Kabel-X is able to replace existing copper lines with fiber without the need to excavate and they announced today that they will be setting up an office in SA.<\/p>\n
According to Kabel-X they are currently the only company in the world that enables operators to save substantial costs and replace copper with fiber at five times the speed of the conventional method of digging.<\/p>\n
Cost benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n They are also able to retrieve old copper which can then be resold representing a large cost-benefit to operators.<\/p>\n “We believe that in a country of South Africa’s size there is approximately 160 000 kms of copper cable and at least 50 000km of it must be upgraded to fiber optic if government is going to deliver on its various eGovernment initiatives,” says Iain Giffen director and regional CEO of Kabel-X Middle East & Africa.<\/p>\n Kabel-X estimates that the retrieved copper could be worth between US 20- 30 per meter.<\/p>\n There is also the savings that will be made from preventing copper theft. Since fiber has no intrinsic value, Telkom could stand to save on the millions they spend each year to replace stolen copper. <\/p>\n SA needs to upgrade<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Kabel-X, pressure from volume of traffic on both fixed-line and mobile penetration means that the current cable infrastructure in SA needs to be upgraded as a matter of urgency. The last mile also needs to be upgraded.<\/p>\n Telkom is currently busy upgrading its copper network to ADSL2+ and for them to provide fiber to the home in the near future will require a significant strategy shift.<\/p>\n Kabel-X said that they have also been in contact with other companies like Transnet the Defense Force.<\/p>\n Pilot project<\/strong><\/p>\n Kabel-X have approached Telkom and they are set to launch a pilot project in August which will run for about a month. According to Kabel-X the response from Telkom so far has been overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n They have identified Mayfair and City Deep for the pilot as the copper is dead which means that there will be no service interferences. They have already sent samples of the cable to Germany for testing.<\/p>\n