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SA networks at tipping point

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 04 Sept 2014
Local companies are gearing up for high-speed Internet demand.
Local companies are gearing up for high-speed Internet demand.

Fixed-line initiatives by local operators are pushing SA closer to its international counterparts when it comes to fixed broadband provision, and networks are at a tipping point.

This is according to head of corporate strategy at Alcatel-Lucent, Jean-Pierre Lartigue. He says the world has adopted a digital life and, while SA is a fair distance away from fully catching up to other "broadband nations", initiatives in the fibre space indicate it is on its way.

"When compared to other countries, SA generally lags behind in fixed broadband penetration, but the country is on a way to catch up, with Telkom's multi-service access nodes (MSAN) and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout, as well as with other operators' projects, likewise in FTTH."

In 2012, Telkom announced it had plans to replace its old ADSL network with MSANs, which would result in a new generation network that could be used by very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL), and FTTH services.

This year has seen a surge of activity in the space, with resident associations seemingly fed-up with under-par Internet connectivity and getting companies in to trench fibre for feed-through to their homes. By the end of this year, between Telkom and Internet Solutions, over 70 fibre Internet sites will serve selected homes, businesses and retailers.

Globally, Lartigue says, the digital world results in a flywheel of broadband growth, which in turn ends in the user controlling the network, rather than the other way around. "SA's networks need to change, to adapt to the user. The network must be a skin that adapts to the needs of users."

SA strategy

Industry observers say access to high-speed Internet will significantly spur demand for more, putting pressure on government and businesses alike to expand and diversify the fibre projects that got under way this year.

But the most dynamic broadband nations, says Lartigue, have adopted a supply-driven strategy, where they proactively implemented disruptive ultra-broadband services (like FTTx, long-term evolution (LTE) and small cells) in the context of dramatically renewed services offering and marketing.

"Such an approach, although requiring an upfront investment effort, allows a country to have a better scaled and anticipated strategy to cope with incremental network capacity increases and to guarantee to subscribers the best network quality."

LTE, he notes, will not be able to develop further in SA until the high-demand spectrum required for it is allocated - an issue that goes back about eight years already.

Alcatel-Lucent, a network and telecoms provider with an extensive presence in SA, aims to implement a comprehensive ultra-broadband strategy, says Lartigue. "[This] encompasses a toolkit of several technologies adapting them to the local topologies and economic conditions.

"FTTH is an essential technology, but there are other essential ones to consider, such as VDSL (leveraging vectoring and existing copper cable) or LTE (for mobile and fixed broadband applications). We see many countries adopting such mix-and-match strategy, which we call fibre-to-the-most-economical point."

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