Why installing a super-fast fibre network in your community scheme is pivotal

A superfast fibre installation is fast becoming the new normal for community schemes and is essential for smarter living. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the shortcomings of South Africa’s connectivity landscape, emphasising the fact that the speed and capacity of broadband are essential to supporting the new remote workforce whilst satisfying the growing demand for safer smart homes.

A significant pain point for many people is that South Africa suffers from a lack of reliable communication infrastructure, especially in terms of copper cables, which are subject to theft and performance limitations. Hence, from a connectivity perspective, the strategic plan for many community schemes has been to move away from copper bandwidth towards fibre solutions, which are not only more reliable but can also be deployed rapidly.

STS’s fibre-to-the-home installation lets complex dwellers enjoy better speeds, smarter living, and increased security without breaking the bank. Through our strategic partnership with Frogfoot, body corporates get to enjoy fully funded, super-fast internet connectivity in their community schemes. There are many reasons homeowners in South Africa are realising the importance of a reliable, fast and stable internet connection.

With the rise of the Work from Home (WFH) trend, connectivity became the defining factor for ensuring productivity and delivering adequate service levels to clients, impacting the overall survival of companies. For companies that have gone digital, corporate-like connectivity from remote locations is key to delivering consistent performance and productivity. High-speed internet is essential to empowering a remote workforce and ensuring limited downtime due to lags in connectivity.

As opposed to other forms of connectivity, fibre optics internet is the fastest and most reliable connectivity solution that you can get for your home. By using fibre-optic cables to transmit data, fibre connectivity can travel at the speed of light and isn’t affected by your distance from the source. Uploads and download speeds are always at an optimum level which means that collaboration (file sharing) and connecting to remote work servers are effortless.

You may be astounded when you count up the number of devices you have in your home that connect to the internet, and the number is probably only going to increase! Basic broadband battles to support the growing number of internet-capable devices in most homes, these include smartphones; personal computers (desktop and laptops); smartwatches; smart TVs; gaming consoles; set-top boxes (Apple TV, etc); smart speakers and the list goes on. All these devices are competing for the same limited bandwidth and basic broadband services with slow speeds will increasingly become a major bottleneck.

The situation is even worse when several people are living in the household when standard broadband is woefully insufficient. All too often parents may be struggling to access the internet while their children are trying to watch YouTube in their rooms. So, fibre optics is the solution to the ‘Who is streaming’ shouts when the connection lags.

Security and access control are predominant concerns in many communities across South Africa. Many security systems on the market allow you to not only receive any notifications of irregular occurrences at your property but also integrate with other control systems via smartphones. For instance, you can control house functions including lights, door locks, CCTV and even manage visitor access.

A high-speed internet connection enables you to secure your home from anywhere in the world. The home security market is filled with superb AI integrated solutions that can differentiate between animals and humans, scan and report on temperature as an access control measure, etc. The first step to enjoying the peace of mind that these smart security solutions offer is to get super-fast fibre for your complex.

A recent poll revealed that 60% of people view fast broadband as more important than having an extra bedroom, nice neighbours, or a garden. Approximately 50% said it’s more important than local transport links and having close access to good restaurants or a gym. Furthermore, buyers of houses and apartments are willing to pay a premium for a fibre-connected home, and renters are willing to pay more on average for homes that have fibre, than those that don’t. A typical home experiences a boost in value between 3% and 8% if it has a fibre connection.

With so many people enjoying the flexibility of working from home or operating businesses from their home, the availability of high-speed broadband is a major advantage. Just like a house situated near a good state school will attract a significant price premium, a house that benefits from access to high-speed broadband are likely to justify a price too.

Reliable and high-speed connectivity underpins access to the world and plays a big role in home automation. Not having an appropriate network will not only adversely impact your social and work life but also affect the security of your complex and home. It is now more crucial than ever for bodies corporate to get the right connectivity solutions for their schemes, and that means having a clear understanding of the needs of each resident of the complex.