South Africa unveils connectivity investment roadmap

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Investment; 31 March 2026; 3362 views

Development financial institution the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the National Planning Commission (NPC), an advisory body and think tank appointed by the country’s president, have announced the completion of South Africa’s Digital Connectivity Investment Roadmap to 2035.

Costed at about R142 billion (around US$8.3 billion), the roadmap is described as a comprehensive assessment of the country’s progress towards universal high-speed broadband and the investment required to achieve national connectivity targets by 2035.

It identifies investment gaps, priority actions and partnership opportunities required to expand reliable high-speed broadband and, as the DBSA puts it, accelerate South Africa’s progress toward an inclusive digital economy.

It also translates digital policy ambitions into a rigorous, costed and fiscally aligned investment roadmap for digital connectivity infrastructure (DCI), an investment roadmap that directly supports a number of national development aims.

The study applied the World Bank’s Beyond the Gap (BtG) framework (based on the document Beyond the Gap: How Countries Can Afford the Infrastructure They Need) alongside the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Universal and Meaningful Connectivity (UMC) standards (UMC is defined as the possibility for everyone to enjoy a safe, satisfying, enriching, productive, and affordable online experience).

Through scenario modelling and GIS-based spatial mapping, the study identifies geographic access gaps, and quantifies capital and operational expenditure requirements across different economic and policy scenarios.

It assesses infrastructure across international connectivity, backbone and metro networks, data centres, spectrum systems and last-mile access, alongside affordability, digital skills and institutional capacity as key enablers of meaningful connectivity.

Achieving universal high-speed access (100 Mbps) will also require targeted upgrades, technology diversification and greater rural investment, with affordability remaining the primary, income-driven barrier.

The study outlines three structured investment pathways for the period 2025 – 2035. Firstly, a mobile-centric, least-cost model suited to constrained economic conditions. The next consideration is a hybrid mobile and fibre pathway balancing efficiency and performance. And thirdly it outlines a fibre-dominant, high-capacity trajectory aligned with economic recovery and enhanced competitiveness.

These pathways articulate trade-offs between fiscal effort, service ambition, technology mix and long-term economic returns.

An assessment of public funding, public–private partnerships and blended finance mechanisms, alongside institutional reforms to reduce deployment barriers and crowd in private capital, complements the study.

Overall, say the authors, the study provides the country with an evidence-based, fiscally grounded roadmap to achieve universal and meaningful connectivity, now requiring coordinated action to unlock its full potential for inclusive growth, better services and long-term resilience.