[BizTrends 2016] Fibre fruit hangs low

Deidré Jonker

It may be an over-simplified agricultural analogy. It is, however, effective in illustrating how Fibre Optic Internet Connectivity will shape the ICT landscape in 2016 and for years to come.

Readily available fibre

Billions of Rands worth of fibre has already been neatly trenched to exchanges throughout South Africa. It is now merely a matter of plug-and-play. Fibre networks lie earnestly in wait for businesses and home users alike to connect. Reliable internet connectivity is a business necessity. Fibre is robust. It is also invulnerable to theft and interference. It is hardly a stretch of the imagination to say that more businesses will switch to fibre for last mile access this year. As more businesses connect to fibre, so the barrier to entry for this service is lowered, which bring us to trend number two.

Affordable fibre connectivity

As fibre is capable of accommodating multiple users without degradation to the service, ISP's are able to recoup costs on a single fibre line faster. The increased uptake of fibre will assist greatly in lowering service providers' costs, in turn, lowering costs for end users. This allows more users to connect and so the cycle continues.

©Ivan Smuk via123RF

Rapid cloud expansion

Cloud computing relies on internet access. Your cloud experience is only as good as the internet connection being used. Fibre's high reliability makes cloud computing viable. In this 'big data' age, large on-site servers are impractical, expensive and space consuming. We foresee more businesses moving their telephony and data to the cloud.

VoIP migration

Once again the quality of Voice over Internet Protocol is dependent on the quality of the internet connection over which it is transmitted. Fibre is able to deliver more than just crystal clear voice. It is capable of conducting multiple concurrent calls without hindrance. We foresee a proportional decrease in interconnect rates to fibre costs. This results in even better VoIP rates for end users.

Internet of Things - a way of life

Independent, yet complementary to the above-mentioned trends, the Internet of Things will certainly maintain its accelerated growth in South Africa. Simply put, this is the connectivity between "smart" devices in and around the home, business and on one's self. Smartphones, televisions, fridges, garages, alarms systems and even cars will be IP ready.

In conclusion, we predict that overall, this is the year of fibre. As our business sector shifts to the "light age", we also caution IT executives nationally to keep cyber security top of mind. Increased reliance on cloud services may invite opportunist hackers and the likes. Prevention is imperative. So while our trends predictions for this year are majority positive, we urge all businesses to practice triplicate backup storage.