Comsol is entering South Africa’s home broadband market as a wholesale provider of 5G-Advanced infrastructure, backed by new investment from Platform Investment Partners and Wimsey Capital.
The South African fixed wireless connectivity and private network operator, which has nearly three decades of experience, has secured a new shareholding structure following the exit of Nedbank Private Equity from its investment in the company. Convergence Partners and Solcon Capital are providing additional growth capital, while founder and CEO Iain Stevenson, through Mactavish Investments, retains his stake and is also investing further capital.
The move will give South African internet service providers, mobile virtual network operators and other partners access to Comsol’s standalone 5G-Advanced network, purpose-built for fixed wireless access (FWA). Comsol will operate the infrastructure as an end-to-end wholesale platform, while partners retain control over customer relationships, branding, pricing and go-to-market strategies.
Comsol began building the network six months ago and already covers more than one million households in Gauteng. The company aims to achieve full Gauteng coverage by March 2027 before expanding into the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and other major regional centres through 2027 and 2028.
The company plans to deploy around 2,000 base stations across South Africa, creating a large-scale wholesale 5G network designed to expand broadband access and provide service providers with additional network capacity.
Comsol’s 5G-Advanced FWA network is positioned to complement fibre connectivity, particularly in suburban and other areas where fibre deployment can be expensive. With only about 15% of South African households currently connected to fibre, the company sees an opportunity to reach underserved segments through faster and more cost-efficient wireless infrastructure.
The company’s C-band spectrum licence from ICASA, secured in 2022, provides the foundation for its network rollout, while falling 5G chipset and customer-premises equipment costs are helping lower entry costs for consumers and service providers.
Comsol also operates one of only two production 5G standalone cores currently live in South Africa. Its network is designed to provide high capacity, ultra-low latency and dedicated capacity control, while its API-driven platform allows partners to launch branded 5G-Advanced FWA services within weeks.
The investment and network expansion position Comsol to play a growing role in South Africa’s broadband market as demand for fixed wireless connectivity increases and the country moves toward wider 5G adoption.
