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BOFINET AND BOTSWANA ASH JOIN HANDS TO IMPROVE CONNECTIVITY

There were unprecedented challenges of heavy rainfall and a very hard rock which delayed the completion of civil works. Despite the challenges, the cable has passed pre-tests and the services will be commissioned by end of January 2023. The Project Manager, Mr Palalani Palalani has indicated that though there are some snags, they have taken calculated risks to deliver the service to the customer.

When asked to comment on the developments that the project was bringing, he said, ‘‘The project will be bringing reliable connectivity to the mine and the whole of Sowa township, benefiting Government departments, schools, businesses and mobile telecommunication operators.”

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On Monday 21st of November 2022, BoFiNet started the BOTASH project to overcome connectivity issues around the BOTASH Mine and Sowa Town. The areas have been serviced by microwave, which is no longer providing a reliable connection due to increase in demand. The Sowa environment is an enemy to the microwave as the salty particles accumulate on the microwave and corrodes some components leading to continuous network failures hence compromising network availability in the area.

The project scope entailed 44 km of twin ducts (40mm) from Nata to BOTASH Mine via Dukwi junction. The works included the installation of boxes, trenching, drawing of cables into ducts, drawing of the subduct, splicing of fibres, installation of the Optical Distribution Frame (ODF), termination, testing and commissioning of the fibre infrastructure.

He further explained that BoFiNet was delivering on its mandate and mission to provide digital transformation with innovative solutions to government entities and other potential customers. This is part of our strategic intent, UNLEASH 2025, to enable 100% geographical broadband penetration.

BOFINET’S FIRST FIBRE OVERHEAD UNDERWAY

In a quest to expand access to broadband in the northern region, BoFiNet partially completed the deployment of the first overhead backbone fibre: the Sebina -Tutume fibre overhead. The project started in October 2021 and it is anticipated to be completed by the end of March 2023.

The Project Supervisor, Mr. Johannes Molefhi has indicated that the project covers a total of 45 km of overhead fibre. As indicated, this is the first overhead deployment by BoFiNet, as the company has previously been deploying its fibre infrastructure underground.

With this deployment, people in the villages of Sebina, Nshakashokwe, Makuta, Magapatona and Tutume will be connected to the national broadband network. To date, BoFiNet has network coverage of over 11,000km of fibre across the country.

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