South African fibre broadband start-up provider Vumatel, which is currently deploying a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in the upmarket Johannesburg suburb of Parkhurst, has identified the 42 suburbs it plans to connect next, as it extends the fibre-optic network across Johannesburg and Cape Town, TechCentral reports. The decision to expand the rollout was made by Vumatel after the Parkhurst project ‘generated huge interest’ from homeowners’ associations, communities and residents across South Africa. The operator has identified the following locations in Johannesburg for the rollout of FTTH: Atholl, Beverley, Blairgowrie, Douglasdale, Emmarentia, Forest Town, Fourways, Gallo Manor, Greenside, Houghton Estate, Hurlingham & Hurlingham Manor, Hyde Park, Illovo, Inanda & Chislehurston, Killarney & Riviera, Linden, Lonehill, Melrose & Birdhaven, Melville, Parkhurst, Parkmore, Parktown, Parktown North, Parkwood, Pine Slopes, River Club, Sandhurst, Saxonwold, Upper Houghton, Victory Park and Westcliff. Meanwhile, the suburbs in Cape Town that have been slated for FTTH deployments include: Bishopscourt, Camps Bay & Bakoven, Constantia, Fresnaye, Gardens, Mouille Point, Newlands, Oranjezicht, Sea Point, Tamboerskloof and Vredehoek.
As reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate in June, Vumatel is aiming to deploy fibre-optic broadband to roughly 200,000 homes in around 100 suburbs/locations across South Africa over the next three to four years, at an estimated cost of ZAR2 billion-ZAR3 billion (USD186 million-USD279 million). Under the open access network model, customers will be able to choose from multi-play service providers other than Vox Telecom, its first service-provider partner in Parkhurst. It is not yet known if Vox intends to expand the partnership to other locations.