Fast-growing telecommunications infrastructure company Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), which until now has focused mainly on deploying national and metropolitan fibre links, has announced it intends rolling out a last-mile fibre-optic broadband to 20 000 businesses in the next 10 months.

The move is a big commitment as the target is significantly greater than the fibre connections the company currently has in its fibre-to-the-business network.

DFA, which hasn’t said what sort of capital it intends pumping into the network build, wants the new connections in place by the end of its current financial year in March 2016.

The new infrastructure will be built on an open-access basis, in line with DFA’s business model, with business customers able to get Internet access from a service provider of their choice.

“There is an increase in demand for fibre-optic network connectivity across South Africa, which is partly due to the country playing catch up to other, more developed markets around the world,” says DFA chief strategy officer Reshaad Sha.

Cloud computing is a key driver of demand for the sort of super-fast broadband only fibre can provide, he says. Although cloud adoption in Africa is still in its infancy, demand for cloud services is growing in the private sector across South Africa, he adds.

DFA says it will expand its network and simplify the ease of access to its high-speed fibre network for businesses across all major and secondary cities across South Africa.

“This will complement the work that is being done by various Internet service providers that have, over the past 18 months, accelerated their enterprise sales activities to increase market penetration and connect customers to fibre-based networks,” it says.

Sha says the DFA investment will help South Africa catch up to some of the more developed and even some emerging markets that have already invested significantly in fibre connectivity.