Parkhurst community issues tender for fibre-to-the-home network

21st May 2014

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The residents of Parkhurst this week took their broadband ambitions into their own hands as the Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association (Praboa) issued a call for proposals for the roll-out of an extensive fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network.

The association gave network operators and service providers until May 30 to submit their bids for the installation of an upgradable next generation access network that allowed for very high speeds for homes, businesses and public spaces.

Praboa also called for proposals for a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system and single service provider to provide security services, particularly CCTV monitoring, control room services, patrolling and incident response, linked to the fibre network.

“We envisage that a specialist security contractor will be appointed, and the two contractors will cooperate. Nevertheless, proposals for a single contractor will not be excluded,” the homeowners association said in a statement.

Praboa pointed out that, for several years Parkhurst residents and businesses experienced unreliable and slow ADSL services owing to its distance from the closest Telkom exchange, as well as increasing crime in the area, with 19 incidents reported during one week in March.

However, with the “overwhelming” endorsement of the proposed CCTV and FTTH projects by Parkhurst residents at a May 13 annual general meeting (AGM), slow speeds and lack of access could be a thing of the past, with the proposed backbone fibre connecting 2 100 homes.

“The beauty of the network is that it will enable us to support other initiatives, such as a high-definition video camera security monitoring solution for the neighbourhood,” Praboa noted.

It emerged at the AGM that 67% of Parkhurst residents were willing to spend R750 or more a month and 36% were willing to spend R1 000 or more a month on broadband and CCTV services, with 68% willing to spend R200 a month or more on CCTV monitoring alone.

While 59% of the residents preferred to own and control the network, they were only prepared to offer a small fraction – about R500 000 of the estimated more than R10-million required to build it.

To bring some of the costs down, Praboa approached the City of Johannesburg for the use of its infrastructure, including street poles, for the CCTV and FTTH initiatives.

In a letter to the city, Praboa pointed out that a security and FTTH solution would also enhance the value of homes in Parkhurst and, therefore, increase rates and taxes earned by the City of Johannesburg.

“The street security camera solution will also enhance the security of City Power’s electrical distribution and reticulation system, including sub stations. This will improve uptime for the City’s electrical grid, which will mean lower revenue losses for the City of Johannesburg as a result of theft.”

The better security would also reduce theft of other city infrastructure, including manholes and infrastructure relating to traffic lights and streetlights.

The association said that several major operators had already indicated their willingness to take up the project, with one proposal indicating that residents would be offered a 100 Mb/s line speed for about R700 a month and data from several data providers at R2/Gb.

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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