• South Africa’s BBI and Huawei are building a national optical backbone to meet SA Connect goals by 2030.

• Huawei’s 800G tech enables real-time data flow to support healthcare, education, e-commerce, and e-government.

• With broadband subscriptions doubling to 2.7 million, the project tackles both coverage and quality shortfalls.

South Africa's state-owned Broadband Infraco (BBI) has partnered with Huawei to build a national intelligent, all-optical backbone network, aiming to fulfil the government's broadband expansion goals under the SA Connect strategy. The partnership was announced on December 8.

BBI CEO Gift Zowa emphasised the mission to bridge the digital divide both within South Africa and between South Africa and more industrialised nations, aiming to provide inclusive, stable, and high-capacity broadband to all communities and government facilities by 2030, in line with SA Connect objectives.

This upgrade, under BBI's Backbone Network Expansion Strategy and mandated by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), targets affordable and high-quality broadband access across the country, reducing the urban-rural digital divide and aligning South Africa with global digital infrastructure standards.

The partnership leverages Huawei's Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) technology to deliver ultra-high-speed transmission at 800G wavelengths, enabling real-time large-scale data transfers between cities and data centres. This backbone will support vital sectors such as healthcare, education, e-commerce, and e-government, significantly bolstering South Africa’s digital economy.

This partnership comes at a pivotal time. According to the State of the ICT Sector Report of South Africa (March 2025) by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), fixed broadband subscriptions have nearly doubled—from 1.4 million to 2.7 million—mainly driven by the rapid adoption of fibre-optic solutions offering greater speed and reliability.

However, despite this progress, South Africa continues to face challenges in broadband quality. As of 2025, the average fixed broadband speed stands at 48.51 Mbps, placing the country 52nd globally. These figures underscore the need for broader access and enhanced performance, which the Huawei–BBI partnership seeks to deliver.

This initiative directly supports SA Connect, South Africa’s national broadband policy approved by cabinet in 2013. It aims to achieve universal, affordable, high-speed internet access for all communities and government facilities. The strategy targets connectivity for public institutions, including schools, clinics, and police stations. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and Broadband Infraco (BBI) were mandated to provide the end-to-end broadband services under the initiative.

To date, BBI's network has connected over 13,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and more than 2 million rural homes, and it includes a major new optical fibre route linking Johannesburg to the Kopfontein border.

For Huawei, the partnership offers significant economic and strategic value. The company stands to gain from multi-year infrastructure contracts, including the supply of high-capacity optical equipment and long-term network support services. These deals generate substantial revenue while embedding Huawei’s technology deep within South Africa’s digital backbone.

Hikmatu Bilali