Nokia and Fibertime have teamed up to expand affordable fiber broadband to underserved communities in South Africa.
Fibertime will connect the next 1.5 million homes with high-speed internet using Nokia’s Lightspan FX Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) and Wi-Fi 6-enabled Optical Network Terminals (ONTs).
This deployment aims to close South Africa’s digital gap, where high-speed broadband remains inaccessible to 85% of the population.
The new fiber service will offer uncapped and unthrottled internet at just R5 per day, a major shift from costly mobile data plans. Mobile internet in South Africa can be up to 70 times more expensive than fiber on a per-gigabit basis.
Through this project, Nokia and Fibertime seek to empower local communities with affordable internet, opening doors to new opportunities in education, employment, and business.
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Connecting Communities with Fast, Reliable Internet
Initially, the fiber network will cover key cities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gqeberha, Mangaung, and Stellenbosch. Fibertime plans to extend its reach to other parts of South Africa and potentially other African nations.
Over the next 36 months, the company will deploy 500,000 Nokia Wi-Fi 6-enabled ONTs, focusing on connecting households in low-income areas.
In addition to these ONTs, Fibertime will use Nokia’s ONT Easystart tool to streamline the installation and activation process. Nokia’s Altiplano platform will also be used to support network automation and scalability, ensuring smoother service rollout.
Nokia’s fiber technology is well-suited to both urban and rural environments. “Our scalable OLT portfolio provides flexible coverage for both densely populated and rural areas,” said Sandy Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia. “Together, these solutions allow Fibertime to speed up deployments and provide the capacity to bring thousands of customers online at once.”
Fibertime founder Alan Knott-Craig highlights the significant market potential. “We’re unlocking a massive, untapped market of 13 million homes in South Africa that are ready for affordable, quality internet,” he said.
Knott-Craig estimates that the rollout will require an investment of about R60 billion over the next decade, offering promising returns.
With this partnership, Nokia and Fibertime aim to bridge South Africa’s digital divide. The effort has the potential to drive social and economic growth, making the internet accessible to communities previously left offline.