La Lucia first with super fast internet

FOLLOWING community outrage last week, MTN announced the launch of its  R1.2-billion fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) upgrade project in the scenic suburb of La Lucia. The official launch was hosted in uMhlanga earlier today.

While the launch of this high-speed fibre network marks the first deployment of FTTH in the province, it has also raised the ire of local residents. This is according to home owner, Joe Santos, who dubbed the project the ‘the construction project from hell’.

Not only has the construction company, Huawei Technologies, destroyed residents’ driveways and water pipes, but its workers also severed electricity cables and security alarm cabling along the road. What’s more, said Santos, was the residents were not given proper warming about the massive project.

The upgrade commenced in La Lucia on 20 July, but residents claimed that they only received a letter in the post last week Tuesday, informing them about the project. However, Paul Buttery, senior regional manager of network operations at MTN South Africa, insisted that notices had been posted at the properties that would be affected by the civil works.

Thus far, Huawei Technologies have managed to install three of the 21km-long cables. It has been estimated that more than 439 homes will be connected to the 100 Mbps network upon its completion. In a statement, MTN said it hoped to have the first home connected by the end of October.

“MTN’s deployment of a fibre network in La Lucia marks an important milestone in our FTTH ambitions as it reaffirms our commitment to become a key player in this arena. Equally important, it allows us to give the residents of La Lucia a high-performing network that will bring them into the digital age and offer them a distinct customer experience,” said Alpheus Mangale,, MTN business SA chief enterprise officer.

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