SOUTH AFRICA – Fibre broadband player Vumatel has promised to connect every school that it passes to its network.
Vumatel announced that every school on its network will be equipped with a 1Gbps (gigabit per second) line and uncapped access.
The company has piloted the connectivity at Greenside High, Hoërskool Linden and Parkhurst Primary.
“The bandwidth provided by Vuma is making a big difference. It is an enabler,” said Pieter Hugo, parent and tech specialist on the governing body at Hoërskool Linden.
“Since introducing the fibre connection we have found that the learners are getting through a greater number of lessons, much quicker than previously experienced on ADSL,” said Sanjeev Maharaj, the principal of Parkhurst Primary.
Vumatel challenged other service provider to match it in connecting schools.
“We challenge other broadband providers to follow our lead and work together as the private sector in addressing one of South Africa’s key challenges,” said Vumatel chief executive Niel Schoeman.
“The incremental cost for telcos to do this for schools are negligible when compared to the potential and fundamental impact it can have,” he added.
Vumatel is among a number of companies racing to deploy fibre broadband service and it expects to roll out fibre broadband access to 80 schools this year.
Fabruary 18, 2016; http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/vumatel-brings-free-fibre-broadband-to-schools-20160218