Fibre competitors are good for your pocket

While the roll-out of fibre optic cables in Benoni continues to be a thorn in the side of some homeowners, the good news is that the project in Benoni is estimated to be complete by the end of October – however, this is an indicative date and can change due to the large-scale civil nature of the project.

This is according to Vumatel’s key account manager for Farrarmere, Northmead and Lakeside, Travis Mason.

Morehill resident Marthinus Barnard recently aired his unhappiness about more than one company installing the fibre cables in Benoni and questioned why this is necessary.

He said their pavements have been dug up three times by three different service providers since November, last year.

“The three companies, in sequence of digging, are Openweb, Vumatel and now TT_Connect,” claimed Barnard.

“From what I understand, more companies will still be coming.

“But with each project infrastructure – water, electricity, paving, the stormwater drainage system, etc. – is damaged, which causes great inconvenience to residents.”

He said one Saturday morning a main water pipe was damaged by contractors and water supply to a large area was interrupted.

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The City Times contacted Vumatel, one of the installers of the fibre cabling for the various service providers, to get clarity on why more than one company has to install the fibre.

Mason explained that the current boom in fibre-to-homes has encouraged multiple companies to enter the market.

“A single fibre company would become a monopoly, so it is healthy to have competition as this drives prices down for the end consumer.

“All fibre companies operate under the Electronic Communications Act and are able to ‘overbuild’ each other and lay their own network.”

Mason said this is not ideal, but it is a reality.

“This allows consumers to not only have a choice of internet service providers, but also a choice of network providers.

The various providers – Openweb, Vumatel and TT_Connect – are currently in the process of rolling out fibre optic across Benoni.

“We are committed to making ourselves available and working with the community throughout the process,” Mason said.

The Vumatel area managers for the various suburbs can be contacted on these email addresses if residents have queries or complaints:

• Farrarmere@vumatel.co.za

• Northmead@vumatel.co.za

• Lakeside@vumatel.co.za

• Airfield@vumatel.co.za

• Rynfield@vumatel.co.za

• Morehill@vumatel.co.za

The City Times is awaiting comment from the Ekurhuleni metro regarding several issues related to the fibre roll-out in Benoni, and particularly who fits the bill for water leaks and other infrastructure damage.

Also read: Vumatel fibre coming to a place near you

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