MyBroadband interview with Evotel: What has Evotel been up to?
Words by Bradley Bekker
?1. What are Evotel's rollout plans for the rest of the year?
“Evotel is currently focusing on the expansion of our existing networks, with no current commitment to building in new areas. However, depending on public need and the requirements of customers, this is always subject to change.”?
?
2. Has load shedding had any impact or forced any changes to these plans?
Build:
“Regarding our builds, load shedding had no real impact. The networks are passive and don’t rely on electricity to build or function. Power only needs to be present at either end of the connection, i.e., our PoP (Point-Of-Presence) and the client’s house. Our PoPs are all supported by backup power to ensure that our networks do not drop during load shedding.
?
“All equipment used by our build teams that requires electricity to function, such as compressors and visual-faultfinders is already supported by generators and batteries on-site to ensure that the build is not slowed.”
?
Support:
“Our after-sales support can be affected by load shedding in a number of ways, but like most other companies, we have found ways around these hurdles to make sure service levels are maintained.
?
“While our network is supported by redundant measures for both power and the fibre lines themselves, isolating breaks within our networks can, unfortunately, take longer than normal during load shedding. This is because, while clients’ lines are off due to a lack of power, confirming breaks on individual lines is more difficult, which extends downtime.?
?
“Furthermore, confirming resolution on damaged lines can also be a challenge, which makes the progress of damaged lines difficult to convey. Naturally, a greater reliance on backup measures can also increase maintenance costs.
?
“Load shedding also affects our maintenance teams on the ground as they often rely on cellular connectivity, which can be influenced as towers are offline and become congested. Our teams also often work late into the night, and long periods of darkness do place their safety at risk as criminal elements are more comfortable moving around during the cover of darkness that load shedding provides.”?