VAST Networks, once valued at over R1 billion, was shut down in 2019 after failing to turn a profit. Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Dimension Data and Naspers, the company aimed to provide carrier-grade Wi-Fi across Southern Africa. Despite significant investment and expansion, VAST struggled to monetize its services. After unsuccessful sale efforts, the company’s assets were liquidated in 2021, fetching just R492,295 at auction.
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Wi-Fi provider VAST Networks, once valued at over R1 billion, was unceremoniously shut down in 2019, and its assets liquidated.
Established in 2014 as a joint venture between Dimension Data and Naspers, VAST Networks combined the Wi-Fi networks of Internet Solutions’ AlwaysOn and MWEB to form a comprehensive new Wi-Fi business.
Internet Solutions was part of Dimension Data, which owned 51% of the company, and MWEB was part of Naspers, which held a 49% stake.
VAST Networks was officially launched in November 2015 with the aim to deliver carrier-grade Wi-Fi in Southern Africa on an open-access basis.
Its extensive indoor Wi-Fi coverage in hotels, shopping centres, and restaurants was seen as very valuable at a time when mobile data use was exploding.
Former IS CEO Saki Missaikos told MyBroadband years ago that Naspers was interested in buying AlwaysOn outright, but they did not want to sell it.
The outcome of these talks was a joint venture with plans to expand VAST’s infrastructure to provide wholesale access to unlicensed spectrum for mobile operators.
Called LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U), VAST would make use of unlicensed spectrum, such as the 5GHz band, to improve data performance without requiring a user to log into a separate Wi-Fi network.
Naspers and Dimension Data pumped a lot of money into VAST after its launch, which allowed the Wi-Fi network operator to expand its network and launch a range of new services.
At its peak, VAST operated thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots in highly trafficked areas and offered a range of analytics services to shopping centres.
It also started trialling Wi-Fi offloading with Vodacom with the aim of offering mobile users faster and cheaper mobile data services.
On the surface, things looked good for VAST. However, the company was not profitable, and Naspers and Dimension Data grew tired of funding the loss-making enterprise.
The Achilles heel for Wi-Fi networks in South Africa has always been the inability to effectively monetize their services, and VAST was no different.
Naspers and Dimension Data decided to sell VAST, and in 2018, Investec went to market to attract potential buyers.
A few prominent telecommunications players were interested in VAST’s assets, notably Vodacom and Link Africa.
However, a deal could not be reached, and the directors of VAST Networks announced that the company would be shut down on 25 October 2019.
They said that despite considerable efforts, VAST continued to sustain losses, making continued investment unsustainable.
“Numerous options have been explored to ensure the continuation of its business, including further shareholder investment, partnerships, and the sale of VAST,” they said.
“Following an intensive 18-month sale process with interested parties, an agreement could not be concluded, and all alternate options have now been exhausted, hence the decision to wind up.”
Without a whimper
While VAST could not find a sustainable operating model, it still had valuable assets and a comprehensive client base.
However, in the end, the liquidators scrapped it for parts.
Online auctioneer Asset Auctions sold what remained of VAST to the highest bidder between 12 October and 14 October 2021.
Of the 469 items on auction, several never received bids. Many that were sold went for the minimum starting bid.
Only a handful of items were bid up from their starting price.
When the final hammer fell, the parts of VAST people still wanted had sold for R492,295.
Read also:
- South Africa’s affordable web options: How much it costs to set up a website
- Mike Lawrie: The man who brought the internet to South Africa
- High-speed internet for South African homes without fibre: Affordable uncapped options at 50Mbps
This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission
