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MTN hooks Lonehill up with fibre

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 19 Mar 2015
From left to right: MTN SA chief marketing officer, Larry Annetts; Lonehill Residents Association chairman, John Siddall; and MTN CTO Eben Albertyn.
From left to right: MTN SA chief marketing officer, Larry Annetts; Lonehill Residents Association chairman, John Siddall; and MTN CTO Eben Albertyn.

The Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) is working with MTN to deploy fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) to more than 3 000 houses in the northern Johannesburg suburb.

The rollout, which will happen in a phased approach, follows a series of meetings with Lonehill residents and businesses about their connectivity requirements. Lonehill now joins the other Johannesburg suburbs that have initiated community-driven FTTH projects.

In February, Killarney and Riviera in Northern Johannesburg were added to fibre broadband company Vumatel's list for a FTTH network, in addition to three other suburbs ? Parkhurst being the first ? that have either been or are going to be kitted with high-speed broadband. Telkom is also rolling out FTTH to selected suburbs.

MTN SA CEO Ahmad Farroukh said earlier this month that FTTH was a crucial strategy, and would take a chunk of the largely increased capital expenditure the company has allocated for its local business this year - R10 billion as opposed to 2014's R5.7 billion.

The Lonehill deployment will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 100Mbps. LRA chairman John Siddall says it will provide immense benefits for residents and businesses in the suburb.

"The deployment of this technology will ensure we connect close circuit television, which will add another layer of security which will go a long way towards making Lonehill a safer place for its residents. This fibre rollout will elevate our neighbourhood a notch higher and improve its appeal to existing residents and prospective buyers."

Ready to begin

Phase one will start today, with MTN connecting 133 homes and businesses in Lonehill to its fibre network. The total distance of the rollout during this phase will be 7.5km. MTN will provide the infrastructure at its own cost and maintain it during the lifespan of the technology. It has also set up a dedicated 24-hour FTTH centre to provide support services to customers.

The first phase is expected to be completed within two months and will be showcased to prospective customers in the area through open days and other events. "We are excited to work with the residents of Lonehill and we are confident that together we can take Lonehill forward," says Larry Annetts, chief marketing officer at MTN South Africa.

To minimise disruptions to residents' daily lives, they will be updated timeously through the LRA's communication channels and the MTN Web site as to which areas will be affected by scheduled infrastructure upgrades.

Pricing for MTN Supersonic starts at R794 per month, which includes installation and devices as well as 20GB of data at 20Mbps. It will also provide a 50Mbps offering with 50GB of data at R1 014 per month, and a top-of-the-range 100Mbps and 100GB of data solution at R1 389 per month. These packages are based on a 24-month contract.

Customers who do not want to enter into a long-term contract can opt for a monthly solution, which includes a R3 000 once-off installation fee, and choose solutions that start from R669 per month for 20Mbps.

Customers who select this option have 30 days to cancel the package.

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