Following its recent appointment of industry veteran Richard Came, Conduct Telecommunications has again made a key appointment. Dimitri Moussa has joined Conduct as chief operating officer (COO) with immediate effect. He will take the company through its next phase of maturity.
Conduct is a last-mile fibre-optic telecommunications operator that invests in open access fibre in the last-mile, proactively connecting commercial premises to dark fibre. It then provides the fibre to third-party Internet service providers that “light” and sell capacity and services on the connections to its clients.
Conduct CEO Johan Pretorius says they are rolling out last mile fibre in more precincts than ever.
“We required an experienced set of hands to guide us through our next phase of maturity. We have worked with Dimitri on several projects over the last couple of years and we have built a fantastic relationship of trust and respect. We are very pleased indeed to have a man of his capabilities on board.”
Moussa says he has come a long way in fibre optics. He earned his experience the hard way by constructing fibre networks across the country for various national networks owners and operators.
“It was a huge opportunity to get involved in another aspect of the industry. I have been on the installation side of this business for many years.
“The move is about personal growth and finding new challenges to face. I have seen the challenges in last mile fibre first hand. I strongly believe that the Conduct model has a good chance of success.
“Creating new and dynamic markets for service providers by providing open access fibre proactively to key precincts is what the market needs. I am privileged to be part of this exciting next era of fibre in the country,” he says.
Conduct’s aim is to bring open access connectivity to enterprises – big and small – across the country. Moussa says that once the fibre is in place, competitive services will emerge.
“We are trying to create an environment to stimulate growth in this market by putting the infrastructure in place. We are not naïve – utilisation will take time, but we are patient. We are taking a long term view on this.”
Asked about his views on fibre to the home (FttH) in the future, he smiles.
“I am confident that over time the economic viability of large scale FttH investment will improve. Right now, our focus is on business precincts. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see us dip our toe in that market place this year.”