123NET to deploy FTTH network in KwaZulu-Natal

South African telecoms operator 123 Internetworks (123NET) is planning to introduce commercial fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services to residential and business users in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, My Broadband reports. 123Net’s CEO Kalin Bogatzevski said that the company is currently building an open-access FTTH network, capable of providing ultra-fast 1Gbps broadband access, in Umhlanga and La Lucia, which are situated in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The executive was cited as saying: ‘We are working closely with the eThekwini Municipality and we have already started obtaining the needed wayleaves … All the needed equipment has already arrived, including the servers, routers, and network components. Once the wayleaves are cleared, we will start laying our own fibre.’ Bogatzevski added 123NET plans to offer a basic 5Mbps broadband connection free of charge to homes and businesses. Further, the CEO disclosed that the fibre rollout project is funded by Bulgarian investors.