Nokia announced that its partner, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, will provide Nokia fiber technologies to PayGoZo to offer economical, unlimited, ultra-fast internet as part of the Kayamandi Township Fiber Project. The first proof-of-concept phase, launched in September 2022, will connect more than 15,000 people in the Kayamandi township of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
The partnership includes Nokia as a technology provider, Liquid Intelligent Technologies as a partner of Nokia and PayGoZo as a new innovative Internet Service Provider in Stellenbosch. The team worked closely to leverage Nokia’s legacy Fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) solution in an ingenious way to provide a highly scalable solution for The Kayamandi Fiber Project. Users are offered unlimited data but at a time-based and usage-based pricing scheme that is both less expensive and easier to use than mobile data solutions.
Nokia provides both fiber access nodes for fiber exchange and fiber modems to connect a WiFi network across the community. Integration services within the PayGoZo network are supported by Nokia’s Access Management System. Nokia’s ISAM FX optical line terminals (fiber access nodes) were selected for their ability to provide high-bandwidth services to a large number of users and their easy upgrade capacity in line with growing demand.
The digitization of business services, education, healthcare and entertainment continues to accelerate around the world. However, more than three billion people still have no Internet access, which puts them at a massive disadvantage. The high costs of mobile data impede equal access to the Internet for all parts of society. The Kayamandi Fiber Project aims to address this problem by using a way to offer internet at cheap prices.
Deon Geyser, CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, South Africa, says: “For the past two decades, Liquid has worked tirelessly to ensure that every person in Africa has access to high-speed connectivity. Partnering with Nokia to help PayGoZo bring the Kayamandi project to life is a reiteration of our commitment. This is one of our first projects in using innovative technology to bring fiber connectivity to the masses. We look forward to partnering with Nokia to replicate the success in other remote locations in South Africa and across the continent.”
Rich Henn, CEO of PayGoZo, says, “We are committed to providing high quality yet affordable internet to connect those who cannot afford expensive mobile network-based internet. Working with Nokia and Liquid Intelligent Technologies has helped us refine our approach and we look forward to rolling out the project beyond the initial pilot phase to enable more people in Kayamandi to benefit from low-cost internet.”
Naveed Kashif, Nokia’s Head of Southern Africa Market, says: “Fiber is by far the best connectivity solution for South African townships, providing affordable and unlimited internet, which is essential for home workers and learners. We are proud to partner with Liquid and PayGoZo on this important project, which takes an innovative approach to delivering affordable internet without compromising on quality.”
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