South Africa Moves to Coordinate Public Fiber Infrastructure Across SOEs
The goal is to move from a siloed approach to a more integrated model. By coordinating the rollout and management of public fiber, the government hopes to spend smarter, reduce costs, and accelerate the expansion of high-speed internet to underserved areas.
In a move to improve digital connectivity and optimize resources, South Africa’s government is taking steps to coordinate the country’s public fiber infrastructure. In a meeting between Minister Solly Malatsi and Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, it was agreed to begin the process of mapping and managing the fiber optic lines of various State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) like Eskom, Transnet, and PRASA.
Currently, these SOEs operate separate, parallel fiber networks to support their individual operations. This fragmented approach leads to duplicated infrastructure builds, higher costs, and unused network capacity, while many communities still lack broadband access. The new initiative aims to address this by identifying and utilizing the spare capacity within these existing networks.
The goal is to move from a siloed approach to a more integrated model. By coordinating the rollout and management of public fiber, the government hopes to spend smarter, reduce costs, and accelerate the expansion of high-speed internet to underserved areas. This strategy aligns with the broader objective of “turbocharging last-mile connectivity” and ensuring that public investments in digital infrastructure yield maximum value for all citizens.
