Neotel, South Africa's second national operator, has finalized plans to offer fiber to its enterprise customers in major cities and towns.

"Neotel completed the rollout of metro rings roughly 12 months ago and has also completed the rollout of our metro access layer in the major metros, enabling the customers to link to our network," said Stefano Mattiello, executive head of enterprise group at Neotel.

The company is using the fiber network to provide customers with multi-play services -- voice, data and Internet -- over one high-bandwidth network, Mattiello said.

"The availability of fiber in the major metros means that any businesses in these areas can get connected to our services in a matter of days," he said.

Fiber technology is considered by the telecommunications industry to be the best last-mile option for offering multi-play services.

Neotel's service is expected to cater to the demands of large companies, as well as small and medium enterprises, with full redundant links and minimal down times, Mattiello explained.

As a competitor to Telkom SA and other mobile phone service providers, Neotel provides a portfolio of services to the wholesale, enterprise and consumer markets.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.