The digital divide in South Africa remains stark, with affluent suburbs enjoying high-speed internet access, while many townships and rural areas rely on costly mobile data.
So said Alan Knott-Craig Jr, founder of Fibertime, telling ITWeb during a tour of Alexandra township in Johannesburg this week that the company is bridging the digital divide gap one township at a time.
Fibertime was founded in 2022 with the aim to connect “every home, shack and dwelling in South Africa’s underserved communities”.
From Kayamandi township in the Western Cape, where the pay-as-you-go fibre model started, to Alexandra, the company offers uncapped 100Mbps internet for R5 per day.
Fibertime is now available in 25 townships across six cities in five provinces. On Tuesday, Fibertime launched its Fibertime Family package, offering connectivity for up to five devices at R10 per day, or R150 per month.
Taking ITWeb on a behind-the-scenes tour, Knott-Craig said Fibertime’s approach is both simple and disruptive. “Once we come into a community, we connect every single home to fibre and put a router in for free.
“It costs nobody a cent. Then, if you want to use it, you just buy a R5 voucher at your local spaza shop and enjoy unlimited 100Mbps internet for the day.”
This model has connected 15 000 homes in Alexandra since the network launched there in August 2024.
He noted that Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) currently hosts Fibertime’s largest network, followed by Johannesburg, where Alexandra remains a major hub.
While walking through the streets of Alexandra, rows of Fibertime’s fibre cables and connection boxes hang above the rooftops.
This, as the fibre market in South Africa grows at a rapid rate, with major players like Vumatel also expanding their networks to townships.
Fibre network operators in South Africa are accelerating efforts to roll out high-speed broadband in underserved townships such as Alexandra, recognising both the social and commercial potential of bridging the digital divide.
These deployments aim to bring affordable, reliable internet to communities long overlooked by traditional infrastructure investments, enabling residents to access online education, e-commerce, remote work opportunities and digital services.
Maziv-owned Vumatel is also present in Alexandra, offering Vuma Key, a product that provides 20Mbps uncapped fibre connectivity to underserviced communities for R100 per month.
Knott-Craig believes affordability is the company’s main differentiator. “We’re 85% cheaper than the going rate. In a leafy suburb, 100Mbps will cost you around R1 000 a month. We sell the same speed for R150 a month, and you don’t even have to pay upfront.”
But affordability is only part of the mission. For Knott-Craig, bridging the digital divide is personal. “We live in a very unequal country. I want to make money, yes, but I also want to make a difference. Unlimited internet gives people education, jobs, entertainment and a gateway to a whole new world. The people who need it most are in the townships, yet they currently pay the most for mobile data.”
Installations have reached up to 1 200 homes per day, he added.
Nelly Kekana, a resident in Alexandra, told ITWeb that she has been using the network for five months and has not experienced any connectivity issues.
“The network is good because I am always connected all the time,” said Kekana.
To deploy its network, Fibertime partnered with Liquid Intelligent Technologies for transmission, Nokia for routers, Finnfund as a key investor, and Rand Merchant Bank as a strategic partner.
Addressing infrastructure vandalism, which is a challenge for many fibre operators, Knott-Craig said community engagement is critical. “We work with ward councillors, church leaders and local labour before we roll out. Once people see the value of affordable internet, everyone, even gangsters, help protect it.”
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