Irish router 'will improve access to broadband in SA'

The router splits Internet traffic across all available Internet connections‚ giving users the speed and reliability of all combined. Multipath technology aggregates Internet connections adding their speed and reliability. The router can bond any combination of technologies‚ DSL‚ cable‚ 3G‚ 4G and wireless.

South Africa continues to lag its peers in terms of broadband roll-out and Akamai's latest report placed the country 80th in world in the first quarter of this year in terms of connectivity. This is despite Internet connections rising 16% over the last year.

The government has been struggling to meet some of its deadlines for the roll-out of broadband. In its strategic plan presented to Parliament earlier this year‚ the Department of Communications said that it would prioritise broadband penetration for the next five years.

The National Development Plan (NDP) set a target of 100% broadband access by 2020.

Using technology

Justin Collery chief executive and founder of Multipath Networks said this week that the Multipath router‚ which was launched on Tuesday (1 October)‚ would be a "game changer" and significantly improve connection speeds.

"Current technology only allows users to use a single connection at a time. The Multipath router is a fundamental change in the way we connect to the Internet. We can now use all the connectivity we pay for‚ adding their speeds and reliability‚" Collery said.

"Home users stream more and more entertainment from online services such as Netflix and YouTube and they demand greater speeds. The advent of 4G means consumers are now paying for more than one high speed connection through their fixed line DSL or cable as well as their 4G phonei. Combine your speeds‚ use the connectivity you pay for‚" Collery added.

The technology would also present both opportunities and challenges to operators. "If two neighbours have a Multipath router‚ they can then share connectivity with each other. When your neighbour is not using their connection‚ you get the benefit of their speed. That way you double the speed of your connection without paying a single cent to your provider‚" Collery said.

He said all a user will needs is a router running the Multipath software. They then attach all their Internet connections to the router and the router adds the speed of all available connections.

Collery said that Multipath Networks would also set up the project on Indiegogo‚ one of the world's largest crowd-funding platforms.

"The way Indiegogo works is that people pledge during the month of October to support our project. The cost of the router during the Indiegogo campaign will be US$199‚ the regular retail price is US$249. The monthly cost for our service is US$4.99‚ although as we already have servers in SA‚ we will bill in rand and we expect this to be fixed at R49‚" Collery said.

"We are already talking to a number of potential partners in SA and it may be that during the campaign we will announce that officially," he added.