In a move aimed at accelerating wholesale open-access fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks, open-access fibre infrastructure provider DFA this week acquired a significant minority stake in SA Digital Villages (SADV) for an undisclosed amount.
The deal would see SADV repositioned to offer its FTTH network on a wholesale basis to Internet service providers and to unlock the wholesale open-access FTTH service market in South Africa, while leveraging DFA’s national fibre footprint to build and extend the reach of its open-access FTTH network.
“We chose SADV for their extensive experience and proven capabilities in FTTH. DFA through SADV will focus its efforts in the FTTH market to deliver open-access high-speed connectivity to our service provider customer base,” said chief strategy officer Reshaad Sha in a statement.
SADV CEO Shaun Barkhuizen added that the provision of an open-access wholesale solution would address the issue of duplicate fibre deployment, which occurred because multiple service providers were racing to grab the most lucrative areas.
The entities would continue to operate separately, with no plans to cut jobs.