MTN to lay new cable network

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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MTN planned to spend R1.4-billion to build a 5000km fibre-optic network in South Africa, Tim Lowry, MTN’s managing director for South Africa, said on Friday. “We will be doing that in partnership with other operators and (the figure) might increase slightly.”

The group hoped to roll out the national fixed-line network by 2010 and save about R6.3-billion in transmission costs over 10 years.

MTN may roll out its national fibre-optic cable in partnership with Neotel, the country’s second fixed-line operator, which is also laying out its own national fixed- line network. Lowry said MTN SA would spend R250-million to build a new fibre-optic network around stadiums and hotels for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

MTN was also spending R130- million on the deployment of a fibre metropolitan network in high traffic zones in Johannesburg. The group said that after trials, it would go live in the third quarter of next year.

The group hopes to save about R2.8-billion in operational expenditure over 10 years.