Dark Fibre Africa targets new property developments in growth push
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Fibre network operator Dark Fibre Africa says it will use new commercial and residential property developments as a channel to expand coverage, after completing the first phase of an R800m network upgrade.
Fibre network operator Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) is looking to capitalise on new property developments as a channel to expand its offering. The company says it has entered its next phase of growth, shifting its focus from “future-proofing” its network to expanding coverage and “accelerating service deployment.”
Key to the strategy is attaching DFA’s network to new commercial and residential developments. The operator runs a national network that provides connectivity and backhaul for mobile operators, data centres, internet service providers and public sector institutions. It forms part of Remgro’s Maziv, alongside Vumatel, SADV, Rise Telecoms, BritelinkMCT and Herotel.
Over the past year DFA completed the first phase of a national network upgrade costing the Remgro-backed company more than R800 million. Maziv had hoped the investment would address concerns about network stability and slower service delivery after customer complaints in 2022 and 2023, mainly affecting parts of Gauteng, the province with the highest density of DFA infrastructure.
“DFA’s growth strategy rests on the strength of our recently upgraded, future-proof network,” said Paul Divall, chief commercial officer at DFA. He said the network has been designed to adapt and scale more efficiently, support more access points and enable more cost-effective connections, particularly in metropolitan areas where demand for reliable business connectivity continues to grow.
Mr Divall said DFA has a strong history of proactively connecting new developments and is increasing its focus on that approach, starting with commercial properties, to bring fibre connectivity to more businesses. On the residential side, he said fibre should be considered when the foundations of a development are laid, so connectivity can be integrated into planning, design and construction and avoid unnecessary additional work and cost.
To support the property-led approach, DFA is assembling an in-house team of property sector specialists. “The best way to determine where fibre will be needed is to understand where the property market is headed and where future growth is expected,” Mr Divall said. The push comes weeks after Remgro reported that DFA’s income for the 12 months to March 2026 rose 8.9% to R3 billion, with operating profit up 10.1% to R1.243 billion.