MetroFibre Networx Secures $290M Debt Finance from Standard Bank Group to Develop Fiber-Optic Data Network
MetroFibre Networx has secured a $290M debt financing package from Standard Bank Group, enabling the group’s deployment of a fiber-optic data network throughout South Africa.
According to Standard Bank Group, MetroFibre will use the funding to extend its fiber connectivity into residences and businesses in underserved areas all over the nation. As a result, it will further expand the company’s reach by an estimated 500,000 more households.
According to Nishela Ramgoolam, a structured capital executive at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking, access to the internet is essential for bridging the digital divide and enabling people to participate in the globally connected economy.
“Access to the internet is fundamental in closing the digital divide and giving individuals the opportunity to participate in the globally connected economy,” said Nishela Ramgoolam, an executive for structured capital at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
“This timely deal with a proudly South African digital infrastructure business supports our mission of driving positive, sustainable and truly embedded technological growth across the continent and developing digital innovations that matter,” said Ramgoolam.
About MetroFibre Networx
Malcolm Kirby founded MetroFibre Networx in 2010 to manage South Africa’s Carrier Ethernet 3.0 (CE 3.0) open access fiber network. Metrofibre Networx is an internet service provider (ISP) and managed bandwidth service provider that constructs and contains a variety of fiber-to-the-premises access infrastructures within and between commercial business parks, business clusters, residential communities, and suburbs (access infrastructures).
These access infrastructures are connected to a Metro-Core-Ring that encircles Tshwane and Johannesburg to connect these parks, clusters, and estates.
Users of MetroFibre’s services consist of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), resellers, residential and commercial properties, and consumers, who can choose from various services to suit their requirements. A single MetroFibre Networx fiber installation is used to deliver all of the MetroFibre services to enterprises, including Dedicated Internet Access, High-Speed Broadband Network Connectivity, Voice Over IP, and IP Transit, Layer 2 services, Data Center Connectivity, and Enabling Cloud Connectivity.
Internet connectivity, VoIP, the MetroFone App, the MetroMesh Wi-Fi extender, and the Metro-I solution are all available to residential customers in estates and complexes.