Internet users in Mauritius are set to enjoy 10 billions of bits per second (gbps) fibre optic network for just US$10 a month at 2 megabits per second (mbps) connection offering up to 40 free to air and paid TV channels, or a US$200 per month with high-end bandwidth and a variety of content.
Mauritius Island has a population of around 1.3 million and the firm says it’s ready to offer the entire populace 100 mbps broadband speed fibre network and a GPON IPTV.
The India-based firm Bharat Telecoms will invest up to US$50 million for the fibre network. The firm piloted the service in Quatres Bornes and Rose Hill areas of Mauritius last year.
The firm says its deployment of Fibre To The Home (FTTH) technology will provide high speed broadband services integrating voice, data and video across the community.
It also plans to have the island covered by 2013, and in more than five African Countries by 2014.
The network will cover 2,900 kilometres of which 200 kilometres will be laid underground while 2,700 kilometres above the ground over poles. The project will be conducted in phases, the first 70 percent of the population in the first phase and the other 30 percent in the second phase.
Baljinder Sharmer, one of the directors at the firm, told the Balancing Act that they are set to disrupt the whole market and believe the competition will follow suit hence benefiting the country.
“The cheaper it is, the more uptake there will be and therefore there will be more subscribers, which in turn will sustain lower bandwidth prices. So far, no-one has really tried this. We will break even on the low-cost packages and in some instances make money,” he told the Balancing Act.
The firm also wants to offer scratch cards for monthly subscriptions instead of the long-term contracts for a whole year. At the moment, the firm is targeting 50,000 subscribers and will begin expanding across Africa by 2014.
