Vuma Fibre Reaches One Million Homes As Demand Accelerates Beyond South Africa’s Core Metros

Dietlof Mare - Maziv CEO | image supplied

The network, owned by Maziv, reached the milestone roughly eight years after its initial rollout, reflecting the accelerating shift away from legacy fixed-line technologies towards fibre-based connectivity.

Vuma’s growth has been driven by continued expansion across major metropolitan areas, including Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, alongside increased uptake in lower-income and previously underserved areas through its Reach product.

Maziv chief executive officer Dietlof Mare said the milestone reflected the role of fibre as essential digital infrastructure and the importance of collaboration with internet service provider partners operating on the network.

“It reflects the growing importance of fibre as essential infrastructure and the success of our close collaboration with ISP partners, who play a critical role in connecting and supporting customers on our network,” Mare said.

Growth shifts beyond core metro areas

While early subscriber growth was concentrated in established suburbs, Vuma has seen increasing adoption in newer rollout areas over the past few years. According to the company, this has contributed to subscriber growth across a wider geographic footprint, rather than continued reliance on mature fibre markets.

The pace of adoption highlights a faster uptake than previous fixed-line technologies in South Africa. ADSL services took more than a decade to reach a similar peak subscriber base, underscoring the extent to which fibre has become the preferred fixed broadband option for households.

Vuma chief commercial officer Simon Butler said growth in reach areas had become a notable contributor to overall subscriber numbers.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen strong growth from our rollout into Reach areas, providing broadband access to communities that were previously underserved,” Butler said.

Fibre entrenched as core infrastructure

The one-million-subscriber milestone signals the entrenchment of fibre connectivity as a core component of South Africa’s digital infrastructure, supporting household connectivity, remote work, education access and small business activity.

As competition among fibre network operators intensifies and rollout economics come under pressure, subscriber scale remains a key indicator of network sustainability and long-term viability in the local telecoms sector.