Limpopo and Mpumalanga are to get a high-speed broadband network after state-owned infrastructure company Broadband Infraco said it intends rolling out fibre-optic networks in the provinces.
Broadband Infraco CEO Puleng Kwele says the “northern ring capacity upgrade project” forms part of its plan to upgrade telecommunications infrastructure in two provinces.
The fibre-optic network will have an initial design capacity of 40Gbit/s and will run parallel to an existing 10Gbit/s link in the region. The new network will be scalable in multiples of 40Gbit/s, up to 480Gbit/s, to address future capacity requirements. The northern ring’s current capacity is 160Gbit/s.
The northern ring extends from Gauteng to Polokwane via Soekmekaar and Tzaneen towards Hoedspruit and then to Nelspruit. It then runs from Nelspruit via Ngodwana, Belfast and Witbank back to Pretoria.A spur link from Polokwane to Broadband Infraco’s international gateway to Zimbabwe in Beitbridge, and which runs via Makhado and Musina, also forms part of the project.
Kwele says the project has been approved by the board and the procurement processes have been completed.
The project will be rolled out in two phases. The first involves upgrading the spur link to Beitbridge and is expected to be completed by the end of June. The second phase, where the remaining sites will be upgraded, is expected to be completed by the end of August.
Infraco plans to spend R700m this financial year on various projects, including the northern ring, rolling out 29 points of presence in KwaZulu-Natal, and upgrading its network as a whole. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media
