The stunning decline of fixed lines in South Africa

Revenue from legacy fixed-line voice services and subscriptions has plunged by almost 60% in South Africa in the past six years, new research from communications regulator Icasa has found.

Total fixed-line voice revenue fell from R15.8-billion in 2015, to just R6.5-billion in 2021, a decline of 58%, according to Icasa’s newly published State of the ICT Sector report.

From 2020 to 2021 alone, fixed-line voice and subscription revenue slumped by R1.5-billion.

Between 2015 and 2021, revenue from fixed-telephone subscription fees plunged from R8.4-billion to just R2.5-billion, and revenue from fixed-line calls plummeted from R7.1-billion to R2.9-billion.

This decline is closely tied to the number of fixed-line subscriptions, which fell from 3.85 million in 2015 to 1.46 million in 2021, reflecting the ongoing market shift away from legacy telephony products to mobile alternatives. By contrast, total mobile service revenue increased from R78.8-billion in 2015 to R113.9-billion in 2021.

The Icasa report, which was first published in 2015, outlines the state of the ICT sector, focusing on telecommunications, broadcasting and postal services.

Broadband services are, however, offering some respite for the fixed-line segment. Total fixed Internet and data revenue eked out a small increase between 2015 and 2021, growing from R22-billion to R23.5-billion. However, competitive pressures have seen this number decline in the past couple of years – from R26.8-billion in 2019 and R25.3-billion in 2020.

The total number of fixed-line broadband subscriptions, including fibre, increased by 20.4% in 2021, compared to the year before. And fibre-to-the-home/building increased by 34.4% in 2021 when compared to 2020. However, legacy copper digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet subscriptions decreased by 30.2% for the same period, reflecting Telkom’s aggressive move to decommission copper in its access network.

Mobile is, however, where the real action has been – and continues to be. The total number of 4G/LTE devices increased from 32 million in 2020 to 47 million in 2021, an increase of 47%.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media