Name and Location
National fibre-optic broadband network, nationwide, South Africa.

Client
FibreCo Telecommunications (FibreCo), a partnership involving South Africa-based Cell C, Internet Solutions and Convergence Partners.

Project Description
The project plans to develop an open-access, long-haul terrestrial fibre-optic broadband network, in an effort to modernise the country’s transmission infrastructure to achieve world-class broadband connectivity.

The network will be developed in three separate phases and will ultimately cover a distance of more than 12 000 km.

The first phase will focus on rolling out a 4 500 km redundant core ring, which will interlink Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban to international cable-landing stations.

This phase will result in the creation of 2 300 direct and indirect job opportunities. It will also facilitate the training of at least 100 fibre-optic technicians, who will be certified under the internationally recognised Fibre Optic Association, which will be involved during the construction and maintenance of the network.

Phase 2 will feature additional routes to the Western Cape, the Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as well as the borders of Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The third phase will add new routes, enabling further resilience in connectivity to the coastal areas and increasing capillarity.

The demand for broadband in South Africa is expected to escalate, which will be met as more capacity becomes available on the various submarine cables linking the country, and Africa, with the rest of the world.

Value
The project is valued at R5-billion.

Duration
The construction of the first 1 000 km link between Johannesburg and East London through Bloemfontein was commemorated with a sod-turning ceremony in the Free State in May 2012. FibreCo expects to launch its managed fibre service on this link in the first quarter of 2013.

Latest Developments
FibreCo has completed its 2 000 km fibre-optic network interconnecting Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, East London and Cape Town, which now “provides the shortest and fastest optical-fibre connectivity between these cities”, the company says.

The completion of the 2 000-km-long network comes roughly two years after FirbreCo announced in September 2011 that it had signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Chinese telecommunications equipment provider ZTE for the roll-out of its long-distance fibre-optic cable system and secured British Telecom, Cell C and Internet Solutions as the first three key anchor tenants on its open-access network.

Over this time, FibreCo completed the R700-million physical installation of around 1 000 km of linear fibre-optic cable, connecting Bloemfontein with Johannesburg and East London, in just 14 months. For this achievement, the company received the 2013 Project Management and Construction Project of the Year award from the South African Institution of Civil Engineers.

However, FibreCo also collaborated extensively with other fibre infrastructure operators and broadband networks to avoid duplication of fibre routes, providing environmental benefits and economic efficiencies, which will, ultimately, benefit Internet users.

FibreCo is now turning its focus to the construction of its Cape Town to Durban link, which is scheduled to start in early 2014 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2015.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
ZTE Corporation (national optical backbone network EPC contract).

On Budget and on Time?
FibreCo is confident that the project will stay on track.

Contact Details for Project Information
Cell C switchboard, tel +27 11 324 4000.
FibreCo Telecommunications, tel +27 11 966 7731 or email pr@fibreco.co.za.
Convergence Partners, tel +27 11 550 5320, fax +27 11 550 5321 or email info@convergencepartners.co.za.
Internet Solutions, tel +27 11 575 1000, fax +27 11 576 1000 or email info@is.co.za
ZTE, tel +86 755 2677 0000.