March 14, 2024

ISPA mapping project reveals most S.Africans have no choice of fibre provider

National fibre mapping project highlights minimal choice of fibre providers

The Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) NPC today released the results of its Open Access Network (OAN) mapping project, conducted in partnership with mapping specialists 28East. An OAN is an infrastructure network provider delivering wholesale fibre services to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that then form the basis for internet services provided to end users.

According to ISPA chairperson, Sasha Booth-Beharilal, the results clearly indicate that many South African consumers have no choice of fibre service provider.

“This means that these consumers are not able to enjoy the pricing and quality benefits of infrastructure or service based competition.” says Booth-Beharilal.

An analysis of the overlap between the maps of two dozen open access networks indicates that nationally, 33 million people (54% of South Africa’s population) live in a location where at least one fibre operator provides a service, while 27 million citizens (46% of the population) are not yet covered. Of those who have at least one FNO providing service, more than a third have no choice of operator.

Here is how the numbers look based on population and on the number of households. The Western Cape and Gauteng lead the race for both coverage and competition, while citizens of Limpopo appear to be the least well-served by fibre providers.

Region	Population	No OAN	Monopoly OAN	Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape	6,735,599	69%	15%	15%
Free State	2,949,107	63%	22%	15%
Gauteng	15,652,452	13%	23%	64%
KwaZulu-Natal	11,660,403	60%	17%	23%
Limpopo	5,766,375	81%	11%	8%
Mpumalanga	4,725,254	68%	15%	17%
North West	4,151,744	63%	22%	16%
Northern Cape	1,308,270	59%	27%	14%
Western Cape	7,092,792	7%	24%	69%
National	60,041,996	46%	19%	35%

Region	Households	No OAN	Monopoly OAN	Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape	1,640,821	64%	17%	19%
Free State	946,596	61%	23%	17%
Gauteng	5,555,383	14%	23%	63%
KwaZulu-Natal	2,912,560	52%	20%	29%
Limpopo	1,530,180	78%	12%	10%
Mpumalanga	1,297,621	67%	15%	18%
North West	1,328,752	62%	22%	16%
Northern Cape	372,562	60%	27%	14%
Western Cape	2,099,500	7%	23%	70%
Grand Total	17,683,975	40%	20%	39%

ISPA acknowledged some limitations of the data used for the study, noting that only networks which publish mapping data could be used. This means that some consumers may still be able to purchase fibre services from closed network operators in locations where no open access networks operate. There are also limitations in the scale at which overlapping maps can be analysed while still matching them to census data. An FNO providing service in a suburb does not always provide service to all streets in the suburb so coverage in densely populated areas may be less than these figures suggest.

Despite these limitations, ISPA believes that the study gives a good high-level picture of the state of fibre-based internet access in South Africa. Comparing coverage against household income reveals that there has been a clear focus on covering the highest earning quintile of households, while both coverage and competition for lower income households lags behind.

Region	Highest quintile income households	No OAN	Monopoly OAN	Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape	210,128	29%	20%	51%
Free State	99,493	24%	21%	54%
Gauteng	1,678,536	3%	8%	88%
KwaZulu-Natal	451,645	21%	15%	64%
Limpopo	154,583	47%	18%	34%
Mpumalanga	179,282	32%	16%	51%
North West

View the full press release at the ISPA website here.

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ISPA mapping project reveals most S.Africans have no choice of fibre provider

National fibre mapping project highlights minimal choice of fibre providers

About WhichVoIP.co.za

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