Wedoany.com Report-Dec.16, Broadband Infraco (BBI), South Africa's state-owned national broadband infrastructure company, has entered into a partnership with Huawei to construct an intelligent all-optical backbone network. This initiative directly advances the objectives of the national broadband strategy, SA Connect, by providing affordable, reliable, and high-quality internet access across the country.

Mandated by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, BBI is executing the network upgrade as part of its Backbone Network Expansion Strategy. The collaboration focuses on extending information and communications technology infrastructure nationwide, reducing connectivity costs, and narrowing disparities between urban and rural areas as well as between South Africa and more developed economies.

The project employs Huawei's Optical Cross-Connect technology to enable high-speed transmission using 800G wavelengths, facilitating efficient data transfer between cities and data centres. This capacity supports real-time applications in sectors such as healthcare, education, e-commerce, and e-government, while contributing to the growth of the digital economy.

Through the intelligent all-optical backbone and cooperation with local service providers, BBI has already connected over 13,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and more than 2 million homes, primarily in rural and underserved regions. The network also incorporates a new optical fibre route linking Johannesburg to the Kopfontein border, enhancing high-speed regional connectivity within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The complete backbone will cover all nine provinces of South Africa and reach border points with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe, promoting widespread access.

"We are bridging the digital divide on two fronts, closing the digital inequality gap at home and narrowing the gap between South Africa and the world's most industrialized nations. We are addressing one of SA Connect's primary goals, the DCDT's flagship broadband connectivity project, to make connectivity inclusive and bring stable, high-capacity broadband to all South African communities and government facilities by 2030," said Gift Zowa, CEO of Broadband Infraco.

Huawei will continue working with BBI to further develop the national broadband framework, supporting the creation of a connected and digitally enabled society that benefits all citizens.

This partnership demonstrates a structured approach to expanding modern telecommunications infrastructure, ensuring scalable and future-ready connectivity essential for economic participation and public service delivery across diverse geographic and demographic contexts.