On the 9th of December 2025, trusted tech publication MyBroadband published the below article outlining some great news for fibre internet users, below is the unpaid editorial written interdependently by the MyBroadband team. If you would prefer to read this editorial directly on the MyBroadband website, please click the button below.
Good news for fibre users
Two of South Africa’s largest fibre network operators (FNOs), Evotel and Net Nine Nine, do not plan to increase their wholesale fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) prices in 2026.
FNOs typically update the prices they charge for lines resold by Internet service providers (ISPs) annually, although the precise timing varies from one operator to the next.
While the price adjustments won’t necessarily be reflected directly on customers’ bills, ISPs often have to pass on the increase to their customers to avoid cutting into their profits.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many FNOs increased speeds at no extra cost to give households a capacity boost amid increased remote working and learning.
For a while thereafter, several customers were upgraded to higher speeds at a minimal charge with no option to remain on their existing package.
However, in the past few years, several FNOs have increased prices while maintaining the same speeds, arguing that the hikes aimed to address higher operational costs.
The first major FNO to typically adjust is the country’s fifth-largest — Frogfoot — which normally implements them in February.
Frogfoot has already communicated an increase to its wholesale FTTH and interconnect services with its 120 open-access ISP clients selling FTTH, which will be effective from 1 February 2026.
“These increases are balanced with various promotions throughout the year,” Frogfoot said. “Proceeds from the increases will contribute to further network expansion and technology improvements.”
Frogfoot said that these adjustments will enable more package options with speeds over 1Gbps and support better coverage and Internet experiences within the home.
South Africa’s two largest FNOs — Vumatel and Openserve — implement price and speed changes on 1 April 2025. These are typically communicated to ISPs in February of each year.
Vumatel declined to comment on its plans for 2026, while Openserve said its pricing decisions were confidential and market-sensitive.
“Should any adjustments be implemented, Openserve will communicate them openly and timeously to customers, as we have always done,” it said.
“Our priority remains balancing commercial sustainability with affordability for South Africans.”
Some still deciding — but two not planning increases
South Africa’s third-largest FNO — Herotel — said it did not anticipate “broad, above-inflation” price increases in 2026.
“Keeping Internet access affordable while maintaining high network quality is key to our mission of connecting everyone across South Africa,” the FNO said.
Two other major players — MetroFibre and Frogfoot — told MyBroadband they had not yet finalised plans to adjust prices in 2026.
However, MetroFibre said reasonable price increases likely to be in line with inflation were probable towards the middle of the year, to account for the year-on-year increase in business costs.
Octotel said it continued to monitor the broader economic environment very closely, and any future changes would be guided by the need to balance sustainability with affordability.
“Our priority remains to offer reliable, high-quality fibre while being mindful of the financial pressures that households and businesses are facing,” the FNO said.
“If any adjustments become necessary, we will engage proactively and provide ample notice to our partners and customers.”
The only two FNOs that have confirmed that they have no plans to hike FTTH prices next year are Evotel and Net Nine Nine, the two largest of four operators in the CYNK Group.
Evotel said it had no plan to increase FTTH prices in 2026. “In fact, we are looking for ways to increase value for both our ISPs and the end-consumers,” the company said.
“We are expanding our entry-level product set as well as adjusting the price points of higher line speeds,” it said.
Net Nine Nine also has no plan to increase prices in 2026, but said any new products it develops will always be advertised in advance for its users.
Net Nine Nine is one of several up-and-coming FNOs that are vying for the lower-income market, with packages starting from R379 per month.
