Internal communications at the Morupule Colliery, in Botswana, have been boosted by the addition of a new broadband wireless network, designed by South Africa's Duxbury Networking, and installed in partnership with local IT specialist, KBF Technologies.
The Morupule Colliery is owned and operated by Debswana, a partnership between the government of Botswana and De Beers Centenary. Founded in 1973, the mine's operations have expanded considerably since then to supply a number of regional power plants, including the new Botswana Power Corporation B 600 Megawatt power station, where construction is nearing completion.
This power station features in Botswana's plan to become self-sufficient in power generation. Last year, approximately 84% of the country's power needs were imported, mostly from Eskom.
According to Andy Robb, chief technology officer at Duxbury Networking, the first phase of the wireless network installation included the connection of offices, administration buildings and a number of homes within the Morupule compound, which is currently being expanded to accommodate around 480 permanently employed people (from 320 in 2010).
“We selected a network based on the Alvarion BreezeMAX Extreme solution for the Morupule application because it provides a complete 'ecosystem' at the network level, capable of adapting to a number of business challenges, including the current growth of the mine and its operations,” he says.
In its current configuration, the network consists of a single base station and eight subscribers, each capable of data transfer rates of two megabits per second.
“It is designed for ease of deployment and reduced total cost of ownership, while being responsive to a diversity of end-user needs - now and in the future,” adds Robb.
Bashi Mokgatlhe, managing director of KBF Technologies, says his company was attracted by the flexibility of the Alvarion solution, as offered by Duxbury Networking. “It will enable us to roll out the wireless network so that the higher density areas of the mine, such as the administration buildings, are initially connected, while we continue to provide e-mail and Internet links to the mine's growing number of residential users.”
Mokgatlhe notes that rural wireless broadband solutions present increasing business opportunities in Botswana, which is characterised by a lack of telecommunications infrastructure.
“Our partnership with Duxbury Networking will allow us to focus on continuous technology advancements and give us the ability to deliver flexible, cost-effective wireless networking solutions that can be rapidly deployed to meet a wide range of requirements.
“We expect broadband wireless technology to transform lives for thousands of Botswana businesspeople and residents in the near future, regardless of their location or financial capability,” he adds.
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