Many South African consumers have no choice of fibre service provider.

This is one of the findings of the Open Access Network (OAN) mapping project conducted by the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) in partnership with mapping specialists 28East.

An OAN is an infrastructure network provider delivering wholesale fibre services to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that then form the basis for Internet services provided to end users.

ISPA chairperson Sasha Booth-Beharilal comments: “This means that these consumers are not able to enjoy the pricing and quality benefits of infrastructure or service based competition”

An analysis of the overlap between the maps of two dozen open access networks indicates that nationally, 33-million people (54% of South Africa’s population) live in a location where at least one fibre operator provides a service, while 27-million citizens (46% of the population) are not yet covered.

Of those who have at least one FNO providing service, more than one-third have no choice of operator.

Here is how the numbers look based on population and on the number of households. The Western Cape and Gauteng lead the race for both coverage and competition, while citizens of Limpopo appear to be the least well-served by fibre providers.

 

Region Population No OAN Monopoly OAN Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape 6,735,599 69% 15% 15%
Free State 2,949,107 63% 22% 15%
Gauteng 15,652,452 13% 23% 64%
KwaZulu-Natal 11,660,403 60% 17% 23%
Limpopo 5,766,375 81% 11% 8%
Mpumalanga 4,725,254 68% 15% 17%
North West 4,151,744 63% 22% 16%
Northern Cape 1,308,270 59% 27% 14%
Western Cape 7,092,792 7% 24% 69%
National 60,041,996 46% 19% 35%

 

Region Households No OAN Monopoly OAN Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape 1,640,821 64% 17% 19%
Free State 946,596 61% 23% 17%
Gauteng 5,555,383 14% 23% 63%
KwaZulu-Natal 2,912,560 52% 20% 29%
Limpopo 1,530,180 78% 12% 10%
Mpumalanga 1,297,621 67% 15% 18%
North West 1,328,752 62% 22% 16%
Northern Cape 372,562 60% 27% 14%
Western Cape 2,099,500 7% 23% 70%
Grand Total 17,683,975 40% 20% 39%

ISPA acknowledges some limitations in the data used for the study, noting that only networks which publish mapping data could be used. This means that some consumers may still be able to purchase fibre services from closed network operators in locations where no open access networks operate.

There are also limitations in the scale at which overlapping maps can be analysed while still matching them to census data. An FNO providing service in a suburb does not always provide service to all streets in the suburb so coverage in densely populated areas may be less than these figures suggest.

Despite these limitations, ISPA believes that the study gives a good high-level picture of the state of fibre-based internet access in South Africa.

Comparing coverage against household income reveals that there has been a clear focus on covering the highest earning quintile of households, while both coverage and competition for lower income households lags behind.

 

Region Highest quintile income households No OAN Monopoly OAN Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape 210,128 29% 20% 51%
Free State 99,493 24% 21% 54%
Gauteng 1,678,536 3% 8% 88%
KwaZulu-Natal 451,645 21% 15% 64%
Limpopo 154,583 47% 18% 34%
Mpumalanga 179,282 32% 16% 51%
North West 126,329 29% 23% 48%
Northern Cape 50,851 29% 35% 36%
Western Cape 585,926 2% 13% 85%
Grand Total 3,536,773 12% 13% 75%

Nationally 88% of top quintile income households are located in areas with the choice of at least one OAN, and 75% of them have a choice of multiple OANs.

However, looking at the lower quintile income households, it can be seen that only 38% of households are in locations with at least one OAN. Where there is no coverage, the majority (62%) have no choice of OAN and by effect, ISP.

Region Lowest quintile income households No OAN Monopoly OAN Choice of OAN
Eastern Cape 499,607 73% 16% 10%
Free State 254,965 76% 20% 5%
Gauteng 606,780 25% 37% 38%
KwaZulu-Natal 722,982 63% 22% 15%
Limpopo 487,991 87% 10% 4%
Mpumalanga 296,192 79% 13% 8%
North West 395,302 70% 22% 8%
Northern Cape 82,537 75% 19% 7%
Western Cape 190,437 15% 32% 53%
Grand Total 3,536,793 62% 22% 16%

National and provincial open access coverage maps can be viewed here:

South Africa

Eastern Cape

Free State

Gauteng

KwaZulu-Natal

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

North West

Northern Cape

Western Cape