Property group Growthpoint and information and communication technology services and solutions company Dimension Data have teamed up to evaluate the viability of installing open-access high-speed Internet throughout Growthpoint’s 353 commercial and industrial properties.

The five-year partnership would see Dimension Data roll-out the fibre-optic infrastructure for the last-mile link to Growthpoint’s buildings where viable and as requested by tenants, the parties announced in a statement on Monday.

Growthpoint Properties offices divisional director Rudolf Pienaar commented that the tenants would enjoy the faster, more reliable Internet connectivity that was required for productivity and profitability in a “connected” world.

The shared fibre infrastructure will enable service providers, which would remain the choice of the tenant, to offer “excellent connectivity at lower cost”.

The open-access approach enabled smaller service providers incapable of deploying their own infrastructure to offer their services to businesses in Growthpoint buildings.

“Last-mile connectivity is the critical barrier to entry. If a building isn’t wired up, or if it isn’t in a major centre, businesses still can’t access all [the] bandwidth potential,” said Pienaar, citing South Africa’s expansive high-speed connectivity to the rest of the world through undersea cables, such as Seacom, the West Africa Cable System, the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System and the Telkom SAT3 cables, besides others.

“While South Africa has a long way to go in embracing technology and truly integrating it into our buildings, more and more businesses are beginning to expect this level of sophistication and simplicity for their premises,” he added.

Dimension Data CEO Derek Wilcocks said: “This partnership between Dimension Data and Growthpoint is a ground-breaking development towards the advancement of faster, more reliable broadband connectivity, which has significant benefits for productivity.”