Johannesburg, South Africa – [Date of Publication] – MTN Group has significantly accelerated its strategic push into fiber and home broadband services during the first half of 2026, demonstrating a potent combination of rapid customer acquisition and sustained investment in network infrastructure across its diverse African markets. The telecommunications giant has underscored its commitment to enhancing network capacity, expanding coverage, and elevating service quality, laying the groundwork for continued data revenue growth and solidifying its position as a key driver of digital connectivity on the continent.
The period saw MTN make substantial capital expenditures, even as it strategically managed its investment intensity. The company invested R19.7 billion in capital expenditure (excluding leases) in H1 2026, a slight decrease from R20.8 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. This recalibration brought the Capex intensity down to 16.6 percent, comfortably within MTN’s medium-term target range of 15-18 percent. On an IFRS 16 basis, the total capital expenditure reached R23.96 billion, compared to R27.30 billion in H1 2025. These investments are directly fueling improvements in network capabilities, essential to meet the surging demand for data and broadband connectivity across MTN’s operational footprint.
Strategic Vision and Network Investment: A Foundation for Growth
MTN’s H1 2026 financial disclosures reveal a deliberate and well-executed strategy focused on solidifying its broadband offering. The R19.7 billion investment (excluding leases) was strategically deployed to enhance network capacity, broaden coverage, and elevate the overall quality of service across its African markets. This proactive approach is a direct response to the continuously expanding demand for data and robust broadband connectivity, a trend that permeates all segments of MTN’s operations.
The company’s commitment to network enhancement is not merely about infrastructure deployment; it’s about building a resilient and high-performing network capable of supporting the evolving digital needs of consumers and businesses. This includes upgrading existing infrastructure, expanding fiber optic networks, and strategically deploying advanced technologies like 5G to ensure seamless and high-speed connectivity. The emphasis on network quality is critical for customer retention and attracting new subscribers in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Home Broadband: A Rocketing Segment Propelling Customer Growth
The home broadband segment has emerged as a standout performer for MTN in H1 2026, exhibiting exceptional year-on-year growth. The group’s active home customer base surged by an impressive 58.2 percent, a testament to the success of its dual strategy of leveraging both fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber optic technologies.
Within this dynamic growth, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) has played a pivotal role, expanding at a materially faster pace than FWA. This has significantly boosted fiber’s contribution to MTN’s overall active home broadband subscriber numbers. A clear leader in this fiber expansion drive is MTN Nigeria, where both the pace of network rollout and customer acquisition have significantly surpassed initial projections. This success in a key market like Nigeria signals the immense potential for fiber deployment across other African nations.
MTN’s approach to broadband is characterized by its technology-neutral stance, a strategic decision designed to maximize reach and scalability. Rather than relying solely on fiber, the company is adopting a pragmatic approach. FTTH deployment is being strategically concentrated in attractive urban clusters where the demand and infrastructure potential are highest. Concurrently, MTN is leveraging the widespread availability and cost-effectiveness of 4G and 5G fixed wireless access technologies to achieve more scalable broadband expansion in other, less densely populated or geographically challenging areas. This geo-segmented strategy is crucial for controlling broadband capital expenditure while simultaneously extending high-speed home connectivity to a broader addressable market.
Bayobab’s Fiber Infrastructure: Fueling Wholesale Growth and Pan-African Connectivity
The impressive performance of MTN’s fiber infrastructure subsidiary, Bayobab, further underscores the group’s strategic focus on expanding its connectivity backbone. During H1 2026, Bayobab reported a robust increase of 37.2 percent in external revenue from its fiber segment. This remarkable growth was fueled by a combination of new connectivity infrastructure contracts, ongoing network expansion initiatives, and continuous improvements in service delivery.
Bayobab has been actively expanding its terrestrial fiber footprint across the continent, while simultaneously progressing critical strategic infrastructure projects. A prime example of this is its ambitious East-to-West fiber program, undertaken in collaboration with Africa50, a pan-African investment platform. This initiative is designed to establish resilient, open-access digital infrastructure that will traverse the continent, thereby strengthening MTN’s wholesale connectivity platform and providing essential digital arteries for economic development.
The strong performance of Bayobab’s fiber segment has had a direct and significant impact on MTN’s broader wholesale business. Wholesale service revenue experienced a substantial acceleration, increasing by 15.5 percent in H1 2026, a dramatic leap from the 2.9 percent growth reported for the full fiscal year 2025. MTN attributes this significant improvement in wholesale revenue to the expanded reach and capabilities of Bayobab’s pan-African connectivity network, coupled with higher network utilization rates by wholesale partners.
Data Demand Surges: A Clear Indicator of Broadband’s Ascendancy
The strategic investments MTN is making in broadband infrastructure are being directly validated by a rapid and sustained increase in data consumption across its markets. The number of active data subscribers grew by 9.1 percent, reaching a significant 179.3 million. Concurrently, the average data usage per user climbed to an impressive 13.6 GB.
This surge in data consumption is mirrored in the overall increase in group data traffic, which jumped by 22.8 percent to reach 14.3 petabytes (PB). This indicates a growing reliance on digital services and a demand for higher bandwidth capabilities. Furthermore, smartphone penetration across MTN’s footprint reached a healthy 66.5 percent, providing a solid foundation for continued data-driven services. MTN also reported extending its broadband coverage across its markets during this period, further broadening access to high-speed internet.
The commercial impact of these trends is evident in data revenue, which increased by a substantial 29.2 percent in constant currency. This strong performance reinforces the compelling commercial case for continued and intensified investment in broadband network development.
South Africa: A Microcosm of Broader Trends in Broadband Adoption
MTN South Africa, a key market for the group, is mirroring these broader trends with significant increases in broadband usage. Average monthly data consumption among active postpaid data subscribers rose by a notable 32 percent to 32.3 GB, with a significant portion of this growth attributed to the continued adoption of fixed wireless access (FWA) services. For prepaid subscribers, average monthly data consumption also saw a healthy increase of 23.6 percent, reaching 4.9 GB.
The South African operation is actively expanding its home connectivity offerings through innovative products such as Shesh@5G and MTN AirFibre. The company’s home subscriber base, encompassing both FWA and fiber offerings, continues to exhibit a strong and consistent growth trajectory.
In line with the group’s overall investment strategy, MTN South Africa deployed R3.3 billion in capital expenditure on an IFRS 16 basis during H1 2026, with R2.6 billion allocated specifically to investments excluding leases. This significant investment in broadband capacity is becoming increasingly critical as both mobile and fixed data usage continue to expand rapidly. MTN South Africa’s network traffic experienced a substantial increase of 27.7 percent during the period, alongside a respectable 4 percent growth in data revenue.
Fiber: A Cornerstone of MTN’s Ambition 2030 Strategy
The H1 2026 results from MTN Group clearly signal that fiber optic technology, alongside fixed wireless access and home broadband services, is rapidly evolving into a cornerstone of its long-term Ambition 2030 connectivity strategy. The group’s approach demonstrates a sophisticated balancing act: it is aggressively pursuing FTTH investments while strategically integrating 4G and 5G FWA to ensure broad broadband penetration while meticulously maintaining capital discipline.
This dual-pronged strategy has been instrumental in enabling MTN to keep its overall capital expenditure intensity at a manageable 16.6 percent, even amidst significant and ongoing network investment. The impressive 58.2 percent surge in active home customers, coupled with the substantial 37.2 percent growth in Bayobab’s fiber external revenue, underscores the burgeoning demand for high-speed connectivity across the continent. Furthermore, the 22.8 percent increase in overall data traffic and the robust 29.2 percent growth in data revenue provide concrete evidence of the commercial viability and strategic imperative of this broadband-centric approach.
MTN’s commitment to expanding its fiber network through Bayobab, its judicious approach to FTTH deployment in targeted urban areas, and its scalable 4G/5G FWA strategy collectively position broadband infrastructure as an increasingly vital engine for the group’s future growth in connectivity across the African continent. The company’s ability to innovate, invest strategically, and adapt to evolving market demands positions it favorably to capitalize on the immense digital transformation underway in Africa.
[Author’s Name – BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH]
