South Africa’s fibre rollout is often described as one of the success stories of the local telecommunications sector. Nowhere is this more evident than in the scale of Openserve’s infrastructure.
Openserve, the wholesale fibre network operator within the Telkom Group, has deployed in excess of 180 000 kilometres of fibre-optic infrastructure across South Africa. This network passes approximately 1.4 million homes, with just over 700 000 homes connected, translating to a connection rate of 51.1%.
In other words, roughly half of all homes that already have fibre available are still not connected.
This is not a build problem. It is an adoption problem.
The missing half of fibre connectivity
From a network perspective, Openserve’s footprint is extensive, national and technically capable of supporting far more connections than are currently active. The question, therefore, is not whether fibre exists, but why uptake has stalled at around 50%.
Quadrupleplay, a digital services provider with deep experience in last-mile connectivity and rural network deployment, has spent several years studying this gap across both urban and rural environments.
The findings are consistent across regions: the barriers are awareness, accessibility and ease of onboarding, rather than infrastructure availability or pricing alone.
In many communities, particularly peri-urban and rural areas, fibre infrastructure was deployed quietly, often using the same poles previously occupied by copper ADSL lines. When ADSL services degraded or were switched off, many households assumed they were simply left behind by the network transition.
In reality, fibre had arrived, but no one had explained it.
When fibre exists, but people don’t know it
One telling example comes from the Eastern Cape, where a filling station manager complained about unusable ADSL connectivity, unaware that an active Openserve fibre line ran directly behind the premises. The copper service had failed, but fibre was already live on the same infrastructure.
This knowledge gap is widespread. Unlike mobile networks, fibre does not announce itself visibly to end-users. Without targeted education and engagement, entire communities remain disconnected despite having world-class infrastructure at their doorstep.
Making fibre easier to join
Another major barrier is complexity. Traditional fibre ordering processes, websites, call centres, long forms, delayed activations and rigid billing cycles are often misaligned with how many South Africans actually engage with services.
Quadrupleplay has addressed this by introducing a multi-channel WhatsApp-based platform that consolidates:
- Fibre service ordering
- Activation requests
- Technical support
- Monthly subscriptions
- Openserve prepaid fibre packages
The platform operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing customers to manage their fibre service entirely from a single interface they already use daily.
Customers can choose between:
- Month-to-month fibre services; or
- Prepaid fibre, purchasing access only when they need it.
There are no hidden costs and billing is designed around real household cashflow realities. For recurring packages, invoices are issued on the 1st of the month, with payment flexibility up to the 25th, allowing households time to raise funds without service interruption.
Payments are processed through established platforms such as Peach Payments, ensuring security and convenience.
Rural connectivity requires community ownership
Quadrupleplay has gained national attention for its work in rural connectivity strategies, particularly its collaborations with local ISPs and community structures.
One key insight has emerged consistently: rural networks are only sustainable when communities have a stake in them.
Rather than treating households purely as consumers, Quadrupleplay works with communities to co-own and co-invest in connectivity networks. In this model, residents understand that a portion of what they pay today contributes to long-term local value, whether through reinvestment, dividends or community development initiatives.
This approach not only improves adoption but also reduces vandalism, improves payment discipline and builds trust in the network.
Raising the Openserve connection rate to 75%
Based on these insights, Quadrupleplay believes South Africa can realistically increase fibre uptake from 51% to at least 75% of homes passed (on the Openserve network), without laying a single additional kilometre of fibre.
The solution lies in:
- Education and awareness campaigns
- Simplified onboarding and support
- Flexible payment models
- Community-embedded growth strategies
If even a portion of the currently unconnected 700 000 homes were brought online, the economic and social impact would be substantial, from improved education outcomes to increased participation in the digital economy.
A seasonal push to drive adoption
As part of its broader fibre adoption strategy, Quadrupleplay is launching a Christmas fibre promotion, offering households the opportunity to pay for one month and receive two additional months free.
After the promotional period, customers can:
- Continue on the same package on a month-to-month basis; or
- Switch to prepaid fibre and purchase access as needed.
The aim is not merely to sell connections, but to lower the psychological and financial barriers to first-time fibre adoption.
Fibre is already there; now it needs people
Openserve has already made the hard investment in fibre infrastructure. With over 180 000km of fibre deployed and 1.4 million homes passed, the foundation is firmly in place.
The next phase of growth will not be driven by trenches and cables, but by human-centred connectivity strategies, meeting people where they are, speaking their language and making fibre simple, affordable and relevant.
Only then will the promise of fibre truly be realised.
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