Vumatel seeks to drive down fibre costs to provide access to more people
Neighbourhood fibre provider Vumatel is moving to offset its role in widening South Africa’s digital divide by seeking out and piloting a new viable model to drive down the cost of high-speed unlimited fibre access for those least able to afford it.
Vumatel emerged as a formidable fibre player in 2014, after being awarded the tender to install fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) in Parkhurst in what had been dubbed the first of South Africa’s ‘fibrehoods’.
However, while Vumatel had fed into demand and filled a consumer gap that had played a role in changing the landscape of fibre in South Africa, CEO Niel Schoeman believes the company has unwittingly exacerbated the digital divide by providing high-quality fibre access only to the suburbs.
Since 2014, several affluent suburbs have followed Parkhurst’s example of pursuing a neighbourhood-aligned fibre network that is fast and reliable.
However, South Africa’s townships lagged behind the curve as FTTH is too expensive for many.
“The only way to bridge the gap is to provide connectivity for everyone from Sandton to Soweto. Until then, we will leave people behind,” Schoeman told delegates at the recent MyBroadband Conference, in Midrand.
There is a need to develop a sustainable and viable business model in the midst of the exponential growth in technology that is providing “enormous” opportunity for millions of South Africans.
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