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Parkhurst starts trenching FTTH

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 25 Aug 2014
Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman and PRABOA chairperson Cheryl Labuschagne open the first trench for the Parkhurst fibre project.
Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman and PRABOA chairperson Cheryl Labuschagne open the first trench for the Parkhurst fibre project.

The quaint suburb of Parkhurst, near Johannesburg, came a step closer to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) this afternoon when the ceremonial ground-breaking event took place just outside Parkhurst Primary School.

The suburb, home to an estimated 2 000 houses, as well as businesses, is set to be fully covered with fibre, with speeds of up to 100Mbps by next February, covering a total of 54km. Speaking at the ceremony, Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman said it was only two-and-a-half months since the project was conceptualised to the first trench being opened, and the first residence will go live at the end of October.

Schoeman claims this is the first project of its kind, in which the community has spearheaded an initiative to drive FTTH to its residents. He notes the suburb will become "an island in pink in a sea of blue," referring to Telkom's alternative copper offering.

Snapping at Parkhurst's heels is an offering being rolled out in Craighall Park, through the CraigPark Residents Association (CRA), which will offer residents FTTH connectivity as part of a security initiative similar to the one launched in Parkhurst. CRA chairman Ryan Roseveare has said residents will be able to connect to the high-speed network by October, and the network will enable better closed circuit television surveillance through its partnership with security company CSS Tactical.

At the same time as the first trench was dug in Parkhurst, a shop was opened to the community to act as a consumer-facing outlet where residents can enquire about the service and place orders. Schoeman notes the company faced a lot of work to achieve what it has, including approval from the Johannesburg Roads Agency.

The Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association (PRABOA) last month awarded the project to Vumatel, after a call for proposals in May, which invited telecoms service providers to present ideas for implementation.

PRABOA's statement notes Vumatel was given the nod thanks to its "excellent technical proposal, a solid business plan that showed the project was financially viable and fully funded, a comprehensive community communications plan, and commercial terms that were very favourable to the residents".

Vumatel's proposal included a once-off installation fee of R2 500 per household for line speeds of between 4Mbps and 1 000Mbps. Three Internet service providers also unveiled their offerings to the community at the launch, which range from an entry-level price of around R399 to about R1 490 a month, depending on the offering selected, including line rental.

Vumatel is a new entrant to the FTTH market, according to PRABOA, but is led by Schoeman, who founded Conduct Telecommunications SA, which built over 40 last-mile fibre solutions for business precincts in SA and was recently sold to Dark Fibre Africa.

Schoeman adds the company has been "inundated" with inquiries from other suburbs since the open access project started.

PRABOA noted it chose Vumatel after appointing an adjudication committee to review the 16 proposals, from operators such as MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Dark Fibre Africa, SA Digital Villages, ATEC, Liquid Telecoms, ClearlineIS, Posix and Cool Ideas.

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