TechCentral reported on 9 October 2026 that Frogfoot intends to keep buying smaller fibre network operators in South Africa’s suburbs as the market consolidates, while its chief executive, Shane Chorley, stopped short of ruling out a sale of the business.
Chorley told host Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show that “I would be ignorant to say that we would ignore any offer” but added that he hopes the company will be the acquirer rather than the target. The comment reflects a strategy that has already seen Frogfoot purchase a couple of small suburban operators and that aims to acquire “as many of those smaller operators as possible”.
Looking ahead, Chorley expects networks serving more than 30 000 homes to become available for sale in the next few years, followed later by “a much bigger consolidation of one or two of the bigger ones”. He cited the ongoing merger talks between Octotel and MetroFibre as an example of the larger moves he anticipates.
Abraham van der Merwe, who leads Frogfoot as well as Vox and Hypa, said consolidation is inevitable because “infrastructure requires scale”. He also noted that the company’s long-term, patient investors, including the founders, intend to hold the business for a very long time, making a near-term sale unlikely.
The discussion came after a DNI-led consortium invested in the businesses in a deal that values them at R14.4 billion. Van der Merwe said most of the new capital will be directed to township areas, where fewer than two million of an estimated 12 to 15 million homes currently have fibre.
Frogfoot wants to lift its build rate, the number of new fibre connections installed each year, from about 80 000 to 360 000. The untapped township market, which is roughly three times the size of the suburban market already connected, provides the growth runway.
Van der Merwe warned that overbuilding, where multiple operators lay fibre to the same premises, splits market share and wrecks the economics. With so many homes still without fibre, he sees little incentive for competitors to duplicate each other’s networks.
For a broader view of South Africa’s fibre rollout and the regulatory environment, see the Tech & Telco section.
Frogfoot’s ambition to reach 360 000 new connections annually rests on a market that is roughly three times larger than the current suburban base, a scale that reflects the roughly decade-long effort that linked 4.5 million suburban homes to fibre. By targeting the township segment, where fewer than two million of an estimated 12 million to 15 million homes are connected, the company can tap a pool that dwarfs its existing customer base, providing a clear path to the quadruple-fold increase in annual builds it seeks.
The recent infusion of capital from a DNI-led consortium, which placed a R14.4-billion value on the businesses, earmarks most of the funds for township roll-outs. This allocation aligns with the strategic intent to avoid overbuilding, as the scarcity of fibre-ready premises in townships reduces the risk of multiple operators duplicating infrastructure, thereby preserving the economics of new deployments.
In practice, each acquisition will require the submission of a merger notice to the Competition Commission, followed by a period for public comment before approval. Once cleared, the target’s network assets are transferred, and Frogfoot integrates the subscriber base into its operational platform, a step that typically triggers a re-assessment of build schedules to incorporate the newly acquired homes.
Regulatory filing timelines dictate that after the Competition Commission grants approval, the parties must lodge a final transaction statement with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission within 30 days. This filing confirms the transfer of shareholdings and updates the corporate register, after which the merged entity can commence any planned network upgrades or expansions.
The next phase for Frogfoot involves identifying networks serving more than 30 000 homes that are likely to become available. Industry observers note that the ongoing merger talks between Octotel and MetroFibre exemplify the type of larger consolidation that could follow the current wave of suburban purchases, signalling a shift toward fewer, more extensive operators.
Looking ahead, the company’s long-term investors, including its founders, are expected to maintain their stake throughout these transactions, providing financial stability that supports the aggressive build-rate targets. This patient capital approach reduces pressure for a near-term exit, allowing Frogfoot to focus on scaling its infrastructure across both suburban and township markets.
