Council approves R300 million for a Fibre Optic Network

By Anele Siwa
08 December 2007

The Council of the City of Cape Town has dedicated itself to a R300 million investment in a fibre optic network.

“A full meeting of the Council on 5 December 2007 generally approved an advice to install an initial 171 km network of fibre optic cables, linking all the main administrative complexes,” says Head of Department of Telecommunications in Western Cape Leon van Wyk.

“The City will not be running its own telephone company. It is not our intention to displace or compete with the private sector,” says Wyk.

According to Councillor Belinda Walker, Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services and Human Resources Cape Town is the first major city in South Africa to adopt such a plan.


“The City has over 10,000 computer users, who are increasingly dependent on data networks and the Internet to do their work. The current bandwidth available to us is totally insufficient”, says the City’s Chief Information Officer Nirvesh Sooful.

The project is also associated with the telecommunication requirements for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

According to Sooful this project will support the City’s 2010 ventures in at least four ways:
- Fan zones will need fibre infrastructure
- FIFA residence and dignitary spaces need broadband facilities
- Stadium management, security and traffic control require broadband connectivity
- Showing Cape Town to be a "smart city" will help to attract foreign investment after the event