Why Operators Are Investing in Home Fibre Across African Cities

29 January 2026 - For much of the past decade, Africa’s internet growth has been driven primarily by mobile networks.

Smartphones and wireless broadband became the default gateway to the digital world for millions of households.

But that model is starting to shift. Across several African markets, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) is emerging as a serious alternative as demand for faster and more reliable home internet continues to rise.

Fixed broadband subscriptions are increasing at double-digit rates in many countries, supported by wider fibre deployment and the expansion of fixed wireless access. Industry forecasts indicate that by 2027, fibre and fixed wireless combined could account for close to two-thirds of all fixed broadband connections on the continent.

Some of the strongest momentum is coming from large markets. In South Africa, FTTH subscriptions climbed sharply between 2023 and 2024, rising from about 1.5 million to nearly 2.5 million households as network operators pushed fibre deeper into townships and peri-urban communities. Nigeria is also positioning itself for large-scale growth. MTN has announced plans to connect up to eight million homes through its FibreX programme, underlining a strategic shift toward long-term fixed infrastructure.

This growth reflects more than just new cables in the ground. It signals a change in how connectivity is viewed , from a mobile convenience to a home utility.

Rising data consumption is the most powerful force behind the move to fibre. Streaming platforms, video conferencing, remote work, online education, and digital payments are placing increasing strain on mobile networks that were never designed to support entire households around the clock. As more families connect multiple devices at once, the limits of mobile-only access become harder to ignore.

In countries where fibre has been deployed, the difference in service quality is clear. Compared with older copper networks or congested mobile links, FTTH offers faster speeds, lower latency, and greater reliability. These improvements are pushing consumers toward fixed broadband where it is available and affordable.

Several countries are already demonstrating how this shift can work. South Africa leads the continent in FTTH penetration, supported by open-access fibre networks and growing investment from major telecom operators. Kenya is seeing steady rollouts from companies such as Safaricom and Liquid Telecom. In North Africa, Morocco and Egypt have benefited from years of state-backed broadband investment, giving them a stronger fixed infrastructure base than many peers.

At the same time, international and regional network upgrades are changing the economics of fibre. New and expanded submarine cable systems , including 2Africa, WACS and EASSy , have dramatically increased available bandwidth and eased long-standing bottlenecks. Inland fibre backbones are also expanding, making last-mile connections more practical in major urban centres.

Despite this progress, deployment remains uneven. High construction costs, complex regulation, and limited purchasing power in some markets have kept fibre largely concentrated in big cities. As a result, the digital divide between urban and rural areas remains wide.

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One of the most significant promises of FTTH is its potential to reduce inequality in access to high-quality internet. Today, reliable broadband is still largely confined to city centres, while many rural and peri-urban communities depend on slower and less stable connections.

Where fibre does reach homes, the effects are immediate. Students gain access to uninterrupted online learning. Clinics and hospitals can support telemedicine services that require consistent bandwidth. Small businesses can use digital tools, cloud platforms, and e-commerce to reach wider markets beyond their neighbourhoods.

South Africa offers an example of how fibre deployment can be structured to balance profit and social impact. Open-access network operators have prioritised dense urban rollouts to generate revenue quickly, while using part of those returns to fund expansion into less profitable areas. This dual-track strategy allows operators to grow sustainably while extending connectivity into communities that would otherwise remain offline.

Shared infrastructure models and partnerships with municipalities are also helping to lower costs and speed up deployment. In some cases, fibre is being rolled out around anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and government offices, with surrounding households connected afterward.

Even with growing demand, expanding FTTH across Africa remains difficult. Laying fibre requires heavy capital investment and faces practical challenges such as unreliable power supply, vandalism, and complex rights-of-way processes. Regulatory hurdles and limited competition in some markets can also slow progress.

To overcome these barriers, operators are adopting hybrid approaches. Fibre is increasingly combined with fixed wireless access, 5G, and satellite links to reach areas where traditional FTTH is too costly. New financing models, including public-private partnerships and community-based funding schemes, are helping spread risk and attract investment.

Over the next decade, fibre is expected to play a central role in supporting Africa’s digital economy. High-capacity home internet will be essential for smart home services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence applications, remote healthcare, and digital education. As costs fall and networks expand, adoption is likely to accelerate.

While FTTH alone will not solve Africa’s connectivity challenges, it is becoming a cornerstone of the continent’s long-term digital strategy. When combined with supportive policies and complementary technologies, fibre networks have the potential to transform how millions of households access the internet , and to bring more communities into the digital economy.