A Parkhurst community organisation aims to turn the Johannesburg suburb into a high-speed Internet hub, urging telecoms service providers to install fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) in the area.
The plans, announced yesterday by the Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association (PRABOA), aim to enable faster connections and enhance neighbourhood security by deploying high-definition (HD) closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance.
PRABOA is driving the initiative and says more than 150 community members voted in favour of the proposal during a recent meeting. Ryan Hawthorne, technical advisor to PRABOA, says the group will welcome bids from telecoms service providers, which are expected to outline how much residents and local businesses would have to pay.
"One of the problems with standard CCTV is that unless you can connect it to a facility which can carry HD video, you usually can't see details, so that's why we decided to link up FTTH to improve local security," says Hawthorne.
He notes that one security provider would be used to monitor and operate the CCTV, with CSS Tactical and Cortac Security being among the potential companies. "Parkhurst needs 30% uptake for the [telecoms] vendors to come on board. The whole thing won't happen until between 600 and 620 residences sign up."
Hawthorne notes that a range of telecoms companies have been approached to submit bids, including Axxess, Atec Systems, MTN, Vodacom, Vuma and SA Digital Villages. "One of the proposals indicated that residents would be offered 100Mbps line speed for about R700 per month, with data being offered from as low as R2 per GB from several data providers."
According to Vuma's offer on the PRABOA Web site, a 1 000Mbps line would cost residents R1 299 per month.
A recent survey conducted among residents indicated 67% of the respondents were willing to pay R750 per month or more for fibre connectivity, and 77% were prepared to fork out R1 000 or more in installation and capital costs.
Worth a shot
Mark Walker, director of insights and vertical industries at the International Data Corporation for Middle East, Turkey and Africa, says the proposed FTTH has potential to succeed, but only in certain areas of SA. "You always have to look at whether the infrastructure is available and if FTTH can be provided at reasonable prices.
"The benchmark would be look at existing uncapped ADSL prices, but linking the whole proposal to security enhancements is a clever way to get buy-in," Walker adds.
Hawthorne notes Parkhurst residents have had "unreliable and slow ADSL", because of the distance from the closest Telkom exchange. "What we are looking for is a reliable network operator who will be able to address the community's need.
"The reality is that there are a lot of vendors who have interest in this. People must just push for it to go ahead."
Similar FTTH plans are afoot in Craighall Park, according to Ryan Roseveare, CraigPark Residents Association chairperson, who said in a speech last week that talks are under way for Dimension Data to install a fibre-optic network in the area.
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