Options for fibre network in Obs increasing

By Mark Neville

The options available for fast Internet connections in Observatory are about to increase, with two private companies about to build commercial optic fibre networks in the area.

Today there are four ways that you can connect your house to the internet.

You can use the fixed telephone line networks (ADSL), the cell phone networks (4G and LTE), a fixed wireless connection, or have an optic fibre cable installed into your house.

The last of these options is about to become available in Observatory. Vumatel (vumatel.co.za) plans to install overhead optic fibre cables on the electricity poles, and Octatel (octatel.co.za) is planning to install cables underground.

Both Companies use the City's optic fibre cable network through its Salt River exchange, currently being extended into Observatory to connect the library and other buildings.

The main advantage of optic fibre cables is that they have far more capacity than the other methods.

This is what most of us think of as "speed", "Megabits per second", "Mbps" or just "megs". Optic fibre also has lower latency or "time delay" in sending a bit of digital data between you and where ever.

And unlike 4G or LTE, its not subject to electromagnetic interference, or affected by the weather. Vuma's normal approach is to lay optic fibre cables in ducts under the ground, and extend this to individual homes on the request of the home owner, or an Internet Service Provider (ISP) acting on the owner's behalf.

But in Observatory, they intend to string cable between the electricity poles, as they have rights from the City Council to do so.

Vuma's marketing approach is to try and get as many people as possible to 'commit' to their service in advance.

The flyers through our letterboxes are an effort to achieve this. They push for a non-binding "commitment" as an indication that sufficient members of a given community are potentially interested in their service, and then expect to "convert" at least 30% of the homes to fibre within a six month period.

Octatel will instead lay underground cables. Expect to also see marketing from Octatel soon.

Their cables will be underground rather than overhead using a slightly different technology, which may prove to be faster that the Vuma technology.

LTE, which is a technology used by the cell phone companies, is an alternative to optic fibre, it's not available everywhere in Observatory, but this should improve if the proposal to erect a new multi-tenant mast in Lynton Road (next to the railway station) is approved.

Fixed wireless connections have been available in Observatory for a while, provided by Vanilla, an ISP (vanilla.co.za).

Fixed wireless services are fast enough for homes and most businesses. The cost per Mbps is very competitive with fibre, and cheaper than LTE. (Disclosure: I am a director of Vanilla.)

So, how should you decide? First, how much speed do you need? 20Mbps should be fast enough for most homes.

Then look at the split between monthly charge for the connection (sometimes called the "line charge") and the data.

How much are you going to pay for each Mbps of speed?

Then look at the data costs. If you have a faster connection you are likely to use more of it!

What is the price for 100GB? Some ISPs offer an unlimited amount (called "uncapped") at a flat rate. Lastly , don't forget any once-off, upfront connection charges or equipment costs.

The OCA will host a public question and answer workshop with ISPs on Tuesday 29 August at 6pm at the Community Centre.