I well remember the day when Telkom tried to take the then Durban Corporation to court over its fibre network. It was called dark fibre because it did not connect into Telkom’s network and in terms of the then Telecommunications Act it was illegal.<\/p>\n
Today the definition of dark fibre is very different from those telecommunication exclusivity days. Dark fibre can be described as an optical fibre infrastructure that is still “unlit”.<\/p>\n
A company called Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) “saw the light” in October 2007 when it starting building Hyperband network pipes. The company specialises in the financing, building and installation of carrier-neutral, open access, ducting infrastructure. Fibres in the network are leased to and commissioned by licensed telecom and internet operators to provide high-speed voice, data and video services to their customers.<\/p>\n
“Our underlying business principle is that of an independent open access infrastructure,” said Malcolm Kirby, marketing manager of DFA. “We are competition-neutral, providing a ducting Infrastructure that is open to all licensed players, on equal terms.<\/p>\n
“When the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) started issuing ECNS licences to a large number of companies we realised that we had taken the right decision. The new licence holders need to build infrastructure to provide services. It is too expensive for each licencee to dig trenches and lay fibre cable, besides that no authority will allow multiple trenching of their road infrastructure.”<\/p>\n
DFA’s initial focus is on Gauteng, metropolitan Cape Town and Durban with the first backbone of Durban to Johannesburg nearing completion. The Johannesburg – Durban link is of particular importance as it will allow smaller telcos and ISPs to interconnect with the Seacom sub-marine cable and offer their customers international broadband connectivity at a fraction of the current cost.<\/p>\n
DFA has developed a unique mechanical system of trenching which causes the minimum disruption to traffic and damage to the road service – something that has been a major concern of the metros.<\/p>\n
“We mechanically trench using a machine that cuts a trench near to the side of the road with the minimal disruption to any traffic. Once the ducting is laid, the trench is filled, compacted and surfaced with a special compound that is stronger and more durable than the original road surface. The only trace one can see is the darker strip but otherwise it is flush with the road and compatible with future resurfacing of the road.<\/p>\n
“Four ducts are laid and within each duct there are seven smaller colour-coded ducts in which fibre cables are blown. Each cable has 72 fibres so with typically two fibres per customer, each cable can serve 30 customers with some fibres spare, should a fibre go faulty. Once the ducting is in place additional fibre cables can be “blow in”. While current cables have 72 individual fibres, some of the latest ones go up to 96 fibres.<\/p>\n
“We do not provide any services other than fibre cables. We have manholes in front of most buildings along our routes where the cable can be tapped and the fibre taken into the building. Customers then provide their own terminal equipment on either side of the fibre connection. On long routes, say from the centre of Johannesburg to Vereeniging, we will work with the customer and determine where they should insert a repeater.”<\/p>\n
The cables are monitored from a state-of-the-art network monitoring centre (NOC) in Rivonia, Gauteng. Any break or damage is immediately picked up. The distance to where the break occurred is measured and a response team is despatched to fix the problem. “World-wide statistics show that if one fibre break is picked up, it is likely that there is a total break in the cable. During the laying process slack is left in the manhole which allows any break to be fixed fast,” said Kirby.<\/p>\n
Manhole covers are so constructed that they can only be opened with a GPRS-enabled key which allows the monitoring of technicians issued with a key. The network operating centre then knows exactly where each technician is. When a technician inserts the key into a manhole, the manhole number and location shows up on a screen and only if satisfied that the technician is authorised to work in that manhole, is a signal sent to enable the opening of the lock. The time spent at the manhole and the locking of it is also monitored and controlled.<\/p>\n
With DFA, fibre-to-the curb is a reality. It is now up to operators to take it into the building and provide services. Hyperband connectivity is fast becoming a reality.<\/p>\n