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www.thevillagenews.co.za
5 August 2020
New technology to replace ADSL Writer De Waal Steyn
R
esidents in Hermanus who make use of Telkom’s existing ADSL network will soon have to switch over to a fibre internet connection after it was announced that the telecoms company will shut down its ADSL offering on 1 September.
According to Openserve, the wholesale connectivity division of Telkom Group, all areas where fibre connectivity is available will be affected by the shutdown. According to a list provided by the company, Hermanus and Onrus will lose their ADSL connection. Other towns in the Overstrand are not listed for shutdown. In a letter sent to internet service providers (ISPs) the company said this move was part of its continued drive to upgrade services to next-generation technologies and reduce infrastructure duplication. The network requested the assistance of ISPs to help migrate customers from older technologies to fibre, noting that the standard cancellation and ordering processes would apply. The network added that all fibre installations for ADSL services that are migrated will be free. “Openserve assures you of our intention to carry out our broadband network infrastructure upgrade with the least amount of disruption to your customers. We remain confident that the Openserve modernisation programme will benefit your business and your customers in the long run,” the company stated in the letter to ISPs. “Our strategy is to work closely with our ISP partners to offer fibre
connectivity and support them to migrate their customers on to it. With the increase in the need for faster and stable speeds for people working and learning from home, we believe this initiative ‘connects’ with the end-customers’ expectations,” according to the company. Openserve CEO Althon Beukes said that in its drive to give the end-customers the best experience, Openserve will be discontinuing its copper-based broadband connectivity in areas where it has replaced it with the Openserve Fibre to the Home (FTTH) solution, and would encourage users to proactively move to its FTTH connectivity proposition through Openserve’s ISP partners, the company stated. “We are encouraging all customers to move on to our modernised FTTH network and experience the joys of being able to connect and consume all required services on it,” Beukes said. He added that in areas where Openserve is yet to build out end-to-end fibre infrastructure, and finds its current copper infrastructure to be stable and reliable, the company will continue to support, maintain, and provide ADSL and VDSL services. “Openserve will also be taking strict measures not to sell services in areas where the copper infrastructure is old, of poor quality and has been prone to theft, vandalism and breakages.” Beukes stated that while Openserve will migrate copper-connected customers to fibre where possible, it will continue to support its copper infrastructure as part of a hybrid fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) solution. He said that the widespread need to have stable connectivity across a greater number of homes has led it to
believe that both fibre and copper can act effectively in quickly and reliably fulfilling the needs of customers. “This hybrid use of both fibre and copper has proven very successful in many parts of the world including USA, New Zealand and UK to name a few.” Openserve’s hybrid FTTC solution comprises a fibre connection to the curb or cabinet on the street and a copper connection to the individual customer’s home. According to the company, this solution can scale up to speeds of 40Mbps, which it said will allow it to compete with FTTH at more affordable wholesale prices. According to fibre network provider, Lightstruck, work is continuing unabated to install fibre cables in Hermanus. “Lightstruck began installing fibre cabling in town last year and we are currently busy with installations in Fernkloof and Hermanus Heights,” said CEO Hannes Pieterse. According to him there have been some delays during the lockdown but the company is confident that the current projects will be completed soon. The installation process has been completed in the CBD and Eastcliff. “The areas to follow will be Westcliff and Sandbaai, where there is good demand for fibre connections. At this stage we are unable to give a firm date on when work in these areas will start, but residents are welcome to visit www.lightstruck.co.za for more information or to register for a connection. We offer uncapped connections between 20Mbps and 100Mbps either through your existing local ISP or through our own suppliers, YUTiLiTi,” said Pieterse.
Deon Langenhoven has stepped down as Commander of NSRI Station 17, Hermanus to take up the role as operations manager at NSRI Head Quarters. André Barnard was voted in as the new Station Commander on Saturday. Members of the NSRI thanked Deon for his many years of service and dedication and welcomed André in his new role. Hermanus NSRI recently took occupation of their brand-new base in the New Harbour. More than R14 million has been spent on building the new station (see building design by Nicolette Lloyd Architectural Design below), which will also take delivery of a new ORC search and rescue vessel to the value of R15 million at the end of the year.
