Residents of Killarney and Riviera in Northern Johannesburg have been added to fibre broadband company Vumatel's list for a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network, in addition to three other suburbs that have either been or are going to be kitted with high-speed broadband.
Vumatel says the rollout of the fibre network is scheduled to start in the first quarter of this year, for residents and businesses alike. In choosing to become what Vumatel calls fibrehoods, Killarney and Riviera join existing fibrehood Parkhurst and soon to be connected Greenside and Parktown North.
Parkhurst was the first suburb to be FTTH connected, having gone live in October last year. Vumatel claims, since then, work from home entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises in particular have seen their productivity increase substantially, while families have speeds that make music streaming, video-on-demand and online video sites a better experience.
Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman says there has been rapid and high volume take-up of FTTH in Parkhurst, and interest from other suburbs is emerging.
The open-access VUMA FTTH network offers consumers choices, says Schoeman, since it provides a choice of services and service providers. FTTH users do not need to commit to a 24-month contract, and can sign up on a month-to-month basis for their chosen broadband services.
Wayne Ford, chairman of the New Killarney-Riviera Association, says the imminent arrival of FTTH is a welcome development for the area. "Our residents will obtain numerous technological benefits from the project, but we will also see further increases in property prices because the availability of a first-world FTTH is very attractive to technologically-driven societies. The ability to install high-tech security systems has obvious benefits as well."
Vumatel will install FTTH infrastructure in the suburbs without demanding an up-front commitment, allowing individual residents to sign up when ready.
In September last year, Vumatel said it had identified 42 suburbs in Johannesburg and Cape Town where similar FTTH projects would be undertaken.
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