Vodacom pursuing joint fibre ventures in Africa broadband push

File photoa: A branch of South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken on 10 November 2015. Reuters/Mike Hutchings/File Photo

With the voice market slowing in parts of the continent including South Africa, telecom companies such as Vodacom and rivals MTN and Airtel Africa have doubled down on high-speed internet, an area long dominated by fibre companies such as Maziv-owned Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel in South Africa.

Vodacom wants to merge with Maziv but the deal has been prohibited by South Africa's competition authorities.

Asked what will happen if its appeal with the Competition Appeal Court fails, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said on a call with journalists that since funding for the proposed deal is still in the bank, the operator has "opportunities" to look at where else it could invest the money.

"We will pursue fibre joint ventures in all our markets," Joosub said, adding that Vodacom had already set up a new entity in Tanzania and was working on fibre in Mozambique.

"We're looking at different opportunities and different partners...that share the same ambition of wanting to make sure that we can provide connectivity," he added.

The ideal joint venture structure for Vodacom would be a 50-50 split with Vodacom not concerned about controlling any vehicle, Joosub said.

Rolling out fibre organically is a slow and costly expansion option at a time when mobile operators need to make up ground on existing fibre networks.

Homes and businesses connected by Vodacom reached 198,000 in the year ended 31 March, while its own fibre passed almost 166,000 homes and businesses.

Vodacom, majority-owned by UK-based Vodafone, has 211.3 million mobile network customers across eight African countries. It is also partnering with satellite providers, including Amazon's Project Kuiper.

Joosub said Vodacom could also potentially partner with Elon Musk's Starlink as "satellite is a necessary part of being able to expand coverage to everyone".