Fibre helps drive SA economy during COVID-19 pandemic

Shane Chorley, Head of Sales and Marketing at Frogfoot Networks.

If the lockdown South Africa is currently experiencing is highlighting anything then it is to show that access to fibre has become as much a human right as electricity and running water. With many employees now having to work from home and others placed on enforced leave, high-speed, reliable, and affordable internet access becomes critical.

“Even if the country is still very much in a fibre deployment phase, the competitive landscape in South Africa has enabled fibre providers to roll out at aggressive rates. This has resulted in the growth of demand for fibre at homes with people discovering increasingly innovative ways to benefit from its use,” says Shane Chorley, head of sales and marketing at Frogfoot Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vox.

Going faster

While installing a fibre connection inside a house can be disruptive, it provides a far more consistent experience than what is available from wireless technologies such as 4G, LTE, and 3G. As more home users are accessing a range of bandwidth-intensive applications such as video streaming services and video conferencing solutions, the wireless networks have struggled to maintain service levels.

“But once fibre is installed, the ability to upgrade it is relatively simple because it is a fixed-line connection. This also means that even if the home user is unsure about what line speed to get, the internet service provider can upgrade it in real-time to more accurately reflect their needs.”

This means that unlike 4G which has a theoretical maximum download speed of 100Mbps (assuming there are no other users on the network), a fibre line can be upgraded to 1Gbps with no contention (meaning the line speed is not impacted by the amount of users on your home network). To put this into context, a high definition movie might take 15 minutes to download over a 100Mbps 4G line when nobody else is using it. That same movie will take less than 30 seconds to download on the 1Gbps fibre connection even if other members of the household are using the line.

“Given the current COVID-19 crisis the country is experiencing, we have made the strategic decision to move customers to higher line speeds free of charge from 1 April to 30 June. This Double Up promotion is vital to mitigate against some of the economic impact the lock down will have on South Africans. With more people accessing fibre from home during this period, we anticipate some will use connectivity more excessively, whilst others might still maintain their usual behaviour. But given the increased demand for video streaming services and work from home solutions, this promotion will ensure a consistent user experience.”

Essential service

Chorley says that fibre providers such as Frogfoot are classified as an essential service, forming part of the telecommunication basket of providers. This means that it can continue running and maintaining its network.

“While we will be able to continue with home installations, some of the practical aspects around this will still need to be understood. There is a balance to what we want to do versus what is possible. So, even though we can certify our contractors and suppliers to work during this lock down period, the entire supply chain must be operational. For example, how will our contractors get access to what has been labelled as non-essential materials during this time?”

He says that the highest priority for the business will always be the safety of its employees and its customers.

“There has been a massive spike in demand for fibre over the past several days. We will put all the necessary health and safety checks in place for our contractors performing installations and we will never force ourselves into people’s homes. Customers must request an installation to take place and we will manage the process as safely as possible.”

Focus on infrastructure

Adding complexity to this is the confusion that still exists between what fibre providers like Frogfoot are responsible for and how internet service providers (ISPs) come into the process.

“People should think of us as the ones supplying the highway. The ISP manages the traffic on the highway. We rarely deal with end users as the ISP is the customer-facing part of the fibre journey. Fibre providers enable ISPs to do what they do and inject the infrastructure with different value adds. More user education is required in this regard, but we anticipate that the coming weeks will see people start realising and fully understanding the benefits of having a connected home and even a remote working environment,” he concludes.

Ready to take the leap and get connected with Fibre? Check for coverage here!

Who is Frogfoot? What do ISPs do?

Perhaps one of the most the frequent questions we get is, “…Aren’t you our Internet Service Provider?” So, what exactly does Frogfoot do, what does Open Access mean and what differentiates us from an Internet Service Provider? A lot, you’ll find. But we also all function together in an eco-system that ensures your fibre needs are always met.

The short answer is Frogfoot is a Fibre Networks Owner (FNO) and lays fibre in neighbourhoods. These lines are ‘rented’ by ISPs who choose to use our infrastructure. So, in a sense, your ISP is our customer and you are theirs.

Mind blown yet? Let’s continue.

The difference between Frogfoot (an FNO) and an ISP

A Fibre Network Owner manages and owns your fibre optic connectivity infrastructure. Our fibre optics are Froggin’ Fast and the infrastructure carries data to and from its originating point to its end-point. We provide connectivity to the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) industries

FNOs are responsible for the build of the infrastructure which includes; trenching, laying down fibre lines and finally reinstatement before connecting the zone to the node. After an area goes live, you, the customer can start enjoying Froggin’ Awesome Fibre!

Customers can also pre-order while an area is in ‘WIP’ or Work in Progress. For more information on laying fibre in your neighbourhood, read this article.

Who is the ISP?

As David Lindeque of Afrihost phrased it, “As the ISP, we have to wait for the FNO to have completed their trenching and for them to have backhaul links in place to the data centre. The time between trenching and ready-for-order is dependent on the FNO, and this timeline varies per company.”

An ISP or ‘Internet Service Provider’ is responsible for the day-to-day management of your fibre line. Your ISP is responsible for ensuring your line is always active. If such a time comes that the fault is due to our infrastructure, the ISP will flag this with our technical faults, maintenance and provisioning department who will gladly assist with the issue.

Who do you call for line issues?

If you experience any issues with your line, please contact your ISP. They should always perform first line checks to ensure the issue is not related to your ONT. If there is another issue that your ISP cannot solve on their end, they will notify our Faults, Provisioning or NOC department.

“At times, the FNO may be experiencing an issue and at times it may be the ISP. When a client is experiencing an issue, it is the responsibility of the ISP to investigate thoroughly and, regardless of whether the issue is on the FNO side or ISP side, do everything they can to restore the client’s link back to optimal status,” says Lindeque.

Every fault logged is given a ticket with a reference number. This reference number is important so please ensure your ISP shares this with you. Fault tickets logged begin with ‘FF’ followed by 6 digits.

If you are querying an outage in your area, installation or billing, please contact your ISP. Please note, since we are an open access fibre company, we do not bill you for your internet package, this is done by your internet service provider.

Who do I call regarding installation?

Although Frogfoot may lay the fibre and install the fibre into your home, your first and only point of call is your Internet Service Provider. They will have all information regarding your line status, speed, connectivity and installation dates.

When you place your order with an ISP and your address is in a Frogfoot region, your ISP will place an order with us on your behalf. Your account details such as name, address, order date, etc, are loaded onto our system where we communicate back and forth with your chosen ISP.

Who do I contact to find out when my area is live?

Our coverage map is very easy to use and will give you the exact dates of your chosen area. Whether your area is still in the Planning stage, WIP (Work in Progress) or is about to go live, simply add your full address in the search bar provided for a detailed look at your forecasted live date. Click here to visit our coverage map now.

In short, we plan to provide fibre to as many areas in South Africa as we can. Our aim is to focus on secondary towns who are “data-starved” and suffer from poor internet signal and crawling speed rates.

Who do I call for reinstatements?

With the necessary trenching and laying of fibre in roads, pavements and driveways, some excavation and uprooting is needed. We always strive to ensure that we leave our builds, exactly as we found them. Should you be unsatisfied with our reinstatement, we are always happy to help in any way we can. Please contact ftth@frogfoot.com to report any issues and we will gladly assist.

Ready to take the leap and get connected with Fibre? Check for coverage here!

Realising abundant connectivity through Open Access Fibre

Shane Chorley, Head of Sales and Marketing, Frogfoot Networks.

When it comes to Fibre connectivity, the concept of an Open Access business model is here to stay. It provides the most effective way of driving competition between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) while giving customers freedom of choice at affordable rates.

Under an Open Access model, the Fibre Network Operator (FNO) provides an infrastructure that can be used by any number of licensed ISPs. This creates a clear distinction between the responsibilities of both parties. The roll-out and maintenance of the physical infrastructure, for example, the fibre cables, are the domain of the FNO. The ISPs, in turn, are responsible for the value-added services offered on top of that, i.e. the internet access and support sold to the customer.

It is also why many operators in smaller towns are still clinging to a traditional approach that sees them providing both infrastructure and connectivity to customers. For them, it is about capturing an entire community from both FNO and ISP perspectives to eliminate any potential for competition. The implication of this is that things like customer service and product innovation will often be neglected.

The carrot they dangle in front of consumers and businesses with a demand for abundant, reliable, high-speed connectivity, is low rates. But once customers are on the network, there is little stopping the FNO/ISP from regularly increasing prices, leaving users with no choice but to keep on paying due to a lack of competition or alternative options.

Access done differently

With Open Access, the above-mentioned situation, where customers are stuck, with no other options, becomes at thing of the past.

Take Frogfoot Networks as an example. We supply fibre to over 140 ISPs on our national network. This means consumers and businesses can choose an ISP that delivers the value they are looking for at a price they can afford. The ISP has the benefit of getting access to fibre infrastructure at a standard price so it can focus on competing on quality, customer service, and value proposition. The FNO can commit to connecting as many cities and towns to high-speed internet with the ISP responsible for switching the customer on.

Of course, the challenge with this is that the FNO does not have a direct relationship with the end customer. It is very reliant on the ISP to provide and support customers with the service and sell the Fibre. Fortunately, the relationship between the ISP and the FNO is a mutually beneficial one. Each needs the other to deliver on their own strategic mandates to succeed.

Connecting South Africa

Because Open Access is becoming a more common practice, we see that larger FNOs may consolidate the smaller FNOs in time. The larger businesses will continue to roll out infrastructure throughout the country and will engage more with the ISPs servicing towns in remote areas.

But, this will not come without challenges. By taking fibre infrastructure out of the equation, a smaller ISP must now focus on expanding into other areas. So, while some might have only delivered wireless services due to a lack of fibre infrastructure, this is about to change, therefore requiring a rethink about their service offerings.

But ultimately, the focus remains on delivering reliable connectivity to as many South Africans as possible. Larger FNOs are investing heavily in this infrastructure and using Open Access as their go-to-market strategy. To this end, we encourage ISPs to partner with those FNOs who have embraced Open Access and provide a more compelling value proposition to customers.

Ready to take the leap and get connected with Fibre? Check for coverage here!

Tips to protect your kids online

When used correctly, the online world can be a wonderful place. Fibre connectivity has shifted our way of thinking and opened so many new possibilities of what can be accomplished online. It’s become an integral part of our daily lives, and in the process, the lives of our kids, creating an undeniable need for safety awareness whilst they navigate their way through this space. Knowing how to protect your kids online is integral to their online well-being.

Here are a few ways you can address safety, while still allowing your kids to enjoy spending time online:

Having an open discussion with your kids regarding online safety should be a priority when they start their online journey. As kids are a great deal more vulnerable and trusting than adults, it’s important for parents to inform kids of online dangers such as unsuitable content, accidentally disclosing personal data, online bullying, illegal downloads, viruses, scams and make them aware of the fact that there is no anonymity online.

Know what your kids are doing online and be aware of the risks involved with each platform they use. Whether they are attending classes online, online gaming or spending time on social media, for kids, there are unfortunately risks.

Depending on the platform, here are a few things for you, and them, to be aware of:

Never share personal details with anyone online, including phone number, home address, email address, school name, or passwords.

When sharing content online, be aware of who you’re sharing it with. What they share can linger forever and can be shared by friends and others. Teach them how to use privacy settings on social media platforms, and depending on their age, discourage them from sharing photos and videos online.

Don’t allow your kids to accept friend requests or follows from anyone they don’t know.

When online gaming, gaming chat should be just about the game. If other topics are addressed, they should be suspicious and aware that they should discuss this with you.

Certain apps and networks have geo-tagging features, making your location public. Teach your kids how to protect their whereabouts, and how to turn these features off on the different platforms.

As a parent, it is important for you to be actively involved in your kid’s online well-being. Here are a few things you can consider doing:

Bookmark pages for your younger children that you know they’ll need when doing online research for school.

Depending on your child’s age, make use of appropriate streaming sites like YouTube, Netflix, and Showmax for Kids.

If your child has a YouTube channel, be sure to watch it and read through the comments to spot any signs of online bullying or inappropriate comments. Also ensure that they keep their webcams covered when not in use.

Become friends with your children on social media. It will be much easier to monitor content and interactions online.

Make use of Adblockers, safety features such as Google’s SafeSearch, paid monitoring tools like NetNanny, or download location tracking apps to keep track of your child’s location any time you need peace of mind.

Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) also provide parent-control options. Contact yours to find out more about their specific services.

Enjoy the internet with your kids and show them fun ways to use it, safely. Get them involved with online home workouts, cooking or baking tutorials and video chatting with trusted loved ones. The internet has so much good to offer, and your kids should be able to enjoy and navigate it safely.

Frogfoot Fibre is passionate about education and helping kids experience the internet in a rewarding way. We are offering a FREE  line of up to 1 Gbps to all schools in areas covered by Frogfoot Fibre! For more information or to get your school connected, email marketing@frogfoot.com.

Ready to take the leap and get your home connected with Fibre? Check for coverage here!