Fibre-to-the-home is gaining traction in South Africa, with new FTTH subscriptions exceeding new ADSL subscriptions.
Greg Wright, Webafrica’s product owner for hosting and connectivity, told MyBroadband that three-times more people currently sign up for FTTH than ADSL.
“We’re seeing tremendously strong growth in the FTTH market – the only constraint currently is the underlying infrastructure player who can’t install our customers fast enough,” said Wright.
What is particularly impressive about new FTTH accounts outstripping ADSL accounts is the limited availability of fibre connections in South Africa.
FTTH is only available in a low number of neighbourhoods, mainly in metropolitan areas, while ADSL is available across the country.
Many of the new FTTH clients are migrating from ADSL, due to the higher speeds and better service levels associated with fibre.
“A significant number are migrating from ADSL to FTTH, and this number is particularly high at Webafrica because we’re actively encouraging the conversion through internal mechanisms,” said Wright.
Vox Telecom’s Justin Hovener said they receive around 50% more FTTH sign-ups than new ADSL applications.
He said they are seeing strong growth in the fibre market, with many ADSL subscribers migrating to the technology.
“FTTH penetration into suburban SA is on the increase, so although still a niche product, the consumer appetite for the new technology is increasing,” said Hovener.
“Fibre comes at a single cost, unlike ADSL which is a combination of analogue line cost, plus ADSL service fee, plus ISP data account – all of which pushes the total cost of ownership up.”
Cybersmart CTO Laurie Fialkov said they receive far more FTTH orders than ADSL, especially when their Lightspeed fibre products are included.
He said there is strong growth in the fibre market, with most ADSL users migrating to fibre when it becomes available in their neighbourhood.
This article first appeared on MyBroadband and is republished with permission.
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ftth is a scam. have not seen it in my area and do not believe it is true.