What the Internet looks like in rich Joburg
The Parkview Residents Association says it has issued a Request for Proposals to companies interested in providing fibre-to-the-home in the affluent Joburg suburb.
The residents body said it has been working for some time researching and consulting with experts on the opportunities to deploy a FTTH network in it’s suburb.
The association said it conducted a survey in August, which revealed strong demand for broadband in the area.
The survey found that four out of five households currently with a home Internet connection would consider switching to a new fast broadband service that was vetted and endorsed by the PRA and less than 5% would not consider switching from their current provider.
Nine out of 10 respondents without a home Internet connection stated they would still consider a fibre connection, the PRA said.
Parkview is following in the footsteps of the Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners Association which recently nominated Vumatel as its preferred provider to supply fibre to the North Joburg suburb.
Parkview FTTH Survey results
The PRA said it published an online questionnaire at the end of July 2014 to test demand for fast broadband services. 632 responses were received by the deadline in the second week of August. The PRA estimates this represents more than 60% of owner-occupiers or renters in the suburb.
It found that 92% of respondents have a current Internet connection at home with ADSL being by far the most common service.
Majority (61%) have ADSL connections at speeds between 1 and 5 Mbps, while a quarter (24%) have ADSL of 10Mbps or above.
According to the survey, 45% of households use between 10 and 50 GB of data per month. One in eight (12%) use more than 50 GB.
Almost a third (31%) pay between R300 and R499 per month. Over a third (37%) pay between R500 and R799. Over a fifth (22%) pay more than R800 per month. Almost 6 out of 10 (59%) Internet households also pay over R100 per month on landline calls.
Most non-Internet households don’t have a landline at all.
Demographics
The survey confirmed the demographics of the area as being mostly families. Most (51%) households in Parkview have children or teenagers. Average household size is four (including adults and children).
More than three quarters of respondents indicated willingness to pay between R700 and R900 per month for speeds of 50Mbps to 100Mbps (inclusive of data costs and ISP service).
One in eight would pay R900 per month for 100Mbps connection with 100GB data (line and ISP inclusive).
50Mbps was the most popular choice of speed based on an estimated cost of R700 per month plus installation cost or R900 with no installation cost (line and ISP inclusive).
Concerns and Issues
A number of respondents were concerned about poor execution in restoring roads and pavements.
“If they have to dig up roads/pavements they MUST be properly repaired!” Some comments clearly showed that price is a major factor for many.”
There was also concern about data caps and shaping.
“I would prefer an uncapped (or soft capped) service. With iPad app updates and video streaming 100GB gets used quickly!”
The PRA said it plans to review submissions later this month.
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