Parkhurst Vumatel 1Gbps fibre goes live

The first homes in Parkhurst have received access to a Gigabit per second (Gbps) Vumatel fibre connection, the telecommunications start-up announced in a press release on Tuesday, 28 October 2014.

Vumatel broke ground in the suburb towards the end of August 2014 to roll out the first of what it calls its “fibrehoods”.

“Connected residents in Parkhurst are the first in a planned roll out of 42 suburbs to enjoy this world-class connectivity,” Vumatel said.

Once connected, users are able to choose between line speeds of 4Mbps, 50Mbps, 100Mbps, and 1Gbps, and can use any ISP which supports the Vumatel network.

According to Vumatel, any licensed service provider can make use of the fibre to supply services to its customers, including data, voice, and Internet protocol television.

“We are on schedule in Parkhurst and will connect all the homes by February of next year (2015),” said Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman.

Vumatel has also announced plans to expand to more suburbs in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“The decision to expand the network comes on the back of the launch of the Parkhurst project, which has generated massive interest from homeowners’ associations, communities, and residents across South Africa,” Vumatel said.

Service providers are on board

Several service providers have offers available to consumers over Vumatel’s open access network.

These include triple-play offerings, voice, and security services, and the choice of capped or uncapped data at various speeds.

MWEB, WebAfrica, and Smart Village have joined Cool Ideas, Cybersmart, and Vox Telecom in providing services. Vumatel added that more service providers will announce their participation over the coming weeks.

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