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MTN plugs R1.2-billion into KZN network MTN is spending billions of rands in upgrading its network and infrastructure.
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TN, the second-largest mobile operator in South Africa, is targeting an extensive fibre rollout that will stretch
Alpheus Mangale
to more than 1100km and which will service in excess of 36 000 houses within 1 080 residential estates and suburbs. It will also encompass more than 300 shopping centres, malls and business parks. The fibre rollout and multi-tiered service offering applies equally to enterprise end-users as it does to home and SMME users, providing access to high-speed Internet Access and value-added or over the top services that traditional medium such as DSL struggle to deliver. The rollout started in 2015 and MTN anticipates that it will be completed in 2017. Rolling out fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) is seen as a vital step in building a world-class infrastructure to enable local businesses to operate on a world-class level, especially considering the national government’s drive to support SMMEs, entrepreneurs and local innovators. FTTH is capable of delivering speeds of up to 100 Mbps and, in support of the government’s drive, MTN have already rolled out FTTH to the Western Cape, which represents the first expansion of its high-speed network outside of the country’s economic hub, Gauteng. Many in the industry view fibre as the new frontier, and it is an area that the leading players in the industry all see as important to invest in. MTN has stated that their initial FTTH rollout will focus on “high-density urban areas, such as high-end gated communities, boomed-off suburbs, and high-rise buildings”. The scenic La Lucia suburb in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the first in the region that will receive the service, with Umhlanga, Kloof, Berea West and Durban North also slated for FTTH. The civil works are well underway report MTN, whose South African subscriber base alone is just under 30 000. The company has already committed a total of R10-billion rand for increasing its coverage and capacity for its 2G and 3G clients, in addition to improving its long-term evolution technologies. MTN Business SA chief enterprise officer Alpheus Mangale has assured local residents as well as subscribers that the telecoms giant is “working tirelessly to resolve all outstanding issues to the satisfaction of all concerned”.
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SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2016