Fiber ISPs are very much on the rise in South Africa, with multiple players gaining traction with their regional rollouts. Unusually, the majority of these operators use an open access business model, allowing dozens of smaller companies to market and resell fiber connectivity.
In 2025 a regulatory U-turn paved the way for Vodacom South Africa to acquire a co-controlling stake in MAZIV – a deal that had first been tabled four years earlier. Going forward, Vodacom expects to combine its domestic fibre assets with MAZIV affiliates Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) to create an enlarged fiber provider.
With Vumatel’s proposed takeover of rival player HeroTel subsequently rubberstamped by the authorities in December 2025, the fiber landscape in South Africa is undeniably shifting.
Today, we take a look at the main players driving fiber growth in South Africa.
Vumatel
URL: vumatel.co.za
Ownership: MAZIV, itself owned by Remgro-owned Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH)
Homes Passed: 2,040,231 (March 2025)
Homes Connected: 864,208 (March 2025)
Vumatel first launched fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology in Parkhurst, Johannesburg back in October 2014, becoming one of the country’s fiber pioneers in the process. In October 2016, Vumatel acquired rival Fibrehoods, which started its own fiber deployment in Gauteng in March 2015. In July 2017, the company snapped up fiber infrastructure belonging to Link Africa.
The ISP is currently backed by MAZIV, which was created in 2022 by Remgro-owned Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) after it merged Vumatel and DFA into a new infrastructure company. Vumatel’s network consists of over 50,000 kilometers of fiber, while DFA’s spans 15,000 kilometers.
Vumatel reached the two million homes passed milestone in August 2023, prompting Chief Operating Officer Dewald Booysen to comment: “We have rolled out coverage in areas such as Soweto, Khayelitsha and Umlazi. These are traditionally overlooked communities. Vuma’s approach is also community-orientated and enables us to work with the community to overcome challenges that have traditionally hampered efforts.”
In its 2025 Integrated Annual Report Remgro reported that Vumatel’s fibre networks passed more than 2.040 million homes as of 31 March 2025 and supported 864,208 end user connections.
Going forward, Vumatel’s assets are set to be combined with those of sister company DFA and Vodacom South Africa, as per a long-gestating merger agreement (see Vodacom South Africa profile below).
Openserve
URL: openserve.co.za
Ownership: Telkom South Africa
Homes Passed: 1,453,810 (September 2025)
Homes Connected: 756,409 (September 2025)
Openserve is Telkom South Africa’s 100%-owned wholesale unit.
Commercial fiber services were launch in 2014. With its footprint growing quickly, Openserve ceased offering legacy DSL-based services from October 1, 2021, ahead of its planned – but still ongoing – copper shutdown.
In 2023 Telkom revealed that it was considering selling a minority stake in Openserve. In the telco’s trading update covering the three months ended December 31, 2022 (Q3 FY2023), Telkom noted: “Following the legal separation of Openserve to a stand-alone entity, effective 1 September 2022, various initiatives are underway with the goal of realising value through the sale of a minority stake in the 100% owned Telkom subsidiary. Telkom has been receiving a number of unsolicited approaches for this business and is currently undertaking a market sounding exercise to test the breadth of interest for this deemed to be core business of Telkom.”
By November 2024, however, Telkom had scrapped plans to sell Openserve, now believing the infrastructure unit to be integral to its future connectivity ambitions. CEO Serame Taukobong stated: “We have suspended any discussions or investigations into partnerships for Openserve.”
As of 30 September 2025, its fiber networks passed a total of 1.454 million homes, up 12.7% year-on-year. Of this figure, more than three-quarters-of-a-million homes are connected with fiber (756,409).
HeroTel
URL: herotel.com
Ownership: Vumatel (100%)
Homes Passed: 585,981 (June 2025)
Homes Connected: 293,036 (June 2025)
Founded in 2014, Stellenbosch-based HeroTel initially gained prominence as one of the largest providers of fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband services in South Africa. In recent years. the ISP has also thrown its weight behind FTTH technology, with a view to growing its broadband business.
In February 2017, black-owned private equity company Medu Capital acquired a 15% stake in HeroTel for ZAR74.25 million.
Subsequently, in February 2022 Vumatel bought a 45% non-controlling stake in HeroTel; the selling party was company co-founder Alan Knott-Craig Jr.
Vumatel went on to raise its stake in HeroTel to 100% in 2025. The Competition Commission of (CompCom) recommended conditional approval of the transaction to the Competition Tribunal, but required Vumatel to uphold open-access principles and ensure fair, non-discriminatory pricing. Vumatel also committed to rolling out FTTH connectivity in low-income areas to satisfy the deal’s public interest conditions.
The ISP currently operates in more than 500 towns and municipalities, across all nine provinces. As of June 2025 (most recent data), the company claimed to pass 585,981 homes with its fiber networks, serving just under 300,000 users.
MetroFibre Networx
URL: metrofibre.co.za
Ownership: African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF) and STOA
Homes Passed: 510,000 (June 2025)
Homes Connected: 172,000 (June 2025)
Established in 2010, MetroFibre Networx is an open access fiber provider based in Gauteng.
In March 2016, African Rainbow Capital secured an 18.1% minority stake in the company for an undisclosed sum. In November 2020, private equity fund African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) acquired a minority equity stake in the business.
Existing shareholder STOA (23.08%)—a foreign investment vehicle based in France—provided incremental funding as part of the transaction, which was accompanied by new investment by the founders of the South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF), Rali Mampeule, and Kameel Keshav. Previous backers Sanlam Private Equity and ARC remained onboard as shareholders at that date.
On April 1, 2021, MetroFibre bought LinkAfrica’s FTTH network in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), adding a further 10,000 homes passed to its network. The transaction went on to close in June that year.
Also in June 2021, AIIM teamed up with fellow shareholders SAHIF (through its Digital Infrastructure Consortium platform) and STOA to acquire the 25.8% interest in MetroFibre previously held by Sanlam Private Equity, African Rainbow Capital and an unnamed minority shareholder.
As of June 2025 (most recent data), its networks passed more than 510,000 homes in five provinces. The ISP claimed 172,000 residential connections at the same date.
Frogfoot
URL: frogfoot.co.za
Ownership: Vivica Group
Homes Passed: 406,000 (June 2025)
Homes Connected: 169,000 subscriptions (June 2025)
Vivica first launched in 1998, under the DataPro Group brand. In 2007, it rebranded as Vox Telecom.
Frogfoot itself was acquired by Vox Telecom back in 2015. In September 2021, Frogfoot acquired LinkAfrica’s Western Cape FTTH assets to help its presence in the Western Cape.
Vox Holdings rebranded as Vivica Group in 2022, paving the way for the company to explore business opportunities outside of the telecom sector. Vox Telecom and Frogfoot are now operated as subsidiaries of Vivica.
In late 2025 Frogfoot acquired the fibre network assets of Infinity Wireless from its founders, the Koen Brothers. The Rustenburg-based infrastructure – which passes 8,000 homes – will be integrated into Frogfoot’s national infrastructure in due course. The ISP noted that the expansion into the North West province supports the company’s growth strategy and deepens its presence in a key regional market, with the transition officially started on 1 November 2025.
Currently, Frogfoot’s fiber network passes 406,000 homes, connecting 169,000 homes and 13,000 businesses.
Octotel
URL: octotel.co.za
Ownership: African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), STOA and Thebe Investment Corporation
Homes Passed: 372,000 homes and businesses (June 2025)
Homes Connected: 121,800 (June 2025)
Octotel bills itself as Cape Town’s largest open access fiber network, with infrastructure passing more than 350,000 homes and businesses, and connecting in excess of 100,000 customers.
Launched in 2015, its network spans 16,000 kilometers across the Western Cape.
In December 2020, South Africa’s Competition Tribunal approved the ZAR2.3 billion ($150 million) majority takeover of Octotel by emerging market investment firm Actis. The regulator attached no conditions to the approval. Actis first announced the deal on October 12, 2020.
Within four years, however, Actis had cashed in on its investment. In March 2024 Actis offloaded the company to a consortium of investors, led by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) – a shareholder in MetroFibre – and also comprising STOA and Thebe Investment Corporation. Under Actis’ stewardship the number of homes passed with fiber rose from 195,000 at investment to 350,000 today, and the number of customers connected to the network increased from 56,000 to 110,000 over the same time period.
In late-2025 Octotel confirmed that it had extended fiber connectivity to Paarl and Wellington, a pair of neighbouring towns in South Africa’s Western Cape, situated 60 kilometers and 75 kilometers north-east of Cape Town, respectively.
At that date the telco’s fiber network was understood to pass roughly 372,000 homes and serve 121,800 subscriptions.
fibertime
Ownership: Alan Knott-Craig Jr. (founder, stake unknown), Finnfund (18%)
Homes Passed: 250,000 (December 2025)
Homes Connected: 65,000 (December 2025)
Stellenbosch-based fibertime was founded by industry veteran Alan Knott-Craig Jr. in April 2022, following his exit from HeroTel. His mission was to provide affordable, pay-as-you-go fibre internet to South African townships.
In November 2023 Mr Knott-Craig secured EUR2 million ($2.3 million) in funding from Helsinki-based investor Finnfund to help bankroll the deployment. The Finish investor injected a further EUR2 million in follow-on investment in March 2025.
In November 2024 fibertime enlisted Nokia to oversee the deployment of FTTH networks across five cities, namely: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gqeberha, Mangaung and Stellenbosch, alongside 14 townships. The rollout was conceived to take place over a 36-month period.
In October 2025 fibertime signed a new agreement with Nokia to expand its under-deployment FTTH network to include an additional 400,000 homes located in underserved South African townships. The rollout is part of fibertime’s wider goal of connecting two million homes by 2028.
fibertime’s flagship product is a ZAR5 ($0.29) per day package which includes uncapped, unthrottled 100Mbps internet access.
Fibertime passed over 170,000 new homes with FTTH between February and November 2025, to take the number of homes passed to roughly 250,000 at that date. Its coverage areas include parts of 39 townships in all nine provinces.
Going forward, the company aims to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2027, which would make it the first fiber provider in the country to have direct presence on the bourse.
Zoom Fibre
URL: zoomfibre.co.za
Ownership: Unknown; founded by CEO Mohammed Manjra
Homes Passed: 191,636 (June 2025)
Homes Connected: 65,100 (June 2025)
Zoom Fibre is an open access fiber network operator that is rolling out FTTH infrastructure in selected suburbs across the country.
The company was founded by former Vumatel executive Mohammed Manjra and currently has networks in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, and the North West province.
The company claims to be the fastest in the country to pass 100,000 homes, having achieved that milestone in June 2022—just two years after its launch.
At that juncture, Mr Manjra noted: “Rollouts are funded through multiple series of debt funding that we have raised through local and international funders over the past 18 months.”
Zoom Fibre now has networks that pass 191,636 homes and claims more than 65,000 end user connections.
Going forward, the operator has stated that it seeks to deploy infrastructure passing 350,000 homes in the medium-term.
Vodacom South Africa
URL: vodacom.co.za
Ownership: Vodacom Group
Homes Passed: 165,879 (June 2025)
Homes Connected: N/A; local media reports estimate 55,000 connections (June 2025)
Vodacom South Africa—the country’s largest mobile operator by subscriptions—entered the fiber sector in 2014, with an initial focus on small and medium enterprises in Cape Town, Durban, and Gauteng.
Now-defunct vendor Alcatel-Lucent was handed a GPON deployment contract in January 2015, with a view to the telco extending fiber coverage to 250,000 homes and businesses in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban by 2018.
Progress has been far slower than expected, however, and Vodacom’s fiber networks passed just 165,879 homes and businesses as of June 2025, supporting approximately 55,000 fiber connections at that date.
In August 2023 the Competition Commission recommended the prohibition of the proposed merger between Vodacom South Africa and MAZIV. Stating: “The Commission is of the view that the proposed transaction is likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in several markets and that the conditions offered do not fully address the resultant harm to competition.”
Subsequently, the two parties submitted a notice of appeal to the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), challenging the Tribunal’s decision. The CAC heard the appeal on 22 July 2025 and approved the merger with conditions on 14 August 2025.
In November that year the companies received final approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to proceed with Vodacom’s acquisition of a co-controlling stake in MAZIV – some four years after first agreeing the deal. ICASA transferred the requisite licences the following month.
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