Nokia has announced its second fibre broadband partnership in South Africa in as many days – this one with ICT solutions provider Reflex and ISP Net Nine Nine, and also with the aim of expanding broadband access for underserved communities.
Under the partnership announced on Tuesday, Reflex and Net Nine Nine will utilize Nokia’s fiber broadband solution to bring affordable broadband services to underserved, low-income communities. The deployment is currently underway in Gauteng and Free State provinces, and will be expanded later to other communities.
Nokia said that Reflex is leading the deployment. No technical or financial details were disclosed.
Net Nine Nine CEO Albert Oosthuysen said the fibre deployments would support essential digital services such as online education, telehealth, and remote working that are crucial to economic growth and social inclusion.
“Net Nine Nine has always had the goal of bridging the digital divide here in South Africa, and we’re already making great strides across South Africa’s township communities,” he said in a statement. “With this partnership, we’re in an even better position to bridge that gap without having to sacrifice the quality of services for these areas.”
The Reflex and Net Nine Nine deal comes a day after Nokia announced that South African ISP Fibertime will deploy its fibre solution to expand broadband access to underserved regions.
That deployment will initially cover Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gqeberha, Mangaung and Stellenbosch.
According to Nokia, currently less than 85% of South Africans have access to high-speed broadband, with many using mobile internet services that are up to 70 times more expensive per gigabit than fibre.
