The uptake of fibre connectivity solutions bysmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) is fuelling growth in the local fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) market.
This is in addition to cloud adoption and ongoing digital transformation across industries that keep the sector on a positive trajectory, says Lehlohonolo Mokenela, senior analyst and director at Africa Analysis.
Mokenela was speaking on the back of the research firm’s FTTB Market Tracking Programme report, which shows the local FTTB market reached 257 000 connected and active endpoints by December 2024.
It further projects this will expand to nearly 309 000 endpoints by the end of 2028, with best effort (BE) services leading growth at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 5.7%. The total FTTB retail revenue is expected to reach R13.5 billion over the same period.
Detailing the findings, Mokenela tells ITWeb there is a greater focus from fibre network operators (FNOs) on the small company market, resulting in increasingly targeted products and lower prices.
“Historically, FTTB products had been acquired mainly by the large and medium-sized companies. With the introduction of lower-priced FTTB BE products, more SMEs have begun to buy fibre connectivity.
“There is an (almost) finite quantity of FTTB connections the large companies can buy, limited to their requirements. There are far more SMEs than larger companies, but they are a more difficult sale and generate much lower revenue per customer.
“Thus, the FNOs and ISPs [internet service providers] focused mainly on the larger companies, but as the remaining market became smaller and smaller, they had to begin focusing on the SME market for new growth.”
The Africa Analysis FTTB market report is a quarterly research initiative that provides a deep dive into market performance, trends, competitive dynamics and forecasts.
The December 2024 edition draws from interviews with FNOs and ISPs, operator data, pricing intelligence and proprietary modelling.
South Africa counts players such as Openserve, Dark Fibre Africa and Frogfoot, as well as the smaller FNOs among the leading fibre operators in the market, highlights Mokenela.
The report’s latest findings, he says, are indicative of the continued growth and increasing interest in fibre among the smaller companies.
“The uptake of FTTB products is driven by rising demand for high-quality internet services, as enterprises make greater use of cloud services and technologies such as artificial intelligence.
“The trend is prevalent across a rising number of verticals, including financial services, retail and manufacturing. Fibre offers the required quality of service, including high-speed and low latency, to support these technologies.”
New options
While emerging competition from alternative technologies like fixed 5G and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite remain real, they are muted in the near-term.
However, Mokenela notes that with continued improvement in the quality and pricing of these technologies, they are expected to pose a greater threat to FTTB in the medium- to long-term.
“While FTTB services are often more expensive than competing fixed mobile and other fixed wireless services, it is the most stable and reliable last-mile connectivity technology available.
“Satellite and wireless technologies are susceptible to atmospheric and environmental factors (when it is heavily overcast, satellite signal deteriorates; in-building penetration can be challenging for wireless and may require additional in-building small cell deployment). Fibre offers the best consistent reliability and quality.
“But other technologies have their place. For example, 5G private networks are much more cost-effective to deploy than fibre and enable autonomous vehicles on mining premises, for instance. Fibre is not suited for such applications.
“The lower-end FTTB products are price-competitive against fixed 5G and LEO, particularly when the upfront cost of LEO is taken into consideration.”
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