Fibre Booms in SA Due to Small Towns Embracing New Tech, Nicknamed “Zoom Towns”

• When fibre internet connectivity was first introduced in South Africa, many small towns refused to install the relevant technology and infrastructure
• Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, working remotely has become very popular, and the demand for fibre connectivity has grown across South Africa
• Due to fears about how living in densely populated cities can cause a rapid transmission of Covid-19 infections, many people have opted to move to small towns

CAPE TOWN - When fibre internet connectivity was first introduced in South Africa, many small towns refused to install the relevant technology and infrastructure, particularly in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

However, since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, working remotely has become very popular, and the demand for fibre connectivity has grown across South Africa. In addition, residents of small towns are keen to join the metropolitan lifestyle of having easy access to fast and reliable internet connections, earning them the nickname "Zoom Towns."

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Due to fears about how living in densely populated cities can cause a rapid transmission of Covid-19 infections, many people have opted to leave metropolitan areas to move to small towns. Therefore they require fibre connectivity to keep up with the demand of their remote jobs while living in these areas, Business Insider reports.

The growth of fibre companies in South Africa

According to MyBroadband, fibre internet is the fastest growing connection type in South Africa as more people desire the reliable and fast connectivity it offers. Currently, nearly 2 million South Africans have fibre internet installed in their homes.

Vumatel, Openserve, Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), Telkom and MTN have shown the most growth in the fibre industry. At over 165 000 km, Telkom has the widest-reaching fibre network in South Africa, followed by Vodacom and MTN.

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The latest report is based on data collected between 2015 and 2019. Therefore it does not take growth during the Covid-19 pandemic into account.

Ntshavheni wants to connect all South Africans to the internet in 4 years

In previous news about connectivity, Briefly News reported that the South African government had launched a development project that will see South Africa manufacturing state-owned satellites to connect all citizens to the digital space.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, plans to see this project coming to fruition in the next three to four years.

A satellite project of this magnitude usually takes eight to 10 years to complete. However, Ntshavheni says the department is working towards finding ways to expedite the project.

Source: Briefly News