Telecoms giants Neotel and MTN South Africa are collaborating on a 5,000-km fibre optics cable that will eventually link up South Africa’s major cities, cutting costs for both firms and reducing their dependence on Telkom.

The cable is expected to be fully installed within the next two years, and would cost between R1.7-billion and R2-billion, with the costs to be shared equally between the two companies.

The project will be divided into a number of phases, with the first linking up Johannesburg and Durban, and eventually connecting to Richards Bay where the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy) and Seacom will be located.

The first phase, which is expected to take about seven months to complete, will cost around R200-million and is scheduled to start in the first week of March.

Ajay Pandey, CEO of Neotel, said the new infrastructure should help to bring down the cost of connectivity, and would also offer the two companies the opportunity to become self-sufficient.