Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) provider Vuma has partnered with information and communication technology group Huawei to launch 50G Passive Optical Network (PON) capabilities, significantly higher than the existing 2.5 Gb/s capabilities currently in use, in South Africa.

The deployment of this next generation fibre technology to the South African market, following its testing phase, will deliver considerably higher upload and download fibre broadband speeds accessible to Vuma customers on its FTTH network, meeting growing consumer demand for faster, higher capacity and more stable connectivity.

“Vuma’s investment in the testing and rollout of the new Huawei PON technology is future-proofing our network, which will allow us to enable much more capacity over the last mile fibre and increase speeds as our customers require – about 20 times faster than the current capabilities deployed,” said Vuma CTO Francois Swart.

The duo launched the joint innovation at the Huawei Eco Connect sub-Saharan Africa summit on July 6.

“We have launched the best technology currently available in the African market with our top customer, Vuma, which speaks volumes to the values of innovation and empowerment through connectivity that Huawei and Vuma share,” said Huawei optical business product line VP Kim Jin.

“Through this partnership, our goal, much like Vuma’s, is to support increased connectivity access to all South Africans, and to bridge the gap in access to high-quality digital services.”

Huawei optical business product line president Richard Jin told delegates at the conference of Huawei’s vision for South Africa and making truly high-speed connectivity more accessible to everyone.

“Fibre broadband will significantly promote innovation and employment for the country. However, the penetration rate of fixed broadband in most African countries is much lower than global average. This is both a challenge and an opportunity," he continued.

“We cannot allow the digital era to introduce another segregation of a section of our freedom. We are committed to bridging the digital divide and making sure that we have a digitally inclusive society,” said Communications and Digital Technologies Deputy Minister Philly Mapulane, concluding that telecommunications companies had a critical role to play in expanding the reach of connectivity in the country.