DFA set to move Mthatha into the digital age

More importantly, the socio-economic benefits of fibre optic networks are vast, affordable broadband contributes to increased economic activity.

The company's CEO, Gustav Smit, said that DFA's network is the fastest-growing open-access optical fibre infrastructure in the country. "We are the carrier of carriers, providing infrastructure to three of the top-four cellular providers, to seven of the top-eight Internet Services Providers, to one of the two fixed-line operators, to the country's largest media conglomerates, to educational institutions, to open-access data centres, and to major metro municipalities."

National footprint

DFA's footprint extends nationally and links with the SEACOM, EASSy, SAFE and the SAT3 cables at Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal and links to the WACS cable at Yzerfontein and the SAT 3 cable at Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape.

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.

"South Africans simply don't know what 20Mbps or 100Mbps to the home means. "An opportunity needs to be created for users to test drive serious broadband and ISPs need to play a leading role in mobilising communities," he concluded.