What is the status of FTTH in Angola?

Article submitted by Henrikaly Anibal. Do you want to share knowledge with the other followers of MenosFios? Follow the steps.

Given the population growth factor that is registered in the continent
Africa, the effort of governments and regulators who have
due to the ICT framework in our societies. In Angola there are outstanding projects, such as:

• National Fiber Optic Project
• Second International Connection Point (WACS)
• Third Angola-Brazil Connection Point (SACS)
• Standardization and Migration for DTT
• Launch of the 1 Satellite (AngoSat)

However, there has been a significant increase in Angolans / Africans in the use of social networks, video sharing or multimedia. In this context, information traffic is increasing, which will require operators to increase their coverage and investment in infrastructures. In Africa in particular, the most prevalent broadband type is mobile, such as 3G, 4G, which are not only the fastest to implement (compared to fixed networks) but also have a return on investment (ROI). English, Return on Investment] faster.

In a webinar organized by Africacom in partnership with Xalam Analytics, a particular technology was fixed internet access networks, as well as voice and TV - to a certain extent similar to the metropolitan networks implemented by ZAP and TVCABO - FTTH, FTTB. In order to increase the use of the internet in the country, as well as to increase the international ICT indicators defined by ITU-T, policies to encourage the increase of this type of networks should be emphasized more.

FTTH (Acronym for Fiber-to-the-Home - Fiber for the home) is a technology for interconnecting homes through optical fiber to provide digital TV, digital radio, Internet access and telephony services. - in Wikipedia

Since it is a type of technology that requires a lot of investment capital for the implementation of the optical network, resulting in a longer implementation period and a long-term ROI, regulators must then create strategies such as: Implementing a public network and operators only are responsible for equipment to reduce CAPEX (Capital Expenditure), it would probably attract more operators.

During the webinar question and answer session I asked the Managing Director of Xalam Analytics, Mr. Guy Zibia about what would then be the difficulty of African regulators in creating policies to attract investment in FTTH?, he replied that it is actually a straightforward but difficult question to answer, I believe it should be because our leaders are not projecting for the future or with a vision in the future.

Another question addressed was whether FTTH / P is a luxury in the African market?

By the research done by Xalam, it is not, but due to the cost of implementation, regulatory barriers, because Africa is predominantly wireless, the demand in this market is not high enough have been the main barriers to the growth of this market.

Other factors in my view are: the urbanization of African cities and the high cost charged by operators like TVCabo or ZAP. Usually only middle-income households would be available to obtain services from these operators. And carriers are more prominent in offering services in densely populated areas, or in business, industrial zones for faster ROI.

As a summary, policies should be designed to increase investment and as long as African countries do not significantly increase living standards or income and the places where they live, Africa will continue to do so when it comes to penetration of Internet access.