Fibre to the Home
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July Update
Construction Update
The Phase 13 build is running on schedule and we do believe that we will reach the deadline (30 July) that was originally sent out.There are slight issues with tar reinstatements and grass reinstatements, but we have listed all of these on our system. We ensure you that we will get these done before the build becomes civilly complete. We expect to start construction in Phase 14 on 01 August, with a view to complete the project by 30 August.
You can see which phase you fall under by clicking here.
Fibre Ready Dates
Fibre work is nearly complete in Phase 12, with final tests being conducted until Friday. We expect to start with installations on Monday.
Place your in home installation order!
If you haven’t ordered your in home installation order yet, you can get into the queue early by clicking here. We book on a first come first serve basis. Our installation team will call you to setup an appointment as soon as your home is fibre ready.
If you do have any queries or concerns regarding the rollout please as always do not hesitate to contact us!
Regards,
The VUMA Team
June Update (27/06)
Construction Update
Phase 12:
While this has been our most challenging phase to build, we are civilly complete and simply cleaning up the area now. Our fibre teams will be busy this week, with a planned fibre ready date of 05 July.
Phases 13:
We have kicked off today and aim to be civilly complete by 30 July, and fibre ready by 05 August. If you have not received a wallbox confirmation yet, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phase 14:
Kickoff for this phase is 01 August, with the aim to be civilly complete by 31 August and fibre ready by 05 September.
You can see which phase you fall under by clicking here.
Place your in home installation order!
If you haven’t ordered your in home installation order yet, you can do so by clicking here. We book on a first come first serve basis. Our installation team will call you to setup an appointment as soon as your home is fibre ready.
If you have already ordered, our scheduling team will call you to arrange an installation once your phase is fibre ready.
If you do have any queries or concerns regarding the rollout please as always do not hesitate to contact us!
Regards,
The VUMA Team
June Update (06/06)
A message from the BCA FTTH team...
It seems the delays are behind us (*crosses fingers) and the VUMA team are making good headway through the remainder of the suburb. Some recent build updates are below, but please keep an eye on the BCA webpage for more info or contact VUMA directly by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. & include our resident volunteers on the FTTH sub-committee by copying This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The scans are proceeding well, electrical cables and water found and being avoided. One or two small problems have arisen but have been solved quite quickly with the help of the appropriate city representatives. Most of the phases that were delayed by some months are now very quickly being connected and will soon find themselves flying the world wide web as quickly as those other suburbs “down the hill” that got the jump on us.
While Facebook has had the occasional complaint, the rollout is indeed going well and the VUMA team seem as committed as always. Terance Richardson has now officially taken over from Jason Grobbelaar and should people wish to, they can mail him directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. but once again, please involve the sub-committee so we can stay informed and involved.
Phase 12
Build has been delayed due to the water hit on Monday the 31st of May.
We will now be completed by the 15th of June.
Positive note is we have avoided all (MV) power cables in phase 12 thus far.
Phase 13
construction to Start on the 16th of June
construction should end on the 16 of July
Street pole Signs will be put out on Wednesday the 8th June
Civil notifications will go out this Saturday the 4th of June
Specific issues raised by individuals within the community are being dealt with and the FTTH Sub-Committee is remaining copied on mails to ensure these rare incidences are dealt with as effectively as possible.
March 29 Update
Construction Update
Progress in Blairgowrie is steady. We are happy to report that the steps taken to mitigate service damages seem to be working. We have scanned all road verges and City Power have been attending site visits to help identify services. We have purposefully reduced the pace of deployment to ensure excavation is tightly controlled. This delays the schedule, but given the underground conditions, we believe this is the right course of action to take.
We have been focused on finishing up all reinstatements, trenching and drills in Phases 6 to 10 this week. We are aware grass reinstatement is still outstanding in some cases and will be attending to this soon.
Following the civil completion of Phases 6 to 10, Phases 11 to 14 will begin. With the high concentration of public holidays over the next two weeks, we have made the decision to only start this on 04 April, considering that other service providers will have fewer teams during that time to assist us in case of any issues arising. We have in the interim closed trenches until we resume.
You can see which phase you fall under by clicking here. Rain remains a factor hampering construction but we aim to be completed with the last phases in May.
Fibre Ready Dates
Fibre work is complete in Phase 5 and installations have begun. Fibre work is nearly complete in Phase 6, with fibre work due to begin in Phases 7 to 10 as drills are completed over today and tomorrow.
Road Cuts
There are four road cuts that have not been reinstated. The tarring of the road-cuts can only be done by the JRA. We are following up with them weekly and the latest projection we have from them is that they should be completed by next week.
General
VUMA is working closely with the local Community Policing Forum to ensure we monitor and track our labour force. We conduct daily checks of the contracting labour's documentation and identification tags. If these are not in place, contractors are removed from site. Due to the fact that there have been other service providers over the past couple of weeks, we are also providing the Community Policing Forum with weekly schedules mapping out exactly where we will be active so we can collectively monitor activity.
Place your in home installation order!
If you haven’t ordered your in home installation order yet, you can get into the queue early by clicking here. We book on a first come first serve basis. Our installation team will call you to setup an appointment as soon as your home is fibre ready.
If you have already ordered, our scheduling team will call you to arrange an installation once your phase is fibre ready.
If you do have any queries or concerns regarding the rollout please as always do not hesitate to contact us!
Regards,
The VUMA Team
March Update
VUMA has been working together with City Power over the past weeks to actively mitigate risks that have arisen during the trenching process in Blairgowrie. During this time, VUMA has performed scans on all surfaces where they intend to trench and have marked the locations of power cables.
A message from the FTTH committee...
It’s been a tough month and many frozen foods (and some electrical equipment) were lost in the communities battle for faster internet. While VUMA did hit the electricity cables in question, they have gone above and beyond what most other companies would have done and most importantly have spent hundreds of thousands of Rand investing in scanning equipment and highly skilled labour to ensure these issues do not occur again. In addition to this AG5 (on the VUMA rollout map) have seen some terrible delays (Christmas break & the electricity debacle) that are finally being addressed and those of you in this area can expect to be “lit up” in the coming weeks.
The FTTH sub-committee has monthly (sometimes twice monthly) meetings with VUMA and have been pushing them and demanding more of them when & where we can. Homes in AG1 through to 4 are already lit up and the BCA Facebook Page has never loaded so fast! Blairgowrie is fast becoming an extremely sought after suburb and this is in no small part because we now have internet connectivity that rivals most 1st world countries.
City Power have attended site kickoffs for phases 6 to 10, and have given VUMA the go-ahead, and so work has begun again in these areas. This process will continue until the construction has been completed for the suburb. VUMA have told us that they will evaluate the process over the next week. From this, they will have a clearer idea of timelines, and will subsequently publish revised dates on the rollout map. This will be a slower process, in order to avoid disruption as much as possible.
There may be a new Sub-Committee growing… but it’s too soon to tell. Made up of IT & ISP professionals, a small group has formed to discuss the viability of creating an open network of suburb owned HD & IP based CCTV camera’s that can then be used by a security company for monitoring our suburb while still keeping control and ownership in the communities hands, which will importantly allow us to demand accountability & have immediate access to footage. There are many hurdles to cross, some of which are technological, but not the smallest of which are privacy, legality and control…
So watch this space, but with the help of volunteers and community members the BCA continues to try and strive for more in our suburb.
Novemeber Update (26/11)
Construction update
Our construction process has by and large gone extremely smoothly, with very few utility breaks, and a great response from you as the residents.
Because we do make the concerns of the community our top priority, we would also like to highlight some of the issues that we have addressed to ensure the project causes as little inconvenience as possible.
- We have stressed the importance of security to every contractor and employee of VUMA, and have become even more stringent in ensuring that all labourers have correct identity cards on their visi-vests. If you see an unidentified labourer, they are not affiliated with VUMA and you are free to call your local security provider to remove them from site.
- We have added extra portable toilets around the suburb to ensure that all labourers have a shorter distance to their nearest facility. We have placed these in the least intrusive places possible, so as to avoid them becoming an eyesore. These are also emptied and cleaned regularly to keep the site hygienic.
- Our teams are in the process of reinstating the first 3 phases to their original condition. If you are in these phases, we will be sending out a snag list for any minor issues that we may have missed once our quality assurance team has signed those phases off. Phase 4 and 5 will follow in terms of reinstatement.
We have also slowed down our construction process for the last stretch before the mandatory construction halt over the December period. This is so that we can ensure no loose ends or niggles, before we have to stop for the mandatory year end construction shut down enforced by the JRA. You can view the revised dates on our rollout map.
As always, please bear in mind that we do complete the build with separate teams for trenching, reinstatement and quality assurance. So, if it seems like we have “moved on” then do not panic, the next team involved in that part of the process will be making their way through. We will notify everyone phase by phase when we give our final sign off on your respective phase.
Get into the installation queue!
As we are nearing the first fibre ready dates, we encourage you to pre-order your installation, as we do work on a first come first served basis. You can place your orders at www.vumatel.co.za/order
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
Regards,
The VUMA Team
October Update (29/10)
Hi Blairfolk,
VUMA’s construction process is running on schedule, without any major delays up to this point. As always, you can keep abreast with our planned dates on the Blairgowrie Rollout Map. We especially encourage street captains to keep an eye on when your street can expect trenching to start, and if you do have any questions or requests, please do not hesitate to email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We have begun work on Phase 5 this week with VUMA representatives in the area making contact with the residents in this phase. Phases 1 to 4 are all still in progress, so do not worry if it seems that the construction teams have left. We have separate teams that fill specific roles in the rollout, and so we still have a short while to go until we sign off our final approvals, whereafter we will send out further communication inviting residents to report any snags to us.
We have had a phenomenal response so far in terms of orders, so we do encourage you to order your installation sooner rather than later, so as to avoid being at the back of the installation queue. You can place your orders at www.vumatel.co.za/order.
We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this process, as we bring you world class broadband.
Regards,
The VUMA Team
October Update
Hi,
Thanks to the overwhelming response shown from the community by pledging their support for the project, Vumatel in association with the BCA, will kick off construction in Blairgowrie on Monday 5th October ‘15. We plan to wrap up construction by 5th March ’16, factoring in the mandatory construction break from the second week in December to the second week in January.
Here’s some useful information about the rollout.
The VUMA Network is built in 3 Stages
The Core Fibre Ring
This needs to be in place first. This is the backbone required to connect all the homes in each phase to the peering point.
The Access Fibre Network
This connects your home to the core ring. We will build the access network in 14 phases. Each phase will have it’s own start and fibre ready date. Each phase will take about 6 weeks to complete.
The Final Installation
Once your home is fibre ready, a final installation will take the fibre from the wall box into your home. This will be done by appointment when the access network is complete.
Rollout Schedule & Timelines
Check out when you will be affected by construction and when your home will be ready for an in home installation. You might notice your boundary wall being marked with a piece of tape stuck on the wall - this is just indicating where the wallbox will go up. If you have not been been met by a VUMA representative, and do fall under Phase 1 or Phase 2 on the rollout map, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will get in touch.
Click here and enter your home address in the search bar. Then click on the coloured block to see which phase you fall into and the key dates.
Please be aware that dates are indicative and subject to change. Please note there will be weekly updates, so please keep an eye out for changes. We will keep you informed.
Click here to see our information pack for preparing for installation outside your home. Should you have any pressing queries or issues, you can contact one of our Resident Liaisons:
Reece Louw - 072 607 6345
Bantu Dubazana - 081 863 8647
Click here to order your installation and be first in line!
We look forward to a successful rollout of the VUMA fibre infrastructure into Blairgowrie.
Regards
The VUMA Team
September Update
Unfortunately VUMA has to move back our date for when you can start booking your installations to our construction start date a month from now.
We understand that everybody is very keen to get on to our fibre network, so do not worry, this is merely a change in when you can start ordering.
Fibre is still coming to you in the first week of October when we start our build, and you can then start ordering your installations at http://vumatel.co.za/order/
August Update
VUMA Townhall meeting
Find out more about the rollout of fibre to the home in Blairgowrie.
When: 8 Aug (and again on 11 Aug)
Time: 10:30am 8 Aug (6:00pm 11 Aug)
Where: Blairgowrie Recreation Centre
July Update
Blairgowrie!
Super-fast internet is soon going to be a reality for us... Please help us (and yourselves) by talking about this to your neighbours and getting them to log onto the Vumatel website and give a "moral commitment" to attain the 100% that we require.
This is simply an indication that you are interested and would sign up for the service if and when it becomes available. They obviously need this to ensure that rolling out will result in a return on their investment of installing a suburb wide Fibre network.
Blairgowrie is currently FIRST out of about 16 suburbs vying to be Vumatel’s next FTTH suburb after their successful installations in Parkhurst and Greenside... but we can only achieve this if we continue pushing for it to stay ahead of our neighbours in adjoining suburbs...
Murray, Dawid, Derek and Aaron (all residents) make up the FTTH Steering committee with Vumatel representatives and are working hard behind the scenes. They will be communicating with the suburb soon via a “newsflash” about Town Hall meetings where Vumatel will engage with the community, answer questions and communicate the roll out processes, phases of the project, what you can expect from driveway and street trenching among all other issues you will need answered.
With great help from Jed, we are working to get some space available at the Recreation Centre for the Town Hall meetings and will communicate with everyone once we have confirmed dates.
In the meantime, if you have not visited the site and logged your interest, then please do so and tell your neighbours to as well!
If another suburb pulls ahead, our roll-out could be delayed by as much as 6 months and potentially more. Please help make this happen as it will dramatically improve the attraction of our suburb to potential home owners and businesses and increase property value.
June Update
The results are in ..... VUMATEL has been voted to be the preferred supplier of FTTH (Fibre To The Home).
The BCA is pleased to announce that the Blairgowrie residents have elected to endorse VUMATEL as the preferred provider to install FTTH infrastructure in Blairgowrie.
At the BCA AGM on 12 May 2015, the BCA’s Sub-Committee on Fibre Optics presented two potential preferred suppliers and announced that the BCA would engage with local Blairgowrie residents and businesses via an online survey to allow them to vote and choose their preferred supplier.
The Sub-Committee has received the results of this survey and an overwhelming majority (75%) voted in favour of VUMATEL.
The BCA will, therefore, support VUMATEL in their marketing efforts to reach the rollout threshold. The BCA would like to thank all the people who voted, and with the people who have provided their information, we are already off to a good start and can already surpass 50% of the needed numbers.
The BCA’s Fibre Optics Sub-Committee will provide regular and informative updates.
Voting Information
After removing duplicate votes, 603 usable votes were used in the identification. This is statistically viable as the response rate was in line with the expectations from the BCA’s Fibre Optics Team and is enough on which to make a final decision.
