Previous this month, South African ISP Vumatel introduced that its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure now passes two million properties. A million of those properties are in historically underserved spaces, akin to townships.

This community footprint signifies that Vumatel now presides over a extra considerable FTTH community than Telkom South Africa’s Openserve unit.

Fiber ISPs are very a lot on the upward thrust in South Africa, with more than one avid gamers gaining traction with their regional rollouts.

Surprisingly, the vast majority of those operators use an open get entry to industry fashion, permitting dozens of smaller corporations to marketplace and resell fiber connectivity.

Nowadays, we check out the primary avid gamers riding fiber enlargement in South Africa.

Vumatel

URL: vumatel.co.za
Possession: MAZIV, itself owned by way of Remgro-owned Group Funding Ventures Holdings (CIVH)
Houses Handed: 2,000,000 (August 2023)
Houses Hooked up: 570,000 (December 2022)

Vumatel first introduced FTTH era in Parkhurst, Johannesburg again in October 2014, changing into one of the vital nation’s fiber pioneers within the procedure.

In October 2016, Vumatel bought rival Fibrehoods, which began its personal fiber deployment in Gauteng in March 2015. In July 2017, the corporate snapped up fiber infrastructure belonging to Hyperlink Africa.

Vumatel is lately subsidized by way of MAZIV, which was once created in 2022 by way of Remgro-owned Group Funding Ventures Holdings (CIVH) after it merged Vumatel and Darkish Fibre Africa (DFA) into a brand new infrastructure corporate. Vumatel’s community is composed of over 50,000 kilometers of fiber, whilst DFA’s spans 15,000 kilometers.

The ISP reached the two million properties handed milestone in August 2023, prompting Vumatel Leader Working Officer Dewald Booysen to remark: “Now we have rolled out protection in spaces akin to Soweto, Khayelitsha and Umlazi. Those are historically lost sight of communities. Vuma’s way could also be community-orientated and permits us to paintings with the network to conquer demanding situations that experience historically hampered efforts.”

In August 2023, then again, South Africa’s Festival Fee beneficial the prohibition of the proposed merger between Vodacom South Africa and MAZIV.

In August 2023, South Africa’s Festival Fee beneficial the prohibition of the proposed merger between Vodacom South Africa and MAZIV.

The contest watchdog mentioned: “The Fee is of the view that the proposed transaction is more likely to considerably save you or reduce pageant in numerous markets and that the stipulations introduced don’t totally cope with the ensuing hurt to pageant.”

Openserve

URL: openserve.co.za
Possession: Telkom South Africa
Houses Handed: 1,107,794 (June 2023)
Houses Hooked up: 515,201 (June 2023)

Openserve is Telkom South Africa’s 100%-owned wholesale unit.

As of June 30, 2023, its fiber networks handed a complete of one.108 million properties, up 24.4% year-on-year. Of this determine, greater than part one million properties are hooked up with fiber (515,201).

With its fiber footprint rising, Openserve ceased providing legacy DSL-based services and products from October 1, 2021, forward of a deliberate copper shutdown in 2024.

Previous this yr, Telkom published that it was once taking into consideration promoting a minority stake in Openserve.

Within the telco’s buying and selling replace protecting the 3 months ended December 31, 2022 (Q3 FY2023), Telkom famous: “Following the criminal separation of Openserve to a stand-alone entity, efficient 1 September 2022, quite a lot of tasks are underway with the objective of realising price in the course of the sale of a minority stake within the 100% owned Telkom subsidiary. Telkom has been receiving plenty of unsolicited approaches for this industry and is lately enterprise a marketplace sounding workout to check the breadth of passion for this deemed to be core industry of Telkom.”

MetroFibre Networx

URL: metrofibre.co.za
Possession: African Rainbow Capital (18.1%), STOA (23.08%), African Infrastructure Funding Managers (AIIM), South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF), and Sanlam Personal Fairness
Houses Handed: 440,000 (March 2023)
Houses Hooked up: 126,000 (March 2023)

Established in 2010, MetroFibre Networx is an open get entry to fiber supplier founded in Gauteng.

In March 2016, African Rainbow Capital (ARC) secured an 18.1% minority stake within the corporate for an undisclosed sum.  

In November 2020, personal fairness fund African Infrastructure Funding Managers (AIIM) bought a minority fairness stake within the industry.

Present shareholder STOA (23.08%)—a international funding car founded in France—supplied incremental investment as a part of the transaction, which was once accompanied by way of new funding by way of the founders of the South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF), Rali Mampeule, and Kameel Keshav. Earlier backers Sanlam Personal Fairness and ARC remained onboard as shareholders at that date.

On April 1, 2021, MetroFibre purchased LinkAfrica’s FTTH community in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), including an additional 10,000 properties handed to its community. The transaction closed in June that yr.

In August 2022, Usual Financial institution Team effectively finalized a ZAR5 billion debt finance bundle for MetroFibre to fortify its persisted community rollout.

As of March 2023 (most up-to-date knowledge), its networks handed greater than 440,000 properties in 5 provinces. The ISP claimed 126,000 residential connections.

Going ahead, MetroFibre goals to densify its current networks to achieve an extra 500,000 properties around the nation by way of 2025.

Frogfoot

URL: frogfoot.co.za
Possession: Vivica Team
Houses Handed: 350,000 (December 2022)
Houses Hooked up: 135,000 residential subscriptions and 13,000 companies 

Vivica first introduced in 1998, underneath the DataPro Team logo. In 2007, it rebranded as Vox Telecom.

Frogfoot itself was once bought by way of Vox Telecom again in 2015. In September 2021, Frogfoot bought LinkAfrica’s Western Cape FTTH property to assist its presence within the Western Cape. 

Vox Holdings rebranded as Vivica Team in 2022, paving the way in which for the corporate to discover industry alternatives outdoor of the telecom sector. Vox Telecom and Frogfoot at the moment are operated as subsidiaries of Vivica.

Recently, Frogfoot’s fiber community passes 350,000 properties, connecting 135,000 properties and 13,000 companies.

Octotel

URL: octotel.co.za
Possession: Actis
Houses Handed: 315,583 properties and companies (Would possibly 2023)
Houses Hooked up: 100,815 (Would possibly 2023)

Octotel expenses itself as Cape The town’s greatest open get entry to fiber community, with infrastructure passing greater than 300,000 properties and companies, and connecting in way over 100,000 consumers.

Introduced in 2015, its community spans 16,000 kilometers around the Western Cape.

In December 2020, South Africa’s Festival Tribunal authorized the ZAR2.3 billion ($150 million) majority takeover of Octotel by way of rising marketplace funding company Actis. The regulator connected no stipulations to the approval.

Actis first introduced the deal on October 12, 2020.

HeroTel

URL: herotel.com
Possession: Vumatel (45%), Medu Capital (15%), different unknown shareholders (40%)
Houses Handed: 272,197 (December 2022)
Houses Hooked up: 160,000 (notice: determine comprises fastened wi-fi subscriptions)

Based in 2014, Stellenbosch-based HeroTel is likely one of the greatest suppliers of fastened wi-fi get entry to (FWA) broadband services and products in South Africa.

HeroTel is likely one of the greatest suppliers of FWA broadband services and products in South Africa.

Lately. the ISP has additionally thrown its weight in the back of FTTH era, to be able to rising its broadband industry.

In February 2017, black-owned personal fairness corporate Medu Capital bought a fifteen% stake in HeroTel for ZAR74.25 million.

Extra just lately, in February 2022 Vumatel purchased a forty five% non-controlling stake in HeroTel; the marketing birthday celebration was once understood to be co-founder Alan Knott-Craig Jr.

URL: zoomfibre.co.za
Possession: Unknown
Houses Handed: 175,000
Houses Hooked up: 45,000

Zoom Fibre is an open get entry to fiber community operator this is rolling out FTTH infrastructure in decided on suburbs around the nation.

The corporate was once based by way of former Vumatel govt Mohammed Manjra and lately has networks in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, and the North West province.

The corporate claims to be the quickest within the nation to move 100,000 properties, having accomplished that milestone in June 2022—simply two years after its release.

At that juncture, Mr Manjra famous: “Rollouts are funded thru more than one collection of debt investment that we’ve got raised thru native and global funders during the last 18 months.”

Zoom Fibre now has networks that move 175,000 properties and claims 45,000 finish person connections.

Vodacom South Africa

URL: vodacom.co.za
Possession: Vodacom Team
Houses Handed: 165,000 (June 2023)
Houses Hooked up: N/A; Vodacom’s 171,747 connections determine comprises properties hooked up with platforms as opposed to FTTH (i.e. FWA)

Vodacom South Africa—the rustic’s greatest cell operator by way of subscriptions—entered the fiber sector in 2014, with an preliminary focal point on small and medium enterprises in Cape The town, Durban, and Gauteng.

Now-defunct seller Alcatel-Lucent was once passed a GPON deployment contract in January 2015, to be able to the telco extending fiber protection to 250,000 properties and companies in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape The town, and Durban by way of 2018.

Growth has been a ways slower than anticipated, then again, and Vodacom’s fiber networks handed simply 165,000 properties and companies as of June 2023.

Whilst the telco does no longer put up a determine for fiber connections, 171,747 properties and companies are hooked up by way of its quite a lot of fastened broadband platforms, together with FWA.

In November 2021, Vodacom entered into an settlement to obtain a co-controlling passion in the entire subject matter property lately owned by way of Group Funding Ventures Holdings (CIVH), together with Vumatel and Darkish Fibre Africa (DFA).

Upon finishing touch of the transaction, Vodacom will grasp a 30% fairness passion in a newly shaped InfraCo that was once due to this fact named MAZIV. 

The plan got here unstuck in August 2023, then again, when the Festival Fee beneficial the prohibition of the proposed tie-up on anticompetitive grounds.