Wholesale telecommunications provider Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet) has announced plans to roll out a FTTx (Fibre To The X) project to replace existing copper cables and wireless internet connections.

The project, at an estimated cost of P150 million, will empower BoFiNet to offer fast and cheaper internet connections.

BoFiNet chief engineer projects and implementation, Mpho Koolese told local media that through the initiative, BoFiNet would be able to utilise fibre resources efficiently at low premiums.

“This connection will enable us to utilise fibre resources efficiently at affordable premiums, due to point-to-point connections,” he said.

The FTTx is a single pair of optical fibre shared between two and up to 128 customers, hence lowering connectivity costs.

In addition, FFTX is expected to give consumers’ access to a larger choice of interactive applications, such as video conferencing, E-government, E-health, e-Commerce and business applications.

“FTTx removes all the bottlenecks that slow down the performance of other types of network,” Koolese said.

The FTTx project, which starts in December, would partially cover some areas of the capital Gaborone,  second capital Francistown, and resort towns – Kasane,  Kazungula and Maun .

 “We are going to put WiFi in all malls in Gaborone because we want to ensure that the network is available to all users,” said Koolese.