Original article Total Telecom:Read More
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The move aims to avoid unnecessary deployments and make efficient use of public network assets
According to recent reports, South Africa is advancing efforts to coordinate and consolidate public fiber infrastructure across state-owned enterprises (SOEs), aiming to improve digital connectivity, reduce costs, and expand high-speed internet access to underserved areas. This process would include integrating the currently fragmented fiber networks operated independently by entities such as Eskom, Transnet, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
In a recent post on X (Twitter), South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi described ‘productive meeting’ with Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, aimed at developing a less siloed approach to fibre infrastructure management for SOEs.
Just concluded a productive meeting with Minister @Kgosientsho_R.
Currently, different SOE’s (like Eskom, Transnet and PRASA) each run their own fibre lines to support operations. Often those lines run along the same corridors, which means parallel builds, higher costs and… pic.twitter.com/lZZhnq2mfE
— SollyMalatsi (@SollyMalatsi) August 26, 2025
Better coordinating the fibre assets of SEOs has been a government priority for over three years, being a feature of the South African National Development Plan and the objectives of the Broadband Infraco (BBI) Act.
In June 2025, the Communications Committee of Parliament was updated on plans to establish a State Digital Infrastructure Company (SDIC). This entity is intended to act as a wholesale infrastructure provider by consolidating assets not only from Broadband InfraCo, Sentech, and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) but also key SOEs such as Eskom, Transnet, PRASA, and the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL). The SDIC’s mandate is to streamline and optimise the digital infrastructure landscape for improved service delivery and national connectivity goals.
The exact timeline for establishing the SDIC has yet to be announced.
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