Albie’s Wireless Partners with Fixed Mobile Telecoms to Deliver Reliable Rural Broadband
With the help of Fixed Mobile Telecoms (FMT), Albie’s Wireless, a De Aar-based wireless internet service provider (WISP), will be able to offer 3 500 customers dependable rural broadband services. Albie’s Wireless can provide a highly available service to its customers, the majority of whom live in areas without Obre connectivity, thanks to FMT’s carrier-grade core backhaul network. Albie’s Wireless is a WAPA member (Wireless Access Providers Association of South Africa).
At its furthest reaches, Albie’s network, which consists of 250 high sites, stretches 800 kilometers. It extends throughout the majority of the Northern Cape and touches the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Free State borders.
Albie Augustyn, founder and MD of Albie’s Wireless, claims that delivering bandwidth to all of the network endpoints and safeguarding network locations from theft and vandalism are his two biggest concerns. Since the company’s founding in 2012, unreliable service from backhaul network providers has been a source of ongoing frustration. One significant supplier to the company has gone so far as to put the responsibility of monitoring Albie’s rural nodes and towers and fixing problems or starting generators when there is an issue on Albie.
Fixed Mobile Telecoms One reason Albie’s is working with Fixed Mobile is because it intends to transfer all of its core backhaul business there in the upcoming months. According to Augustyn, FMT saved him a few years ago when he was having connectivity issues with one of his other service providers.
What Fixed Mobile Telecoms Partnership Offers Albie Wireless
Albie’s Wireless is receiving backhaul capacity from FMT of about 2.5Gbps. Working with Fixed Mobile enables relatively low pricing while retaining a high level of availability and redundancy, which is a significant benefit. Because he is not bound by a lengthy contract, Augustyn also loves working with FMT. removing a substantial expense Albie’s Wireless will be allowed to close its Cape Town point of presence once it completely switches over to the Fixed Mobile network (POP).
“When my engineers and I failed to resolve a complex core network problem, they sorted it out. I’ve used the biggest names for backhaul capacity and never had that kind of service before. The Fixed Mobile team is always available, even in the middle of the night. We have also not forgotten how they helped WISPs survive COVID by providing free IP transit in lockdown.”
Because of the way the FMT folks structured their network architecture, Augustyn will no longer need this POP, which was expensive for the company.
Says Ed du Plessis, CEO of Fixed Mobile Telecoms: “Partnering with WAPA members like Albie’s Wireless creates wins for both parties. We get reliable last-mile connectivity for our corporate customers, with footprints in the most remote parts of the country. In turn, we offer WISPs access to one of South Africa’s best carrier-grade core networks, so they can deliver top-class services to their local customers.”