DFA provides optic fibre for annual Internet conference

Issued by IT Public Relations for Dark Fibre Africa
Johannesburg, 24 Aug 2012

Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), in conjunction with SEACOM, has provided two dedicated optical fibre cables to the Hilton Sandton Hotel, the venue for the 3rd African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) conference. Delegates will experience Internet speeds of 2Gbps, 2 000 times faster than an average home connection.

The event is organised by the Internet Society, specifically addressing interconnection challenges together with the wide ranging opportunities the African continent offers. AfPIF aims to foster national and cross-border interconnection opportunities by providing a forum where key players from infrastructure and service providers, ISPs, regulators and policy makers can engage in a relaxed but business-like environment, sharing their experiences and learning from experts in the field.

DFA's CEO, Gustav Smit, says he is privileged to be sponsoring the fibre infrastructure for the event. "We are so excited to showcase the capabilities and speed of fibre. DFA has already laid in excess of 6 400km of infrastructure across South Africa and is open to all licensed players on equal terms. Any service provider, licensed to do so by ICASA, may rent fibre from DFA for their own transmission and backbone infrastructure purposes."

AfPIF 2012 will provide a platform for open discussion and regional problem solving as well as focusing on social and business networking. At AfPIF 2012, the conversation will focus on the regional infrastructure, content and policy issues that are critical components of transit deficits. As a multi-stakeholder forum, the event will foster cross-border interconnection opportunities and address the issues and challenges of the regional Internet transit deficit.

AfPIF also aims to promote the establishment of new, and the growth of existing, Internet Exchange Points through building community co-operation and demonstrating the value proposition of local, national and regional interconnection.

Furthermore, AfIF aims to bridge the information asymmetry with respect to peering and transit economics. The peering and transit fundamentals enable the development of interconnection relationships and strategies for operators at the local, regional and global levels.

"AfPIF provides a venue for productive technical discussions and business relationships that can be forged to augment Internet infrastructure and services in Africa," concludes Smit.

Dark Fibre Africa (DFA)

Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), a local open access dark fibre infrastructure provider, specialing 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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