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ISPA’s Perception Survey gauges ISPs’ perceptions of FNO performance across a range of metrics and the most recent results reveal smaller FNOs are outshining the established competition.
SA’s official internet Industry Representative Body (IRB) says several smaller FNOs including Lightspeed (Cybersmart) (7.1), Open Fibre (7.0), Lightstruck (7.0), Evotel (6.9), Seacom FibreCo (6.9) and WECOM (6.6) had achieved average scores (in brackets above) placing them above most of the country’s major eight networks.
To illustrate, large operator Octotel scored a commendable 7.5. The next large operator, Openserve, scored 6.5. If we look at the smaller FNOs scores above, all of them would slot in between the top two survey positions – if they had received numerically more ratings by ISPs.
“Potential investors and ISPs looking to broaden their service offering, geographic reach or exposure to a more innovative corporate culture should take note of these up-and-coming fibre superstars,” said Ant Brooks, ISPA spokesperson
“When smaller firms start outperforming their bigger industry compatriots, that’s something to watch and it bodes well for future service levels,” added Brooks.
The large operators Octotel, Openserve, MetroFibre, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Frogfoot, Link Africa, Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel are the eight Fibre FNOs that recorded the most responses in ISPA’s latest Perception Survey.
When it comes to the scores of the eight largest networks, Octotel has retained its position at the top of the chart. Openserve and MetroFibre have also kept their positions in the next two spots. Liquid remains steady in fourth place. Frogfoot, Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel have all received their highest ratings in three years. Link Africa has unfortunately received its lowest score ever. See more details in the table below:
|
Fibre Network Operator |
Overall score |
||||
|
Aug 2023 |
Feb 2024 |
Aug 2024 |
Feb 2025 |
Feb 2026 |
|
|
Octotel |
6.8 |
6.5 |
7.1 |
7.4 |
7.5 |
|
Openserve |
7.0 |
6.1 |
6.6 |
6.7 |
6.5 |
|
MetroFibre |
6.8 |
6.9 |
6.5 |
6.7 |
6.4 |
|
Liquid Intelligent Technologies |
4.7 |
5.9 |
6.7 |
6.1 |
6.1 |
|
Frogfoot |
6.3 |
5.3 |
5.4 |
5.6 |
6.1 |
|
Link Africa |
5.9 |
6.8 |
6.2 |
6.1 |
5.8 |
|
Dark Fibre Africa |
5.8 |
5.0 |
5.3 |
4.9 |
5.8 |
|
Vumatel |
6.0 |
5.2 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
5.6 |
|
Average |
6.2 |
6.0 |
6.1 |
6.0 |
6.2 |
The two networks with the most ISPs rating them (Openserve and MetroFibre) are also two networks that score well on open access policies. The implication is that open access policies encourage ISPs to use the network, as expected.
When it comes to what ISPs think the strengths and weaknesses of South African FNOs are overall, the top four metrics remain the same as they were last year: reliability, staff friendliness, technical proficiency, and adherence to open access.
The country’s ISPs are the industry entities that actually interface with the end internet consumer so how FNOs are doing when it comes to the above directly influences service levels. Generally, each survey brings a slight improvement in ISP perceptions of FNOs. Notably, none of the overall scores has dropped since 2025, suggesting moves in the right direction.
While Frogfoot, Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel all received their best survey results in three years, they have room for further improvement that would make dealing with them even better.
Going forward, ISPA’s advice for FNOs remains the same as it is every year:
FNOs must streamline the support they provide to ISPs. In practical terms, there must be clear processes and adequate staff to resolve common issues that impact the end user.
Finally, an overarching theme of the regular ISPA Perception Surveys has emerged. “ISPs are rating more FNOs over time and this is very positive. It suggests that ISPs are steadily using more fibre operators to deliver more services and the implications for free competition are clear,” concludes Brooks.
The full table of results for all of the FNOs surveyed is published on the ISPA website:
https://ispa.org.za/fnos-isps/fno-perception-surveys/
Please see a detailed analysis of the most recent FNO survey results here:
https://ispa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ISPA-FNO-Perception-Survey-February-2026-Analysis.pdf
