DFA HyperBand connectivity changes the rules

I am very impressed. To me this is one of the biggest steps in the right direction I have seen in South Africa. This is exactly the kind of stuff that will increase competition, stimulate business, and effect prices positively for our nation. Well done DFA.
 
These guys are pure pro's. They laid a few cables in one day 30 meters from my home office - now which ISP is going to tap into this gold chest ? I will dig the trench myself from my office to the nearest curb point and am willing to pay R3k a month for a fibre connection. Come on guys - the demand exists !
 
It would be great to get cable in South Africa. Not only will it provide competition to ADSL, but also to DSTV.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like this is coming to a suburb near you anytime soon. In South Africa residential customers and consumers are always at the bottom of the heap at the expense of business.
 
I think it`s excellent.

Back in the day when South Africa first put in copper cables, it was also to businesses first (need capital to grow and expand) and only later home consumers.
Now copper is every where, but until LLU, Telkom is messing up copper potential (ADSL 2+ in SA ???), oh and don`t forget the late night izinyoka shoppers...

Dark Fibre is definitely lighting the way forward. :D Exciting. The more they lay down, the thicker the grid will become.

But with the potential speeds via fibre, I am a little confused why each individual customer would need so many pairs lit?
 
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Its very good for business yes, but for me?

Naw, might as wel told me tannie Von Holstain van der Hofen Le Roux went to the hairdesser today. Doesn't mean anything.
 
Sigh! DFA cable is planned to pass only a block away from my home.
5 bohemian houses between me and it, hmmm....
Fascinating stuff none the less.
 
rpm said:
I think there are different models - I am certain that DFA will ensure that repeaters are in place if a company needs it - makes sense to put them in during construction of the network.
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Not quite sure why you'd need repeaters?... Unless it's perhaps to redirect the signal or something. Light degredation over distance is non-existent, which is why fibre can run such long distances along coastlines and across oceans.
 
Great news. We are still stuck with the problem of the last mile access though...We are not gonna get fiber into our homes anytime soon. :rolleyes::rolleyes: Consumers in SA will probably keep on sucking on the small teet for many more years to come... sigh.
 
I think what the writter tried to imply was that; DFA as a backend service provider will build the infrastructure enabling the smaller license holders to do the last stretch eventually to your house.
Companies like BFA is essential for future expasion and competion in our telecoms sector, our biggest hurdle no longer is finding a competitor for telkom, but for the competitors to get access to the "grid" at an affordable price, and BFA offers that service.
And who knows, maybe one day, eventuallly when BFA have a country wide fibre network layed out they will rise as the defaulto competitor to telkom? Or we get an competent service provider that will utilize theyre network to lay fibre to our homes?
 
We've just lit our DFA 10gbit Fibre Cable to the datacentre where we host our servers - truly impressed and alot cheaper than Telkom. To put it in perspective - 10gbit cable to same location as 1mbit Telkom Diginet line - DFA is double the price of telkom but obviously 10,000 times the speed.
 
Fantastic news! While I understand that this is NOT fibre to the home, it is still a HUGE step in the right direction :) We keep hearing providers giving excuses why infrastructure roll-out is not happening - DFA just went out and DID IT. (Hopefully, the aftermarket demand for fibre optic cables will not be the same as that for copper cables :D )

Surely, with both local and international optic fibre pipes becoming available (not imminent anymore :p), that last step for LLU can't be far away. As DFA is carrier-neutral it opens up competition for possibly new companies willing to take on Telkom on LLU?
 
Tns said:
can i give them my address to lay some cable to me?
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I'm sure they'd be happy to lay a fibre to your house. The question is can you afford their installation charge :p Its got a few more zeros than the ADSL install charge.

Gaz{M} said:
On a recent trip to Durban, I saw the massive trenching operation all along the N3 freeway
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DFA is not following the N3 to get to JHB. That would probably have been the 'blue, orange and yellow' network deployment :cool:
 
Gaz{M} said:
On a recent trip to Durban, I saw the massive trenching operation all along the N3 freeway. I was wondering how they repeat the optic signal over the 600km distance - the article seems to imply that the company themselves will need to provide repeaters. In that case, how are they providing power to the manholes unless they are also laying power cable.
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rpm said:
I think there are different models - I am certain that DFA will ensure that repeaters are in place if a company needs it - makes sense to put them in during construction of the network.
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The DFA route to Durban is via Witbank, Ermelo, and Richards Bay. Look at their network coverage map "Long Haul" in their website http://www.dfafrica.com.

Typical 2.5Gb/s to 40Gb/s transmission equipment easily reach distances of 120km to 160km. Cheaper ethernet equipment (1 to 10Gb/s) primarily for use in metro applications typical operate over distances of 20km to 60km.

Looking at the business strategy of DFA they will probably also provide repeater infrastructure facilities (racks, power, security, etc.) along their long distance routes where operators can install their own repeater equipment.
 
When will we as the end consumer finally get something outta this though?
 
Master Plan

We use the WUG's in all the major centres to connect to the DFA Fiber and buy wholesale bandwidth from Seacom.

F@ck ICASA

F@ck the Goverment
 
farimir said:
We use the WUG's in all the major centres to connect to the DFA Fiber and buy wholesale bandwidth from Seacom.

F@ck ICASA

F@ck the Goverment
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Not a bad idea

I'd sign up in a second

Sounds a little too simple though.

Anyone care to slate this as possible/impossible?
 
It is that simple - all DFA do is enable carriers to share the costs of the trench (which is the biggest component of building a telecoms network. Thereafter it is up tot he carrier to decide what equipment, protocols etc to use and whether they want to use the fibre for mobile backhaul, connecting consumers or business.

Simple - but helps the large carriers roll out quicker and cheaper and the small guys to at least be able to participate
 
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