With the approval of the South Africa’s telecoms regulators, Vodacom has moved a step closer to a considerable expansion of its fibre footprint with the transfer of Dark Fibre Africa’s licences to the mobile operator.

Vodacom said last November it would pay R6-billion in cash and certain fibre assets valued at R4.2-billion for a 30% stake in a newly formed company called Maziv, which holds Community Investment Ventures Holdings’ (CIVH) Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) fibre assets.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said on Wednesday it had approved the transfer of ownership of DFA’s service licences to Maziv and the transfer of control of the licences to Vodacom effective 1 December.

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The authority views the proposed transaction to be in the best interest of the public.

“We view the transaction as unlikely to negatively impact the market while making the transferee an effective player in the market. Additionally, the authority views the proposed transaction to be in the best interest of the public,” said Icasa councillor Luthando Mkumatela.

The approval is subject to the imposition of special license conditions, the regulator added, while the deal remains subject to Competition Commission approval. If approved, Vodacom will also transfer its fibre assets to Maziv.

The deal gives South Africa’s largest mobile operator exposure to the country’s biggest open-access fibre players. Vumatel’s footprint passes more than 1.2 million homes, covering over 31 000km across the country.

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DFA is a leading provider of carrier-grade dark fibre — unused optical fibre — specialising in building, installing and operating a national metro fibre network spanning 13 000km.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry