Prominent fibre network operator announces price increases
MetroFibre Networx notified customers on its prepaid 30Mbps MetroConnect product on its Nexus network that their prices would increase from 1 May 2026 by between 18% and 25%.
South Africa’s fourth-largest fibre operator by homes passed also informed prepaid subscribers that it was launching vouchers for higher-speed 60Mbps and 100Mbps services.
A customer who contacted MyBroadband regarding the adjustments said they were notified about the price increase on Saturday, 25 April 2026.
“The MetroConnect pricing adjustments form part of our annual pricing review,” a MetroFibre spokesperson told MyBroadband when asked about the price increase.
“It reflects a combination of rising operational and infrastructure costs, as well as our continued investment in maintaining and expanding the MetroFibre Nexus network.”
It explained that the price increases only applied to MetroConnect customers on the MetroFibre Nexus network.
“MetroFibre Nexus connects established communities where fibre is a basic utility, while MetroFibre Nova represents new areas coming online, driving innovation, growth and digital inclusion,” it explained.
MetroFibre said the changes were intended to better align MetroConnect pricing on the MetroFibre Nexus network with its traditional month-to-month packages.
“MetroConnect was originally designed as a pay-as-you-go product for the MetroFibre Nova network. As a result, new customer signups for MetroConnect are no longer being accepted on MetroFibre Nexus,” it said.
“The product is now focused on supporting existing customers while we continue to streamline and standardise our offerings.”
MetroFibre said the changes were intended to improve customer experience, encourage the uptake of meaningful fibre speeds, and support the long-term sustainability of the MetroFibre Nexus network.
Its 7-day, 14-day, and 30-day vouchers for its original 30Mbps MetroConnect service were affected by the price increases. One-day packages have been discontinued.
These latest price increases from MetroFibre follow its March notice to Internet service providers (ISPs) that it would increase its wholesale prices.
New customers signing up for month-to-month MetroFibre services on the Nova and Nexus networks paid more from 1 April, whereas most existing customers will see their prices increase from 1 June 2026.
The table below summarises MetroConnect and MetroFibre’s traditional month-to-month package price increases in 2026. We used Afrihost’s prices for Nova and Nexus for the comparison.
| MetroConnect price increase (Nexus only) | Old | From 1 June 2026 | Increase % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30Mbps — 7 days | R120 | R150 | 25% |
| 30Mbps — 14 days | R240 | R290 | 21% |
| 30Mbps — 30 days | R440 | R520 | 18% |
| 60Mbps — 7 days (New) | — | R200 | — |
| 60Mbps — 14 days (New) | — | R390 | — |
| 60Mbps — 30 days (New) | — | R720 | — |
| 100Mbps — 7 days (New) | — | R240 | — |
| 100Mbps — 14 days (New) | — | R430 | — |
| 100Mbps — 30 days (New) | — | R820 | — |
| MetroFibre price changes on Afrihost | Old | New* | Increase % |
| MetroFibre Nova 30/30 — previously 20/20 | R507 | R527 | 3.94% |
| MetroFibre Nexus 40/40 — previously 25/25 | R557 | R587 | 5.39% |
| MetroFibre Nova 50/50 — previously 40/40 | R587 | R597 | 1.70% |
| MetroFibre Nova 80/80 — previously 60/60 | R717 | R747 | 4.18% |
| MetroFibre Nexus 60/60 — previously 45/45 | R747 | R767 | 2.68% |
| MetroFibre Nexus 100/100 — previously 75/75 | R867 | R897 | 3.46% |
| MetroFibre Nexus/Nova 150/150 | R947 | R997 | 5.28% |
| MetroFibre Nexus/Nova 250/250 | R1,017 | R1,077 | 5.90% |
| MetroFibre Nexus/Nova 400/400 | R1,127 | R1,197 | 6.21% |
| MetroFibre Nexus/Nova 500/500 | R1,267 | R1,327 | 4.74% |
| MetroFibre Nexus/Nova 1000/1000 | R1,377 | R1,446 | 5.01% |
| * MetroFibre’s wholesale price increases kicked in for new customers on 1 April and existing customers on 1 June 2026. | |||
Industry-wide price increases
South Africa’s fibre market has seen aggressive price competition since 2022, but rising operational costs have pushed FNOs to increase wholesale rates across the board.
South Africa’s two biggest fibre network operators, Vumatel and Openserve, also implemented wholesale increases in April 2026.
Vumatel is South Africa’s largest fibre network operator (FNO), with over 2 million homes passed and a million subscribers.
Openserve, Telkom’s wholesale and networks division, has 1.5 million homes passed and 786,490 homes connected on its fibre network.
Founded in 2010, MetroFibre’s most recent figures were 515,000 homes passed and 175,000 homes connected.
It is South Africa’s fourth-largest FNO by homes passed, behind Herotel, and fifth-largest by homes connected, behind Frogfoot.
ISPs notified customers about the Vumatel and Openserve adjustments earlier this year, with Afrihost among the first to communicate the changes to its subscriber base.
ISPs typically sell fibre packages with small profit margins over the wholesale line cost, meaning they generally have little choice but to pass FNO increases on to consumers.
MetroFibre previously told MyBroadband that the maximum wholesale price increase on its month-to-month packages was 7.76%, while entry-level products received smaller adjustments of 1.96% to 2.90%.
MetroFibre said the average increase was 5.29%. Like the increases announced by its industry peers, this average increase was above South Africa’s average inflation rate for 2025, which was 3.2%.
The company said several macroeconomic pressures led to the increases, including inflation, exchange rate pressures, intensified power outages, and theft and vandalism.
“Our key consideration is to ensure that we empower our ISPs to give customers exceptional value for money,” MetroFibre said.
The company added that it aimed to maintain and improve its service offering in terms of speeds, cost-efficiency, quality and service levels.
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