SA lastly has a broadband map

For the primary time, South Africa has a map of the place broadband infrastructure really reaches – and the place it doesn’t.

The software, a geospatial data system (GIS), was developed as a part of the South Africa Digital Infrastructure Funding Research (Sadis) 2025, commissioned by the Improvement Financial institution of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Nationwide Planning Fee.

Pieter Grootes, digital economic system strategist at Networks Nameless, stated the GIS is constructed on a geospatial indexing methodology that breaks the nation into greater than 1.5 million hexagonal cells, every protecting roughly 0.76km², to render a granular image of last-mile connectivity.

The GIS knowledge belongs to the DBSA and is but to be made publicly out there. Grootes stated that in time, the DBSA will make a name on whether or not it’ll open-source the maps.

“By way of this examine, we’ve constructed a GIS database that fashioned the analytical baseline of the whole lot we’ve got. We all know the place each family is, we all know the place each clinic is, we all know the place each hospital must be – we all know the place the whole lot is and we mapped it,” Grootes stated at a launch occasion held in Midrand on Tuesday. “We may work out, inside a metropolis block, who has entry and who doesn’t.”

The intention of the examine was to find out the funding required to attach South Africa’s whole inhabitants with 100Mbit/s broadband, facilitating the event of a digital economic system wherein all residents may take part. Mapping present connectivity ranges is vital to driving channelled investments that keep away from wastage such because the fibre overbuild usually seen in city areas.

Layered map

Information from communications regulator Icasa on cellular community protection, alongside data from the Worldwide Telecommunication Union on fibre mapping in South Africa, was overlaid on the GIS map to attract insights. Info from fixed-wireless entry suppliers, fibre operators and publicly out there community knowledge was additionally included.

The result’s a layered map that captures cellular know-how protection (2G by way of to 5G), fixed-wireless entry deployment and fibre node proximity, damaged into 4 distance bands: inside 5km, 5-10km, 10-25km and past 25km.

Learn: Why microwave stays a pillar of South Africa’s digital infrastructure

The evaluation discovered that 4G cellular protection in South Africa reaches 98% of the inhabitants – in contrast with 80% in rising markets peer Brazil. The variety of households with no entry to 4G or higher is estimated at roughly 400 000.

Every of South Africa’s 213 municipalities was assigned a composite “broadband entry rating” – a weighted metric that assigns 80% to fibre node proximity, 13% to 4G/5G protection and seven% to wi-fi entry node proximity. The rating is designed as an early triage software for figuring out precedence municipalities for common service interventions.

Municipalities related to neither cellular nor fibre broadband are in Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Grootes stated that is partially on account of topographical challenges that make the build-out of infrastructure in these areas notably troublesome.

Encouragingly, 74% of South African households reside inside 10km of a fibre node, the examine discovered.

“Meaning it’s attainable to deliver fibre-like speeds to those areas, or at the very least just be sure you have fibre to the positioning of a cellular tower. This implies high-speed broadband, whether or not it’s by way of fibre or by way of cellular, is feasible,” stated Grootes.

Nevertheless, 12.2% of households are greater than 20km from the closest fibre node, putting them successfully past the attain of any commercially viable fixed-line roll-out with out public subsidies.

The evaluation extends to authorities amenities. Of South Africa’s roughly 15 000 public colleges, greater than 6 700 are situated between 10km and 25km from a fibre node. Greater than a thousand well being clinics fall inside that very same band. The map makes seen the truth that a big share of the general public sector property stays structurally excluded from high-speed fastened broadband – and the authors argue the hole can’t be crammed with out first being mapped.

The examine criticised authorities for not making such knowledge out there for traders and for its personal decision-making. Icasa solely makes cellular protection knowledge out there, regardless of having the authorized authority to compel licensees to submit the related knowledge.

Not simply ICT

South Africa has beforehand constructed a broadband map for the event of the SA Join broadband coverage. Nevertheless, there isn’t any publicly out there and present database utilized by the federal government for coverage planning functions. Grootes stated correct knowledge assortment is an enormous downside.

“We do point out in our report the transversal challenges of guaranteeing that South Africa’s basic statistics are clear and updated. It’s not simply in ICT that we don’t know the place issues are – it’s a nationwide competence base that we have to construct,” he stated.

Learn: The staggering value of connecting each South African family

In its suggestions, the examine calls on the communications division to prioritise “the completion and operationalisation of a nationwide GIS database with broad stakeholder knowledge contributions” and for Icasa to launch a proper regulatory inquiry to compel licensees to submit infrastructure knowledge in standardised codecs by way of a web-based portal.  – © 2026 NewsCentral Media