Evotel: Providing Fibre for Everyone
The open access fibre network provider (FNO), Evotel, has recently donned a new jacket to celebrate the growth it has achieved over the past six years, while reconfirming its mission – bringing fibre into every home in South Africa.
The company has become synonymous with its “Fibre For Everyone” slogan and endeavors to deliver uncompromised services to all its customers countrywide, providing fast fibre for everyone’s benefit.
“We want people to know that we mean business and we’re ready to make an even bigger impact,” says Bradley Bekker, Head of Business Development at Evotel.
Evotel remains the trusted fibre network provider it has become known for and continues to place customers first.
Continues Bekker: “At Evotel, we have always taken care of our customers and deliver fast reliable fibre with the betterment of communities at heart. It is our belief that the world opens up for anyone that has fast internet access and by providing our fibre infrastructure, we are confident that we are making a difference for the better.
Over the past year and a half, the company has expanded its reach with a focus on smaller towns and non-metropoles, often forgotten by the large FNOs. “We are responding to the needs of smaller communities around South Africa that also require fibre connections and have come to their rescue with not only providing fast and reliable fibre internet connections, but also investing in the overall health and upliftment of these communities,” says Bekker.
Schools
Education and youth development are things that Evotel strongly supports. In 2019 the company started its Schools Programme; whereby it provides any school that falls under its network coverage area with free fibre internet access.
The Schools Programme is based on the same principle of laying fibre to build smart cities, however, in this case it is to establish ‘smart-schools’ – the importance of which became clear during the lockdown of the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when efforts to curb the spread of the virus required schools to close.
Bekker explains: “The main idea behind this initiative is to provide learners with the ability to be successful. They are, after all, the country’s future leaders and their success will be of benefit to everyone.”
This programme saves schools in the region of R24 000 a year on leasing and running a fibre line – money that can be invested otherwise.
Investing locally
Evotel has further focussed its attention on the overall development of smaller towns by investing in the wellbeing of these towns and employing 30% locals to assist with the fibre installations.
“We believe in helping people and therefore decided that with the rollout of our fibre networks to employ local contractors to build the network infrastructure and share in the wealth. It is one of our ways of investing in the community and the town’s overall development,” says Bekker.
Though the fibre installation project provides locals only short-term employment, Evotel is going a step further and are training these local contractors, providing them with the necessary skills to service the Evotel fibre infrastructure in the future – an opportunity for locals to have continued employment with a regular income.
“It is time for a change and for us to disrupt the fibre world,” concludes Bekker. “We are making it easier for anybody to get access to fibre and will continue to deliver a stable and uncompromised fibre network to all South Africans.”
