Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) will soon complete the first phase of a national network upgrade that has cost the Remgro-backed company more than R800m.
The fibre network operator is benefiting from a rapid evolution in technology adoption, which is driving up demand for faster, more robust and scalable fibre networks.
DFA said progress on the upgrade and future-proofing project, which started in 2023, meant it had begun the process of installing new services and migrating existing customer services to its upgraded infrastructure from July 2025.
The fibre operator has a national network that provides connectivity and backhaul for mobile operators, data centres, internet service providers and public sector institutions.
In telecoms, backhaul is the physical infrastructure that connects a network’s core to its smaller networks or local networks.
The unit is part of Remgro’s Maziv, a company that also houses fellow infrastructure provider Vumatel, SADV, Rise Telecoms, BritelinkMCT and Herotel.
DFA has structured its network upgrade rollout in three phases:
- Phase 1: Focuses on Gauteng, with the migration of existing services from July 2025 and continuing over 12-24 months.
- Phase 2: Extends into the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal over the following year.
- Phase 3: Covers the rest of the national network over two to three years, ensuring consistent long-term performance as demand continues to grow.
The most recent investment comes after DFA’s dry underground distribution cabinet network enhancement project launched in August 2023 at a cost of R400m, which focused on stabilising and upgrading its network infrastructure.
Maziv is hoping its new investment will calm concerns about its network stability and slower service delivery, having faced customer complaints in 2022 and 2023, mainly affecting customers in parts of Gauteng. The province represents the highest density of infrastructure for DFA’s network, making it a logical starting point for the network investment.
“While we’ve experienced challenges as a result of increased service interruptions and some infrastructure fatigue in recent years, this ongoing investment represents a fundamental redesign of our network architecture that will enable vastly improved connectivity in an increasingly complex digital world,” says Dewald Booysen, COO at Maziv.
The speed of AI adoption, convergence of technologies and a change in customer demands “have necessitated an innovative pivot away from traditional network designs,” said the company.
It said its new access network creates better network separation needed to support the higher volumes for access services.
In addition, DFA has introduced a new fibre management system to better track assets, improve record-keeping, and streamline maintenance and improve service delivery.
“This has given us the ability to adapt and better manage both low-touch and high-touch environments,” Booysen said. “The new network architecture is easier to manage and allows us to deploy services more efficiently.”
Maziv has huge financial firepower, having secured a R25bn loan led by Standard Bank for a fibre expansion initiative in late 2023. Standard Bank, which is bullish about the sector, had previously backed MetroFibre Networx’s R5bn fibreoptic expansion through a similar arrangement.
DFA is gearing up for further capital expenditure after a proposed merger with Vodacom’s fibre business.
After the deal was rejected by the Competition Tribunal in October 2024, the Competition Commission said it had reached an agreement with Vodacom and Remgro’s fibre unit on revised conditions in July, putting the transaction back on track.
The proposed merger will see Vodacom take a 30% stake in Maziv, together worth an estimated R13bn — with the option of increasing the stake to 35%.
The JSE-listed firms have been fighting for almost four years to get the deal over the line, even receiving backing from trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau.
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