To drive broadband connectivity in SA, wholesale fibre provider Openserve has introduced a fibre-to-the-room (FTTR) solution, in partnership with Huawei SA.
A branch of fibre-to-the-home, FTTR extends fibre connectivity to make sure individual rooms within a building are “always on”.
Openserve’s FTTR offering will be delivered via its internet service provider (ISP) partners, it was announced this week on the sidelines of Africa Tech Festival 2025, in Cape Town.
Makgosi Mabaso, chief commercial officer of Openserve, said: “While FTTR has been in the market for some time, Openserve will be the ‘first’ to deliver it to local customers. As we engage with customers, we’re finding out how to refine our service, so that when it lands with our ISPs, we know that we’re offering something that works.
“It [FTTR] takes the power of fibre, which many South Africans already enjoy, and extends it to every room in the home and the business, ensuring high-end speed, low-latency and stable internet connection throughout individual areas.
“FTTR is about future-ready broadband and showing that connectivity is not luxury but a basic enabler of growth, education and opportunities.”
Statistics show that a 10% increase in broadband penetration equals a 1.3% to 1.5% increase in gross domestic product.
Broadband uptake in the country has shot up as new fibre network operators (FNOs) target the lower-income market, according to data from market analyst firm BMIT.
South Africa counts Openserve, Dark Fibre Africa and Frogfoot, as well as the smaller FNOs, among the leading fibre operators in the market.
The GSM Association notes that FTTR supports usage of a wide array of increasingly mainstream applications simultaneously, such as online education, video conferencing, gaming, immersive extended reality and smart home devices such as security cameras.
Openserve wholesale executive Koketso Maruma added: “As South Africa’s digital landscape evolves, connectivity is no longer just about having fibre in your home; it’s about the quality of the experience in every room, on every device and at any time.”
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