offer alternative services”.

“The proliferation of high end fibre solutions will only accelerate in urban South Africa going forward, and the prices will continue to come down,” Ambrose said.

“As video consumption comes to dominate internet usage, from YouTube to movies to video conferencing - high speed internet will become more and more necessary. The fast approaching explosion of connected devices will also require stable high speed connectivity.  In the urban environment, fibre will always offer the lowest cost, highest quality connectivity and will grow exponentially going forward,” he added.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders