South Africa’s broadband market is shifting toward fixed wireless growth. (Image created using ChatGPT)
Fixed wireless access (FWA) is increasingly gaining ground in South Africa’s broadband mix, emerging as a fast-scaling alternative alongside fibre.
This, as local operators respond to the rising demand for household connectivity.
A new Opensignal report shows how competition is intensifying across both fibre and wireless deployments, with quality of experience becoming a key differentiator for consumers.
While fibre remains the benchmark for high-capacity connectivity, fixed wireless is increasingly being positioned as a scalable solution for extending broadband access, although performance can vary depending on network load and geography, it notes.
“The report reflects the growing maturity of FWA, which is increasingly being positioned as a viable alternative to fibre in certain segments of the market,” notes Opensignal.
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“These shifts are being driven by sustained growth in data consumption across South African households, with streaming, remote working and digital services now forming part of everyday connectivity demand. As a result, operators are increasingly adopting hybrid infrastructure strategies that combine fibre, mobile and wireless technologies to improve reach and resilience,” the report points out.
In this environment, traditional distinctions between mobile and fixed broadband providers are also beginning to blur, as operators compete across overlapping segments of the connectivity market, it states.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa reported strong connectivity growth in 2025, with fixed broadband subscriptions rising 19.3% year-on-year to 3.26 million and FTTH/B subscriptions increasing 22% to 3.01 million.
FWA is also becoming more important, with subscriptions reaching 1.26 million, up 39% year-on-year, it says.
However, fixed internet at home remains limited as the percentage of households with internet access accounts for 17.4% according to Stats SA.
Globally, Opensignal says it has observed that FWA is transforming broadband markets by offering faster deployment and lower upfront costs compared to fibre, although performance gaps can still persist depending on network conditions and scale.
Opensignal also points out that SA’s home broadband market is changing structurally, as operators now compete less on internet speeds and more on how well their networks perform on a daily basis in terms of consistency and reliability.
Meanwhile, consumers are also placing greater emphasis on uninterrupted connectivity that holds up across multiple devices, rather than chasing the highest speeds, the study notes.
Against this backdrop, Opensignal conducted an analysis that evaluates broadband usage by local telecoms operators over 90 days and examined whether networks can consistently support everyday digital activities.
According to the report, Vox ranked best for home internet in SA, leading the chart across all five core metrics: download speed experience, upload speed experience, reliability experience, video experience and consistent quality.
“Vox outperforms rivals, with 55.8% of tests meeting recommended performance thresholds for activities like HD streaming, group video and playing games, taking the consistent quality award. It finishes ahead of HeroTel’s 51.7% and Vodacom’s 51.3%, indicating a more consistently usable experience,” notes the report.
Rain is identified as the closest competitor, with strong performance in download speeds, video experience and reliability.
Vodacom, which ranks in third place, is deepening its presence in the fibre market through its stake in Maziv, giving it access to an extensive fibre footprint, notes the report.
“This positions the operator to compete more aggressively in the fixed broadband space, complementing its mobile dominance.”
Meanwhile, MTN (fourth) is pursuing a hybrid home model that is increasingly centred on FWA plus fibre.
This strategy is aligned with MTN’s broader 5G rollout, which is enabling faster fixed wireless speeds and expanding service availability, according to the report.
Telkom and HeroTel also feature in the rankings, although their performance varies across different experience metrics, reflecting differing network strategies and infrastructure footprints, the report states.
Telkom remains the clearest scale player in South African fixed broadband, supported by the strength of its Openserve network, notes the report.
