A 28 GHz last-mile wireless access solution is being rolled out in South Africa to provide fibrelike connectivity for underserved areas, says telecommunications operator Paratus Telecom SA MD Kallie Carlsen.

The solution uses a combination of a 28 GHz wireless line-of-sight solution for last-mile access and ground fibre-optic cables. This allows for connectivity that provides the same performance and reliability as that of fibre and is built on the Comsol Fibre Connect (CFX) national network that is being rolled out countrywide.

The Comsol network allows for carriers and service providers like Paratus Telecom to connect their customers with speeds from 2Mb/s to 1Gb/s. The service is connected to the Paratus global network through hosting service provider Teraco for the provision of Internet access.

“The Paratus Communication Service provides primary, load balancing and redundant connectivity, and is suitable for businesses that require fibrelike connectivity and throughput, but are situated in underserviced fibre areas.”

The solution is a dedicated and uncontended high-capacity wireless direct access to services such as the Internet, Voice-over-Internet Protocol, video and the cloud. However, deployment is subject to coverage and line of sight.

“Deployment is done within seven working days from order and confirmation of line of sight,” says Carlsen.

“The combination of a fibre-optic backbone and high-speed wireless access infrastructure provides near blanket coverage of metros, cities and district councils,” explains Comsol CIO Marius Swart.

The service is live in Empangeni, Port Shepstone, Newcastle, Upington, Nelspruit and Bloemfontein. It is expanding to other underserviced fibre areas and also covers all major centres in Gauteng.

“Existing fibre networks in the country are not far reaching enough and take too long to deploy. Comsol’s reach spans more than 200 metropolitan areas and towns across the country through CFX,” concludes Swart.