SA finally has a broadband map

For the first time, South Africa has a map of where broadband infrastructure actually reaches – and where it doesn't.

The tool, a geospatial information system (GIS), is part of the South Africa Digital Infrastructure Investment Study (sadis) 2025, commissioned by Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and National Planning Commission.

Peter Groots, digital economy strategist at Networks Anonymous, said the GIS is built on a geospatial indexing method that divides the country into more than 1.5 million hexagonal cells, each covering about 0.76 km², to present a detailed picture of last-mile connectivity.

The GIS data belongs to the DBSA and has not yet been made publicly available. Groots said that in time, the DBSA will decide on whether it will open-source the maps.

“Through this study, we have created a GIS database that has created an analytical baseline of everything we have. We know where every house is, we know where every clinic is, we know where every hospital should be – we know where everything is and we have mapped it,” Groots said at a launch event held in Midrand on Tuesday. “We can find out within a city block who has access and who doesn't.”

The objective of the study was to determine the investment required to connect the entire population of South Africa with 100Mbit/s broadband, thereby facilitating the development of a digital economy in which all citizens can participate. Mapping current connectivity levels is key to pursuing channel-based investments that avoid wastage such as fiber overbuilds typically seen in urban areas.

layered map

Data from communications regulator Icasa on mobile network coverage, along with information from the International Telecommunication Union on fiber mapping in South Africa, was overlaid on a GIS map to gain insights. Information on fixed-wireless access providers, fiber operators, and publicly available network data was also included.

The result is a layered map that captures mobile technology coverage (from 2G to 5G), fixed-wireless access deployment, and fiber node proximity, divided into four distance bands: within 5 km, 5-10 km, 10-25 km, and over 25 km.

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The analysis found that 4G mobile coverage in South Africa reaches 98% of the population – compared to 80% in Brazil, among emerging markets. The number of households without 4G or better access is estimated to be around 400,000.

Each of South Africa's 213 municipalities was assigned an overall “broadband access score” – a weighted metric that gives 80% to fiber node proximity, 13% to 4G/5G coverage and 7% to wireless access node proximity. The score is designed as an initial triage tool to identify priority municipalities for universal service interventions.

Municipalities in Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have neither mobile nor fiber broadband. Groots said this is partly due to geographic challenges that make building infrastructure in those areas particularly difficult.

Encouragingly, the study found that 74% of South African households live within 10km of a fiber node.

“That means it's possible to bring fiber-like speeds to these areas, or at least make sure you have fiber to the site of the mobile tower. That means high-speed broadband, whether it's through fiber or through mobile, is possible,” Groots said.

However, 12.2% of homes are more than 20 km from the nearest fiber node, putting them beyond the reach of any commercially viable fixed-line roll-out without public subsidy.

The analysis extends to government facilities. Of South Africa's approximately 15,000 public schools, more than 6,700 are located between 10 km and 25 km from a fiber node. More than a thousand health clinics come under that purview. The map makes clear the fact that a significant proportion of public sector assets are structurally excluded from high-speed fixed broadband – and the authors argue that this gap cannot be filled without first being mapped.

The study criticized the government for not making such data available to investors and making their own decisions. Despite having the legal right to compel licensees to submit relevant data, Icasa only provides mobile coverage data.

not just ICT

South Africa has previously produced a broadband map for the development of the SA Connect broadband policy. However, there is no publicly available and current database used by the government for policy planning purposes. Groots said accurate data collection is a major problem.

“We mentioned in our report the transversal challenges of ensuring that South Africa's general statistics are clean and up to date. It is not just in ICT that we do not know where things are – it is a national capacity base that we need to build,” he said.

Reading: The staggering cost of connecting every South African home

Among its recommendations, the study calls on the Department of Communications to prioritize “the completion and operationalization of a national GIS database with comprehensive stakeholder data contributions” and to initiate a formal regulatory inquiry to compel licensees to submit infrastructure data in standardized formats through an online portal to Icasa. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media