Comsol launches 5G assault on SA’s home broadband market
The company targets a nationwide 5G home broadband network of base stations, with more than one million Gauteng households already covered.
South African fixed wireless operator Comsol is set to enter the home broadband market with a wholesale 5G-Advanced fixed wireless access (FWA) offering. The company plans to deploy a nationwide network of approximately 2,000 base stations, covering about one million households in Gauteng. Comsol founder and CEO Iain Stevenson aims to achieve full Gauteng coverage by March 2027, followed by expansion into the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and major regional centres in 2027 and 2028.
The company will operate as a wholesale infrastructure provider, allowing partners to own customer relationships, including branding, pricing, billing, and support. Comsol's 5G-Advanced network is designed to provide a fixed broadband experience comparable to fiber, while being faster and cheaper to deploy. It uses C-band spectrum granted by ICASA and boasts double the uplink performance of typical 5G mobile operator networks.
Comsol's approach targets areas where fiber-to-the-home deployments are not economically viable, aiming to serve suburban, regional, and less densely populated areas. The company expects the first consumer services to launch in September via ISPs, MVNOs, and other partners.
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