Upper Highway Fibre To The Home (FTTH) Project
There has been considerable discontent from the residents of the Upper Highway area over the speed and reliability of their internet. After approaching almost every FTTH provider that’s rolled out in the country, a great partner has been found in Link Africa, who is willing build a no-compromise solution to suits our specific needs.
This is a community-driven win-win project. We bring the customers, and Link Africa takes the risk in deploying FTTH.
What do I need to do?
There is no up-front commitment or cost; all that you need to do is say whether you would be interested in FTTH by filling in a survey. This will provide a few details about where you live and your household’s internet details – non-binding interest.
Register your interest at
http://upperhighway.fibretomyhome.co.za/register/
Why Link Africa?
Link Africa has a proven track record of delivering Fibre Optic networks in South Africa (see
http://www.linkafrica.co.za/about-link-africa/ ) with a focus on KZN; they provide infrastructure and backbone networks for metros and companies like MTN, with considerable success in eThekwini. In addition to this, they already have the required permits for digging and deploying in our area in place, which puts them at a considerable advantage. Most importantly, though, Link Africa deploys a totally open access network which means that ISPs will compete on price and quality.
What is the proposal?
This is a community solution for the Upper Highway area. If 40% of the residents in an area express an interest in FTTH, Link Africa has committed to deploy FTTH. Installation roll out will start as soon as zones within our area reach the required threshold. In other words we do not have to rely on the whole area to be on board or disinterested or sleepy streets to get going! They will sign a service level agreement with us to ensure that if there are problems, there are time lines as to when these will be fixed, and stay fixed.
What can I get, and what can I expect to pay?
Final products prices will be dependent on the number of residents that take the service, but the model we’re using is the same as another Link Africa project,
http://constantiafibre.com/packages/provider/ - you may browse the packages available there to get a good idea of what you’ll pay. In general, for the same or less cost as your existing ADSL solution, you’ll get a better product. Speeds range from 5MBPS to 1GBPS.
What about my voice line and existing number?
You can completely cancel your Telkom line and port your number to your FTTH ISP. There is a once-off porting fee if you want to keep your Telkom number, and there’s generally zero cost for the voice line facility, you just pay for the calls – dependent on the ISP chosen.
Any other benefits?
The Upper Highway area has numerous security initiatives, and along with Link Africa, for a reasonable cost, we can build a community owned and funded high quality security camera network, which will give authorized parties access to live and historic footage. This will open the door to sophisticated options like triggering alarms when suspicious vehicles enter/exit an area.
More Information
Project Home Page:
http://upperhighway.fibretomyhome.co.za/ - a lot more information about the project and a larger technical FAQ is available here.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/uhftth/ - feel free to join and ask questions, so they may be answered in an open forum and others can benefit.
