TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      E.tv in stunning victory over minister in digital TV fight

      28 June 2022

      It’s official: stage-6 load shedding is here

      28 June 2022

      Stage-6 load shedding highly likely later today

      28 June 2022

      Prosus sale plan sends Chinese tech stocks tumbling

      28 June 2022

      Takealot is ready for the Amazon onslaught: Bob van Dijk

      27 June 2022
    • World

      Ether holds its breath for the Merge

      28 June 2022

      Google Cloud customers will learn their Gmail carbon footprint

      28 June 2022

      The lights are going out for crypto’s laser-eyed grifters

      28 June 2022

      Crypto retakes $1-trillion

      27 June 2022

      Tencent slides on Prosus sale plan

      27 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»BT hints at plans to build SA fibre network

    BT hints at plans to build SA fibre network

    News By Editor26 July 2011
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Steve Kelly

    A senior BT Group official has hinted that the company, formerly known as British Telecom, is “close to” investing in fibre projects in Africa, and in “SA in particular”, as demand for high-capacity infrastructure in the region explodes.

    A “data tsunami” is surrounding Africa thanks to myriad new undersea cables. But getting that data through Africa is the next big challenge, says Steve Kelly, GM for BT Global Telecom Markets in Asia-Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Africa, speaking at a submarine cables conference in Sandton on Tuesday.

    Until now, BT has shied away from investing directly in infrastructure in SA, though it has been represented in this market for years through BT Global Services, a division that focuses on providing communications and IT services to business customers.

    Details about BT’s plans to invest in infrastructure remain vague. However, the company is expected to host a media conference in Cape Town in a month’s time at which it may outline its investment intentions for the SA market, including its plans to pump money into fibre infrastructure.

    A BT spokesman in London will say only that “a formal announcement will be made in due course”.

    Kelly says the “problem used to be connecting to Africa with the right capacity at the right price. That’s changed. The problem now is connecting through Africa, a problem exacerbated by increasing demand for data from end users.”

    He says networks must be willing to explore various models of increasing connectivity through wireless services, upgraded copper networks and fibre.

    He says fibre is the most cost-effective long-term solution because it provides enormous capacity, network future-proofing and reliability. Nevertheless, building fibre networks is expensive and requires “political and economic stability to encourage investors”.

    “Fibre on the edge doesn’t solve bandwidth problems without a supporting long-haul and backhaul network,” he says. “The African continent is increasingly surrounded by fibre, but there isn’t enough on the actual continent.”

    However, fibre in Africa is sustainable and will create economic growth and allow the continent to be more competitive globally, he says. “Fibre will be the great enabler.”  — Craig Wilson and Duncan McLeod, TechCentral

    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
    BT BT Global Services BT Group Steve Kelly
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleHackers walk through ANCYL Web security holes
    Next Article Transforming television

    Related Posts

    E.tv in stunning victory over minister in digital TV fight

    28 June 2022

    It’s official: stage-6 load shedding is here

    28 June 2022

    Stage-6 load shedding highly likely later today

    28 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022

    Hands off our satellite spectrum!

    27 June 2022

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.