Fibre has come a long way in South Africa. From exclusive estates and business parks to mainstream suburban and township rollouts, access is expanding but the journey isn’t over.
A Brief Timeline of Fibre in South Africa
- 2009–2012: Initial fibre rollout focused on premium business districts and gated communities
- 2013–2015: Expansion into metro areas and major suburban corridors by private ISPs
- 2016–2019: Entry of smaller fibre network operators into township zones; increased competition
- 2020–2022: Acceleration due to remote work demand; FTTH and FTTB scaled aggressively
- 2023–Present: Fibre being deployed in rural, peri-urban, and underserved regions
Fibre, Then vs Now
- Then: Slow deployment, heavy civil works, limited trenching technology
- Now: Integrated network planning, micro trenching, aerial rollouts, and hybridised last-mile solutions
According to MyBroadband, over 3 million homes now have fibre access yet nearly half the country still relies on mobile data as their primary internet source.
What’s on the Horizon
- Municipal fibre integration with smart cities
- Hybrid fibre-wireless networks for high-speed redundancy
- On-demand fibre builds for enterprise and industrial parks
- Widespread adoption of micro and nano trenching for low disruption
VEATel’s Approach to Fibre Evolution
As infrastructure demands shift, so does our approach. VEATel has evolved from a traditional civil contractor to a full turnkey fibre partner — offering strategy, build, splicing, testing, and 24/7 support. Our teams lead innovation across:
- Microtrenching techniques that halve build time
- Pre-built modular fibre enclosures
- Aerial deployment that enables faster expansion in complex terrains
Discover our approach: https://veatel.co.za/our-services/ Ready for what’s next? https://veatel.co.za/contact-us/