DFA to deploy open-access network to 20,000 businesses

South African telecoms infrastructure company Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) is planning to roll out a last-mile fibre-optic network to 20,000 businesses by March 2016, TechCentral reports. The new fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) infrastructure will be built on an open-access basis, with potential subscribers able to get internet access from a service provider of their choice. ‘The challenge that many of these businesses face is that the demand for bandwidth is dependent on availability and ease of access, but the demand is needed to motivate for the investment in this infrastructure,’ DFA chief strategy officer Reshaad Sha was cited as saying. The executive added that in order to address this challenge, DFA will expand its network and simplify the ease of access to high-speed fibre networks for businesses across all major and secondary cities in South Africa.