Vumatel’s mission to bring more affordable Internet to the masses has run into a three-month challenge in one particular township in the Western Cape.
Crime and violence over the past few weeks have derailed some of fibre network operator Vumatel’s network rollout and maintenance plans in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.Typically, FNO outages shared by the ISP with its customers will be around for a few hours, days, or weeks at a maximum, before being resolved.
Dewald Booysen, chief operations officer at Vumatel holding company Maziv, said the FNO was prioritising the safety of its staff and contractors while also protecting assets — including equipment and its network. He added that it might have repercussions on surrounding areas, as the infrastructure passing through the affected location often served other communities.
However, the company’s strategy in recent years has been more keenly focused on targeting customers in underserved areas than its rivals.an even lower-cost product called Vuma Key. It is aimed at areas where the average household income is below R5,000 per month and where there are large concentrations of multi-dwelling properties.Booysen explained that Vumatel would not use a hard-handed approach to deal with the issues in Khayelitsha.