FIBRE
Vodacom pursues co-build agreements to deploy fibre across South Africa
By Louisa van Beek , Managing Executive for FTTX at Vodacom
South Africa may only be second to Kenya when it comes to fixed broadband speeds in Africa – according to Akamai ’ s State of the Internet report – but that clearly can ’ t be the right level of ambition .
South Africa ranked 82nd in the world in 2016 , with an average broadband speed of 5.6Mbps . Only 38 % of lines exceed 4Mbps . Given South Africa ’ s state of fixed-line infrastructure , there is a huge task ahead to catch up with the rest of the world .
Upgrading existing copper-based DSL infrastructure is less viable in South Africa than in many European markets , due to longer distances and the reduction of line speed that this causes . South Africa consequently needs to embark on a journey to widen the footprint of fibre-to-the-home ( FTTH ) connectivity .
Due to the scarcity of spectrum in South Africa and delays in the process to award new spectrum , fibre is another way to provide additional mechanisms to deliver capacity to people to meet increased data demand .
Higher speeds will enable wider use of eLearning and eHealth applications across the country , and improved telecoms infrastructure has also been shown to correlate with increased economic growth .
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