SA finally has a broadband map – and it reveals where the gaps are

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), was developed as part of the South Africa Digital Infrastructure Investment Study (Sadis) 2025, commissioned by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the National Planning Commission.

Pieter Grootes, digital economy strategist at Networks Anonymous, said the GIS is built on a geospatial indexing methodology that breaks the country into more than 1.5 million hexagonal cells, each covering approximately 0.76km², to render a granular picture of last-mile connectivity.

The GIS data belongs to the DBSA and is yet to be made publicly available. Grootes said that in time, the DBSA will make a call on whether it will open-source the maps.

“Through this study, we’ve built a GIS database that formed the analytical baseline of everything we have. We know where every household is, we know where every clinic is, we know where every hospital should be – we know where everything is and we mapped it,” Grootes said at a launch event held in Midrand on Tuesday. “We could work out, within a city block, who has access and who doesn’t.”

The aim of the study was to determine the investment required to connect South Africa’s entire population with 100Mbit/s broadband, facilitating the development of a digital economy in which all citizens could participate. Mapping current connectivity levels is key to driving channelled investments that avoid wastage such as the fibre overbuild typically seen in urban areas.

Layered map

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

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

Read: Why microwave remains a pillar of South Africa’s digital infrastructure

The analysis found that 4G mobile coverage in South Africa reaches 98% of the population – compared with 80% in emerging markets peer Brazil. The number of households with no access to 4G or better is estimated at approximately 400 000.

Each of South Africa’s 213 municipalities was assigned a composite “broadband access score” – a weighted metric that assigns 80% to fibre node proximity, 13% to 4G/5G coverage and 7% to wireless access node proximity. The score is designed as an early triage tool for identifying priority municipalities for universal service interventions.

Municipalities connected to neither mobile nor fibre broadband are in Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Grootes said this is in part due to topographical challenges that make the build-out of infrastructure in those regions particularly difficult.

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

“That means it is possible to bring fibre-like speeds to these areas, or at least make sure that you have fibre to the site of a mobile tower. This means high-speed broadband, whether it be through fibre or through mobile, is possible,” said Grootes.

However, 12.2% of households are more than 20km from the nearest fibre node, placing them effectively beyond the reach of any commercially viable fixed-line roll-out without public subsidies.

The analysis extends to government facilities. Of South Africa’s roughly 15 000 public schools, more than 6 700 are located between 10km and 25km from a fibre node. More than a thousand health clinics fall within that same band. The map makes visible the fact that a significant share of the public sector estate remains structurally excluded from high-speed fixed broadband – and the authors argue the gap cannot be filled without first being mapped.

The study criticised government for not making such data available for investors and for its own decision-making. Icasa only makes mobile coverage data available, despite having the legal authority to compel licensees to submit the relevant data.

Not just ICT

South Africa has previously constructed 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. Grootes said accurate data collection is a big problem.

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

Read: The staggering cost of connecting every South African household

In its recommendations, the study calls on the communications department to prioritise “the completion and operationalisation of a national GIS database with broad stakeholder data contributions” and for Icasa to launch a formal regulatory inquiry to compel licensees to submit infrastructure data in standardised formats through an online portal.  – © 2026 NewsCentral Media