FibrePoynt – Cheaper fibre coverage for South Africa
Poynting has developed a proof-of-concept system for connecting homes to fibre backhaul more cost-effectively than trenching in the streets.
Speaking at the MyBroadband Mobile Networking conference, Andre Fourie, the chairman of Poynting, said their FibrePoynt system is geared toward those who can’t get FTTH coverage.
To solve the problem of the cost of trenching, and the inefficiencies of radial-coverage wireless networks, Poynting developed what Fourie calls a “corridor coverage” system – which covers streets rather than a whole neighbourhood.
The access point with its antennas is mounted about 4 metres above the ground at an intersection, with its beams pointing down two streets on either side of it. The beam is shaped to provide roughly the same signal strength to all houses.
Using 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology, FibrePoynt is able to deliver a 300Mbps connection that would be shared by roughly 20 houses. To connect a house requires three hours, and costs around R5,000.
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FibrePoynt – Cheaper fibre coverage for South Africa Poynting has developed a system for connecting homes to fibre backhaul more cost-effectively. |