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Evotel plans fibre network expansion amid price war

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 27 Sept 2021
Bradley Bekker, Evotel head of business development.
Bradley Bekker, Evotel head of business development.

Fibre network operator (FNO) Evotel is targeting to pass 100 000 South African homes with its fibre network by the end of this year.

So said Bradley Bekker, head of business development, in an e-mail interview with ITWeb.

Evotel is honing in on the country’s secondary towns with its fibre offerings.

The company was established in 2015 by director Albert Oosthuysen, as an open-access fibre-to-the-home network infrastructure provider. It works in partnership and with the support of the communities and local municipalities.

With more people taking to remote working and learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a big demand for fibre connectivity across SA, with competition in SA’s fibre industry heating up.

Several FNOs have recently slashed fibre prices, with Evotel also reducing its fibre rates, by up to 18% in some cases.

“Though we might have been late to the party, we are dedicated to providing customers with fast and reliable fibre that is affordable,” Bekker says.

“We have taken our time about reducing our rates, as we don’t want to be in a position where the rates are only valid for a short period of time before reverting to a previous price, or as seen on occasion, prices going up. Our way of doing business is through full transparency without any smoke and mirrors.

No to price war

“As a player in the fibre market, we agree there is a lot of competition within the industry. We keep our eye on the market at all times to ensure we continue to offer competitive pricing and packages.

“We are aware there is currently a price war raging, but Evotel is not interested in being involved in that war. We aim to offer consumers something that is of value from both a cost and customer service perspective and not simply looking at pricing.”

According to Bekker, Evotel has laid upwards of 800km of fibre so far and “we are well on our way to meeting our goal to pass the 100 000 homes mark by the end of the year”.

He points out that Evotel services mainly secondary cities in SA, where major FNOs do not readily operate and rather focus on large metropoles.

“Our services are available in the following areas and we are expanding countrywide – Northriding, Eden Glen, Dawn Park, Mogale City / Krugersdorp / Randfontein, Newcastle, Ladysmith, Vryheid, Emalahleni, Middelburg, Welkom, Riebeeckstad, Rustenburg, Lenasia South, Ennerdale, Virginia, Odendaalsrus, Kathu and Upington. As our slogan states, we aim to provide fibre for everyone.”

He points out the company is in talks with a number of municipalities to rollout fibre infrastructure in those areas.

On how much the company has invested in its fibre network so far, Bekker says: “It is very difficult to put an amount to our investment in our network, as we are not only investing money in the areas where we build but also our time, efforts and resources to uplift these communities overall.

“We invest in local contractors to assist with the building of our network, and we train and educate them to long-term look after and maintain our networks. We do skills transfers to also assist these small businesses to grow and expand themselves to service others.

“We are also investing in education through our schools programme, where we provide all schools that fall under our network coverage with free fibre access, to include technology and internet capability in the education of our youth.”

Community involvement

The FNO has plans to invest in growing its network coverage, as well as investment in the communities it operates in.

“That will also be a priority for us in the next year,” Bekker says. “Our other focus, as much as we expand from a build point of view, is how we are giving back a little bit more to the communities we operate in, in terms of skills development and uplifting these communities, because it is also part of our business plan.

“While Evotel is a competitor in the telecommunications space, we also believe in sharing good fortunes to uplift communities for the greater good of the entire country.

“We have, therefore, announced the Evotel ‘Installing Hope Challenge’, challenging other FNOs, internet service providers and any businesses in the telecoms industry to give back to the communities they operate in by assisting the needy with a charitable initiative and sponsorships to instil hope in these difficult times.”

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