Saldanha Bay municipality’s fibre network will be a basic utility for residents
The Saldanha Bay Municipality has launched its Baobab proof-of-concept project, which aims to make fibre a utility in the area.
It said the project is a joint initiative through the Saldanha Bay Innovation Helix programme, with Stellenbosch University and the private sector.
The municipality said the network will be based on a “municipal-centric model that creates a future-enabled, open, equitable, and transparent shared open access infrastructure”.
It will be an innovative business model and solution that “enables basic service delivery for the municipality to provide services to communities, underpinned by enabling fair competition amongst private sector service providers”, it added.
“The open access fibre network will enable connectivity for all residents of the Saldanha Bay municipality, and forms part of a new beginning for the region’s basic utility service delivery and infrastructure development,” said the municipality.
“The high-capacity telco-grade fibre infrastructure functions as the enabler for true convergence and the birth of a true smart city.”
It said that by reclaiming the municipality’s legal and regulatory rights to own fibre infrastructure as a utility, fibre can be leveraged as a new municipal revenue stream.
“The project now moves from POC status to full deployment and is expected to come into full swing within the next two years.”
The project can be followed at sbm.agilitygis.com, said the municipality.
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