Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) is moving at the speed of light; it has already deployed over 6 500km of optic-fibre across South Africa and will now be investing nearly R10 million in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape.
DFA's optic-fibre network is expanding to smaller cities and towns at a rapid pace, enabling Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer their services to new markets. It will launch the Mthatha district into the digital age. More importantly, the socio-economic benefits of fibre-optic networks are vast; affordable broadband contributes to increased economic activity.
The company's CEO, Gustav Smit, says DFA's network is the fastest-growing open-access optical-fibre infrastructure in the country. "We are the carrier of carriers, providing infrastructure to three of the top four cellular providers, to seven of the top eight Internet service providers, to one of the two fixed-line operators, to the country's largest media conglomerates, to educational institutions, to open-access data centres, and to major metro municipalities."
DFA's footprint extends nationally and links with the SEACOM, EASSy, SAFE and SAT3 cables at Mtunzini, in KwaZulu-Natal, and links to the WACS cable at Yzerfontein and the SAT3 cable at Melkbosstrand, in the Western Cape.
The deployment of metro and long-haul open-access ducting, optimised for fibre network deployment, will enable larger users of communications capacity to enjoy logical separation and ownership of communications capacity, while sharing the same physical right of way and access routes with other carriers.
"South Africans simply don't know what 20Mbps or 100Mbps to the home means. An opportunity needs to be created for users to test drive serious broadband and ISPs need to play a leading role in mobilising communities," he concludes.
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Dark Fibre Africa (DFA)
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), a local open access dark fibre infrastructure provider, specialises in the financing, building and installation of carrier-neutral, open access, ducting infrastructure. The company started rolling out its network in metropolitan areas in October 2007 and has already laid in excess of 6 180km of infrastructure that is open to all licensed players, on equal terms.
This infrastructure is commissioned by licensed telecoms and Internet operators, which provide high-speed voice, data and video services to customers. The underlying business principle is that of an independent 'open access' infrastructure. With DFA acting purely as landlord, the infrastructure is entirely operator-neutral and does not differentiate between users.
The basis of the model is that DFA is building and managing a first-class physical infrastructure for any licensed operator to take advantage of. Licensed operators now have a ready-made infrastructure on which to build their differentiating converged services, bringing these services to market quicker, thereby enjoying earlier revenue generation.
There is a state-of-the-art network monitoring centre in Rivonia (Johannesburg) that provides operators with outsourced fibre network management services and offers continuous communication with clients should the unthinkable incident occur. Any service provider, licensed to do so by ICASA, may rent fibres from DFA for their own transmission and backbone infrastructure purposes.
DFA assumes the role of physical infrastructure developer, funds the roll out and, on completion, provides all operators with a first-class, secure ducting infrastructure on which licensed operators can build their services. The deployment of metro and long-haul open access ducting, optimised for fibre network deployment, will enable larger users of communications capacity to enjoy logical separation and ownership of communications capacity, while sharing the same physical right of way and access routes with other carriers.
DFA is extremely proud of claiming the prestigious 'New Entrant of the Year' award at the annual AfricaCom awards ceremony in 2009. In 2010, DFA was awarded the 'Best Cost Efficiency Solution for Africa' for the 'Fibre to the Tower'. The AfricaCom awards recognise excellence and outstanding performance in the African telecommunications industry over a 12-month period.
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