Carving out a unique IT path along the Garden Route

Paul Luff: new development "bolsters the country's general adoption of home networking solutions and connectivity".

Residents at Thesen Islands, an award winning, up-market security village/complex along the Garden Route, will be amongst the first in Knysna to benefit from in-house digital connectivity and access to IT - as a result of a high-tech, broadband IP Network installation by local network services provider Eden Telecom.

The coastal network installation project, initiated by the Thesen Islands Development Company, in conjunction with the services provider, made use of SMC Network technology.

Egge Mulder, Eden Telecom MD, says the installation could be considered a landmark project in terms of the convergence of voice, video and data on home networking/multiple dwelling unit infrastructure.

"Not too long ago these islands consisted of nothing more than an industrial site. A team of visionary developers, under hefty public protest, turned it into a 'seaside paradise'. It has been called "the best place to live in South Africa" "with a very unique broadband service to boot!" says Mulder.

A significant portion of the technology for the installation came from SMC Networks South Africa including standard Ethernet and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Internet Telephony. The network solutions provider also assisted directly in the integration of VDSL technology and related services.

"The access portion of the network is up 99.999% of the time - in fact, one of our previous SMC VDSL deployments, consisting of 283 units, has been up and running for over three years, I cannot even remember a problem or unscheduled downtime specifically attributable to the access equipment," says Mulder.

"The network is vast, connecting 650 residential and commercial units and is best described as a multi-discipline incorporated into a single environment. Both fixed and mobile broadband service is available throughout the development," he adds.

Paul Luff, country manager at SMC Networks, says his company is positioned to add value to local network infrastructure investment and installation.

“We do have the latest available solutions that ideally match requirements within the SOHO environment, especially in so far as it applies to wireless LAN connectivity between structures. In the case of Thesen Islands the decision to apply VoIP and VDSL infrastructure is a milestone in domestic networking infrastructure use and investment… My feeling is that this bolsters the country's general adoption of home networking solutions and connectivity," adds Luff.