Open-access infrastructure provider Openserve is upgrading its fibre and digital subscriber line (DSL) data speeds for its customers for a three-month period from May 1.

This comes as high-speed Internet connectivity demand increases with communities, businesses and governments leveraging technological advancements to connect, communicate and undertake business remotely.

“With social distancing and self-isolation practices now being the norm, high-speed broadband connectivity will enable South Africans to better cope with everyday activities during this period. Virtual connections have never been more important,” said Openserve CEO Althon Beukes.

Openserve’s fibre speeds will be upgraded from 10 Mb/s, 20 Mb/s and 40 Mb/s to 20 Mb/s, 40 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s respectively, while the existing 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s speeds will remain unchanged.

The group will also upgrade its copper connect speeds.

Qualifying 1 Mb/s, 2 Mb/s, 4 Mb/s and 8 Mb/s will be upgraded to 10 Mb/s subject to network and distance limitations.

Services unable to achieve 10 Mb/s will be excluded from the upgrade, while existing 10 Mb/s, 20 Mb/s and 40 Mb/s will remain unchanged.

“In light of the extraordinary circumstances the nation is currently facing, Openserve is taking extreme measures to not only protect the safety of our staff and clients, but to ensure that we do everything in our power to keep the nation connected during the national lockdown period and beyond,” Beukes said.

This is in addition to Openserve’s recently introduced solutions and product incentives that would enable reduced data pricing and improved access.

“Since the outbreak, many network providers and Internet service providers (ISPs) have started to offer upgraded data speeds. In response to these market changes, Openserve has taken the necessary steps to ensure ISPs are not negatively impacted, offering double the speeds to qualifying fibre-to-the-home and DSL customers from May until July. 

“With this new proposition, our lower speed fibre customers will have their speeds doubled at the very least, ensuring that they have enough additional bandwidth to adapt to their demands.

“We have also concentrated our efforts on increasing the speeds of our lower speed DSL customers. Our lowest speed DSL customers will be afforded an upgrade of up to 10x the existing speed, where network constraints allow,” he concluded.