Optical & Fixed Networks

Huawei and South Africa’s BBI partner for intelligent backbone network

South Africa's national broadband infrastructure company Broadband Infraco (BBI) has reportedly partnered with Huawei to build a national intelligent all-optical backbone network.

South Africa's national broadband infrastructure company Broadband Infraco (BBI) has reportedly partnered with Huawei to build a national intelligent all-optical backbone network.

BBI has utilised Huawei's Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) technology to deliver high-speed, flexible transmission with 800G wavelengths across its network. This is described as a leap that will support the vast expansion of broadband access networks envisioned under South Africa's national broadband strategy, SA Connect.

It also enables massive volumes of data to be transferred between cities or data centres in real time, potentially powering applications in healthcare, education, e-commerce, and e-government, as well as fuelling South Africa's digital economy.

To date, through its intelligent all-optical backbone and partnerships with local service providers, BBI has connected over 13,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and more than 2 million homes in rural areas nationwide and regions with underdeveloped network services.

The network will also support South Africa's new optical fibre route, which connects Johannesburg to the Kopfontein border, thereby strengthening high-speed cross-border connectivity across the SADC region. The full backbone will span all nine provinces of South Africa and extend to the borders with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, providing broad regional access.

Huawei says the network directly supports the goals of SA Connect, and will bring affordable, stable, and high-quality broadband to all people in South Africa.

As a state-owned enterprise mandated by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) to expand South Africa's broadband infrastructure, BBI is implementing the upgrade as part of what it calls its Backbone Network Expansion Strategy.

The collaboration aims to extend ICT infrastructure nationwide and make connectivity more affordable, closing gaps between urban and rural areas as well as between South Africa and industrialised nations.



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