Fhatuwani Sikhwari
Telecommunications Network & Systems Specialist (FTTH/FTTx, CPE, Subscriber Sessions)
Centurion
Work Preference
Summary
Telecommunications and network systems specialist with 19+ years in Vodacom environments covering FTTH/FTTx CPE delivery, network solution testing, subscriber session operations (Cisco CPS), and CPE remote management (Axess ACS). Recognised for improving delivery reliability by tightening operational process, automating repetitive work (RPA), and applying clear governance and change control. Security-aware, with hands-on Nmap scanning and practical coordination of CPE hardening with internal teams and vendors.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
4
4
Certifications
Work History
Senior Specialist: FTTH Business Systems Integration
VODACOM
02.2023 - Current
- Lead a 5-person delivery/support team for FTTx CPE processes and supporting systems, driving prioritisation, execution discipline, and stakeholder reporting.
- Own a high-volume queue of ~250 tickets per week, sustaining >95% resolution SLA through structured triage, clear escalation paths, and tight follow-up.
- Reduced aged work by cutting 30+ day ticket aging to
- Strengthened operational governance by standardising delivery tracking in Jira and release/change communication in Confluence, improving visibility of risks, blockers, and ownership.
- Improved throughput and consistency by introducing RPA automations that removed repetitive manual steps and reduced avoidable process errors.
Network Solutions Testing Specialist
07.2009 - 01.2023
- Owned end-to-end CPE test and approval for production readiness, reducing release risk through disciplined validation and sign-off.
- Validated and supported Huawei AR651, Huawei AR617, Huawei DN8245, TP-LINK MR600, Zyxel 5G/4G Outdoor Router, and Huawei 5G CPE Pro2 across FTTx and mobile broadband use cases.
- Built complete test packs (requirements analysis, test plans, test cases, execution evidence) to improve repeatability, auditability, and first-time-right deployment outcomes.
- Improved service resilience by configuring and validating L2TP primary/secondary failover, reducing repeat connectivity issues and customer-impacting incidents.
- Performed Nmap-based exposure checks on CPE and coordinated mitigations/hardening with internal teams and vendors to reduce operational security risk.
- Managed FTTx and LTE subscriber sessions using Cisco CPS Control Center, supporting stability across 3G/HSPA/LTE/5G environments.
- Accelerated fault resolution using Axess ACS remote device management, improving time-to-diagnose and reducing customer downtime.
Test Analyst
10.2006 - 06.2009
- Supported stable releases by testing and validating new content on the Vodafone Live mobile portal and providing clear release-readiness reporting.
- Converted requirements into structured test plans and executed functional testing with actionable defect documentation for development teams.
- Validated billing/content data integrity using SQL queries, reducing production defects and improving customer experience.
Education
BTech - Electrical Engineering
UNISA
01.2018
National Diploma - Computer Systems Engineering
Tshwane University of Technology
01.2008
Skills
FTTH/FTTx CPE delivery operations and workflow ownership
CPE configuration, testing, approval, and deployment readiness
L2TP (primary/secondary) configuration and resilience validation
Subscriber session management (Cisco CPS Control Center)
Remote CPE management and diagnostics (Axess ACS)
Test planning and execution (plans, cases, evidence, sign-off)
Change control, governance, and delivery traceability (Jira/Confluence)
RPA automation to reduce manual effort and operational errors
Cross-functional coordination with IT/dev, operations, and vendors
Incident triage, root-cause analysis, and customer-impact prioritisation
Cybersecurity risk management and compliance
Cybersecurity technical skills (Python, SIEM, firewalls, cloud securit, Nmap)
Cisco CPS Control Center
Axess ACS
Certification
Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) - ISC2 (Oct 2025)
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Quote
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
Timeline
Senior Specialist: FTTH Business Systems Integration
VODACOM
02.2023 - Current
Network Solutions Testing Specialist
07.2009 - 01.2023
Test Analyst
10.2006 - 06.2009
National Diploma - Computer Systems Engineering
Tshwane University of Technology
BTech - Electrical Engineering
UNISA