Fibertime expands broadband coverage across South Africa

The deployment will be focussed on underserved regions of South Africa, says the release. Fibertime is planning to connect 1.5 million customers using Nokia’s Lightspan FX Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) and Wi-Fi 6 enabled Optical Network Terminals (ONTs).

The fibre deployment will initially cover Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gqeberha, Mangaung and Stellenbosch, and there are plans to expand into additional countries and communities afterwards.

Fibertime will deploy 500,000 Nokia Wi-Fi 6 enabled ONTs over the next 36-months, and is also working on an ‘advanced network upgrade’ based on Nokia’s Altiplano platform ‘to further drive automation and scale’.

The two firms are also working on new R&D projects to develop technologies that boost connectivity and enable operations in remote areas of Africa.

“Nokia’s fiber solution is uniquely positioned to help Fibertime reach millions of underserved customers needing high-speed broadband for essential services like online education and telehealth,” said Sandy Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia. “Our scalable OLT portfolio provides flexible coverage for both densely populated and rural areas. Paired with our Wi-Fi 6-enabled ONTs, we enable fast, automated onboarding. Together, these solutions allow Fibertime to speed up deployments and provide the capacity to bring thousands of customers online at once.”

Alan Knott-Craig, Founder of Fibertime, added: “With Nokia’s support, we’re confident in our ability to reach 1.5 million homes within the next five years. We’re unlocking a massive, untapped market of 13 million homes in South Africa that are ready for affordable, quality internet. That market will need approximately R60billion of investment over the coming decade and will generate reliable returns for investors. The market opportunity is akin to that presented to mobile operators when they expanded into prepaid markets. Together with Nokia, we can bridge the digital divide, accelerate growth, and create lasting social and economic impact across South Africa.”

Less than 85% of South Africans have access to high-speed broadband, ‘leaving many reliant on costly mobile plans that are up to 70 times more expensive per gigabit than fibre’, says the release.

Earlier this month, the GSMA put out a report claiming that tackling sub-Saharan Africa's mobile usage gap could provide a big boost to GDP. The report stated that in 2023, the mobile industry contributed $140 billion to SSA's GDP, and that if key connectivity barriers are addressed, that could rise to $170 billion by 2030.