Telkom South Africa taps Alcatel-Lucent for GPON FTTH, VDSL2

South Africa’s Telkom SA has chosen Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) to supply equipment for a broadband network upgrade that will involve both fiber- and copper-based architectures.

Part of Telkom SA’s “Network Transformation Initiative,” the upgrades will see VDSL2 technology applied to existing infrastructure that serves 4.4 million subscribers. In other locales, the carrier will deploy GPON-based fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB).

Alcatel-Lucent is supplying its Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) product family, which will support both the GPON and VDSL2 upgrades via the same platform.

Said Daniel Jaeger, Alcatel-Lucent vice president for Africa, “We are delighted to meet Telkom SA’s needs with a turn-key solution that will enable them to provide the new kinds of services their subscribers demand. Our equipment will facilitate Telkom SA’s drive to more effectively compete with mobile service providers by delivering a better customer experience.”

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