Residents of Sunninghill and Barbeque Downs are of the first residential areas in South Africa to experience Metrofibre Networx’ fibre to the home (FTTH) services.
Working with the local Sunninghill ratepayers association, Metrofibre was selected as the area’s preferred FTTH supplier, enabling residents access to high-speed fibre and data services to the home. The first estate in Sunninghill went live in June 2015, and a further six have been completed, with 14 more to follow suit. Further construction is happening in excess of 10 additional estates.
All in all, the more than 6 000 residential properties within the area will all be able to tap into the Metrofibre fibre network by the middle of 2016. As a consequence of the agreement reached with Sunninghill, the company has also extended network access to include Barbeque Downs.
“Until recently high-speed data has been an expensive luxury only afforded to a select few who could shoulder the costs of uncapped DSL and LTE services, but fibre changes all of this,” says Metrofibre Networx’ Jacques de Villiers. “With fibre consumers and businesses can now ensure that their browsing is never slowed down, making services such as live streaming television, music and even gaming a qualified option for South African customers. It is fast and cost effective – truly levelling the Internet connectivity playing fields for local businesses and consumers.”
Working with the Sunninghill Ratepayers Association, Metrofibre will also provide fibre access for the security cameras in Sunninghill, at no cost to the residents.
“After extensive research into the various FTTH suppliers in a process that extended almost a year, we at the Sunninghill Community Ratepayers Association elected to appoint Metrofibre Networx as our preferred supplier of fibre to homes and businesses within the Sunninghill area,” says Linda Gildenhuys, chairman of the Sunninghill Ratepayers Association.
Of the reasons initially listed by the selection team as to why they selected Metrofibre as their partner included the fact that when dealing with the company they were provided with a single point of contact to address questions and assist with service delivery. The company’s ability to deliver symmetrical broadband speeds, as well as uncapped and unshaped Internet, and the fact that its network had stood the test of independent user testing and came out with flying colours, also ranked highly on the selection criteria.
Another attractive offering to customers who elect to make use of Metrofibre for their fibre needs in the area is that the company does not hold the association to any contract terms. In fact, once the network is installed, individual customers can freely contact Metrofibre of their own accord at any stage.
The project encompasses two forms of fibre: trenched fibre, which is laid underground; and aerial fibre for already established and built-up areas where trenching could pose a problem.