5G expected to reshape South Africa’s wireless broadband market

BMIT's SA Broadband Report forecasts South Africa's broadband market will reach R82.8-billion by 2029, driven by 5G fixed-wireless access (FWA) and fibre-to-the-home growth. 5G is projected to account for 67% of residential FWA connections by 2029, up from 35% in 2024, as MTN, Vodacom, Rain, and Telkom expand coverage. Fibre growth is expected to accelerate at a 12.8% CAGR, partly boosted by Vodacom's stake in Maziv. However, a separate DBSA report highlights that connecting all South African households to 100Mbit/s broadband requires R108–142 billion by 2035, and affordability remains the key barrier — the majority of the population still relies on prepaid data. Satellite broadband via Starlink remains locked out due to unresolved licensing issues.