Subscribe

Metrofibre in R8m FTTH push

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 18 Jan 2016
Metrofibre is set to commence operations in three estates at the end of February, with an expected completion date in April.
Metrofibre is set to commence operations in three estates at the end of February, with an expected completion date in April.

Metrofibre Networx is intensifying its push into the tightly-contested fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) space, with an R8 million investment in the Beaulieu, Heathcliff and Blue Hills estates.

Established in 2010, Metrofibre owns and manages SA's first globally compliant Carrier Ethernet 2.0 open access fibre network.

The company says residents of the Beaulieu, Heathcliff and Blue Hills estates will shortly be able to experience the benefits of the Internet connectivity offered by FTTH services.

In an interview with ITWeb last year, Metrofibre Networx - headed by former Absa CEO Steve Booysen - said it was looking to raise R500 million in private equity from new investors to expand its footprint and challenge the established players.

Metrofibre is set to commence operations at the estates at the end of February, with an expected completion date in April. More than 600 residents in the area will be able to select from a combination of both trenched fibre as well as aerial installations.

Jacques de Villiers, head of FTTH at Metrofibre Networx, says Internet speeds in the areas will range from 10Mbps to 200Mbps, depending on the client's demands and needs, and this is available in both capped and uncapped packages.

"Depending on the package a client selects, prices start at R750 for the 10Mbps uncapped packages and then, as an example, a client can expect to pay R2 000 for the 100Mbps uncapped package," he explains.

As to why the company selected these areas, De Villiers says the first project Metrofibre did was in Glenferness, which was an aerial installation which neighbours the Beaulieu area, making it a logical extension of the company's existing network.

"It wasn't a strategic decision to target the area at first - instead it has become a natural progression of our footprint. If you look at our core network, it now runs through large parts of the Kyalami area, through Lonehill and into Sandton."

Metrofibre is already in Lonehill, Sunninghill, Barbecue Downs, Kyalami, Sandton, Paulshof and Rivonia.

"New areas where we hope to expand the network in this year and where we are currently focusing our efforts include Douglasdale, Broadacres which includes Dainfern, as well as Midrand and Centurion," De Villiers says.

"We set ourselves a goal to become the preferred fibre provider to all residents of the greater Kyalami area," he adds. "By winning the contract to supply these three estates, we are now one step closer to achieving this goal."

The company says it faced stiff competition in the tender process, with all known fibre suppliers pitching for the contract.

"I think it's fair to say the competition in the local FTTH space is steep. It's not just greenfields out there; you have to work hard on securing these contracts. But we are happy to report that it appears our model is working."

Metrofibre has three ways of going to market. "One is we sell directly to the customer and provide end-to-end fibre to connectivity services; secondly, we have a reseller model where companies sell our services under their name; lastly, we have an open access model where we work with the current ISPs who sell their services on top of our network."

Fibre sales during the project phase will be handled by Kiklo FTTH, a Metrofibre reseller, after which the site will become an open access network and residents can then place orders with a list of approved Metrofibre ISPs, as well as with Metrofibre directly.

According to the company, the aerial component of Metrofibre's offering remains very popular among residents, particularly those in areas like Kyalami where large tracks of land are agriculture-related and trenching is not only invasive, but also very expensive. De Villiers says aerial installations cause little disruption to the existing environment.

Share