Africa is shifting from building backbone network infrastructure to connecting last mile points, a move that boosts advances for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology on the continent.

This is according to Richard Came, president of the FTTH Council Africa, addressing the third annual FTTH Council Africa Conference, being held at the Turbine Hall in central Johannesburg, South Africa.

Came described the fibre optic industry in Africa as "exciting and challenging".

He said 2014 is a significant year for the industry. He also added that while broadband penetration has been slow to date in Africa, there are signs of further developments.

Companies such as Liquid Telecom; for example, have moved to grow the continent's fibre footprint by building East Africa's first fibre ring, and announcing plans to connect 7,000 households in Zambia to fibre networks by June 2015.

But the reach of Africa's fibre connectivity is in its infancy as Frost & Sullivan research released this year said that fixed-line communication services only hold a 3.6% share of Africa's total telecoms market.

"There has been a shift from building and developing backbone infrastructure to connecting last mile points... and connecting these to the fibre-optic grid," Came said.

Came added that open access, gated communities and intelligent security surveillance are key trends in the industry

Meanwhile, South African technology commentator and expert Simon Dingle also addressed delegates at the event on the power of disruptive technology, which he said encapsulates fibre-optics.

Dingle explained that technology is at the heart of people acquiring information, processing this data and making informed decisions.

Tying up with the theme of this conference, 'Power to the Future', Dingle also took delegates on a verbal and visual journey of how connective technology has evolved and how this infrastructure has influenced consumer interfaces and services.

Dingle described the human eye as one of the primary resources of people's ability to acquire and collate information. And this information is growing exponentially, he said.

"We are doubling the amount of recorded information on a minute-by-minute basis," he said.

"Like electricity 100 years ago, this connective technology is really still in its infancy... we are only now beginning to appreciate the applications this connectivity allows. From an IT processing perspective, we are doubling the amount of information in the world," he added.