Ponte City connects 1,500 residents to high-speed fibre internet
Ponte City, the 173-metre-tall brutalist skyscraper in Johannesburg, has connected its 1,500 residents to high-speed fibre Internet through Rise Telecoms, a brand of Maziv, MyBroadband reported. The digital infrastructure upgrade brings free basic broadband to occupants as part of their lease agreements, shifting the property’s utility profile decades after its descent into urban decay.
From Apartheid Luxury to Urban Decay
Architect Mannie Feldman designed the 55-story cylindrical tower in 1975 alongside Rodney Grosskopff and Mandred Hermer. Built during the apartheid era as a symbol of high-end urban living in Berea, near Hillbrow, the structure featured luxury apartments with private saunas and wine cellars. Capital flight following the 1976 Soweto uprisings and the extension of compulsory military service for young white men to two years in 1977 triggered a sharp drop in apartment demand. Owner-occupiers faced falling property values and bank mortgage rejections, turning them into reluctant landlords who struggled to maintain rental income against rising operational costs.
By the late 1980s, the property fell into severe disrepair amid broader inner-city decline. Landlords and management abandoned the building in the early 1990s, allowing gangs to hijack the tower. Criminal enterprises converted individual floors into hotbeds for drug use, weapons trafficking, and prostitution, while police avoided the dangerous premises. These conditions cemented Ponte City’s reputation as a symbol of Johannesburg inner-city decay.
Revitalisation Under Kempston Properties
An initial attempt to rescue the skyscraper began in May 2007 under new owners, Investagain, but the 2008 economic crisis collapsed that refurbishment plan. Ownership reverted to the Kempston Group, which led a steady revival from the early 2010s onward. Today, Kempston Properties rents refurbished units to the inner-city population at affordable rates reaching up to R5,300 per month for three-room apartments.
The COVID-19 pandemic altered traditional sales dynamics, prompting property owners to actively secure internet access for residents, according to Eli Friedman, Rise Telecoms’ chief operating officer. The network deployment required a six-month technical operation. Crews hauled 500 metres of 24-core fibre feeder cables, connecting that backhaul to 24,000 metres of 4-core drop cables linked across 480 residential units. Kempston funded the deployment, while Rise collaborated with local subcontractors for installation and ongoing on-site support. The project prioritized skills training for building managers to handle basic network troubleshooting directly.
Rise Telecoms Offers Tiered Fibre Speeds up to R5,100
While basic lines are included free with leases, tenants can purchase higher speeds from Rise Telecoms. Package speeds range from 5 Mbps to 100 Mbps, with monthly pricing scaling up to R5,100.