How Huawei Is Powering South Africa’s New Digital Highway

Across South Africa, millions remain unconnected—cut off from online education, job opportunities, and the digital economy. As part of its ambitious SA Connect strategy, the government is accelerating nationwide broadband deployment. Now, a significant partnership between Huawei and Broadband Infraco (BBI) is transforming that vision into reality, extending high-speed Internet to underserved and rural communities.

For young South Africans like Godfrey from Diepsloot, this shift represents more than connectivity. It’s a lifeline to opportunity.

A Nation Where Connectivity Is Still a Luxury

Despite having one of Africa’s highest Internet penetration rates, South Africa continues to face a deep digital divide. In communities like Diepsloot, weak infrastructure and high data costs leave thousands offline.

Godfrey, the family’s sole breadwinner and an aspiring barista, depends on online learning—but with no home broadband and costly mobile data, progress is nearly impossible. He drafts applications offline, walks over a kilometer daily for limited free mall Wi-Fi, and often misses video interviews due to lack of stable connectivity.

His experience mirrors countless South Africans still left behind by digital transformation.

Huawei + BBI: Building South Africa’s All-Optical Backbone

To close this gap, the SA Connect national broadband strategy aims to deliver affordable, high-capacity broadband to every citizen by 2030. At the center of this mission is Broadband Infraco, working under the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.

In partnership with Huawei, BBI is deploying an intelligent all-optical backbone network powered by next-generation Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) technology, enabling ultra-fast 800G wavelengths across the country. This empowers massive data transfers between cities, data centers, hospitals, schools, and government facilities—laying the foundation for a robust digital economy.

Gift Zowa, CEO of BBI, emphasized:

“We are working to make stable, high-capacity broadband inclusive and accessible for all South African communities by 2030.”

Transforming Connectivity in Underserved Communities

Through this partnership, BBI has already:

• Connected 13,000+ public Wi-Fi hotspots

• Extended broadband to 2 million+ homes

• Empowered rural ISPs to expand high-quality, affordable Internet

Local ISP CEO Nomso Kana noted how reliable broadband is unlocking remote work, boosting small businesses, and opening new markets for rural communities.

For people like Godfrey, SA Connect’s planned rollout of fiber and affordable packages by 2026 represents the possibility of a future no longer limited by location or income.

Driving South Africa Toward Its 2030 Digital Vision

By deploying Africa’s first government-led 800G intelligent optical backbone, South Africa is positioning itself for explosive growth in AI, telemedicine, smart cities, e-commerce, e-government, and cross-border connectivity across the SADC region.

Once fully complete, the backbone will span all nine provinces and link six neighboring countries—solidifying South Africa’s role as a digital hub for the continent.

Gift Zowa sums it up best: “We are building one of South Africa’s best national broadband infrastructures—guiding the nation toward a future where everyone can participate equally in the digital era.”