Getting internet in South Africa can be hard… getting great broadband internet at a fantastic price and speed, be it fibre, lte, wifi or adsl can be even harder.

We at Fibre Tiger has created this basic pocket guide for anyone coming to S.A or already in S.A and looking to get hooked up to the internet.

6 Ways to Get Connected

There are a few different options for internet connectivity but it mostly depends where you live, the size of your wallet and data needs.

The Internet Options

Plain Old Mobile

Not to be confused with the other LTE and wireless products further down on the list. This is probably the most popular and most expensive way to get on the internet. Just use your phone.

You can setup your phone to be a “hotspot” sounds complicated but there really is nothing to it. Just search for hotspot in your phone's settings and turn it on. Your devices like your computer and TV box or SmartTV will now be able to connect to your Wi-Fi like it was a normal Wi-Fi router. Just be careful your data can drain faster than Eskom coal supply if your TV starts playing Netflix from your phone in HD.

The connection speed depends heavily on your current location and how congested your closet tower is. The technologies here ranges from 3G, 4G and Edge. You don’t need to really worry about this all of this is handled automatically by your phone, but 4G is better than Edge.

This is NOT the recommended way to get great and affordable internet in South Africa.

Pricing Options (Source FNB Banking App) January 2020

Pros:

• Works mostly everywhere in S.A
• Very accessible to anyone with a sim card and phone.
• Can load lower amounts if cash is an issue.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Not consisted experience.

LTE (Fixed)

This is a slightly better option in the sense that the user experience is usually better as well as your pricing. There are two role players here the underlying mobile network and the service provider (ISP) although Vodacom and SuperSonic / MTN also acts as their own ISP.

You will have to get a LTE approved modem which is usually free while you are a customer of the service.

The funny thing here is that its fixed, when you first switched it on and register it will lock itself to the nearest tower and you can’t take it with you when you go on holiday. Crazy right.

This is also where Rain.co.za comes in. Most people have heard about Rain.co.za, they are a  wireless only ISP. They manage this by roaming on the Vodacom network for the 4G offering. They also have a very small amount of 5G towers but you need a different router and package to make use of it and be in the correct suburb.

It should be noted most of these packages with the data allowance, that its usually split between daytime and nighttime… Thus if the package is 60GB it usually consists of 30GB anytime data and 30GB nighttime data (7pm to midnight) … right in NetFlix hour :/

Pricing Options As Of January 2020

Pros

• Good coverage.
• Easy setup.

Cons

• Expensive.
• Inconsistent and the experience depends on how saturated your nearest tower is.
• Can’t move router and take with you when going on holiday.

ADSL

The technologies that started “broadband” in South Africa, we have come a long way since then. It is being phased out by Telkom and many customers are being migrated away to new fibre or LTE alternatives  if available in their area.

Pros:

• Many residential areas have adsl.

Cons:

• Being phased out, thus if your adsl breaks or cables being stolen it might not get replaced.
• You have to pay Telkom no matter who is your ISP.

Fibre

This is where you want to get your internet from ! If you are lucky enough to have coverage by one of the fibre networks. See our map here to check your home or office for coverage.

First thing to note is that there are many fibre networks but let's concentrate on the three big ones since you will likely have coverage from one of them if you have fibre. They are OpenServe (Telkom), Frogfoot and Vumatel

Openserve Fibre Prices As Of January 2020  - https://www.fibretiger.co.za/network/openserve

Frogfoot Fibre Prices As Of January 2020 - https://www.fibretiger.co.za/network/frogfoot

Vumatel Fibre Prices As Of January 2020 - https://www.fibretiger.co.za/network/vumatel

5G

This will have a big impact in the future we think. If your area is not currently being serviced by a fibre network there is a good chance one of the few 5G providers like Rain might setup shop in your area soon !

The promise and benefits of 5G is huge. Faster speed, more people per tower and of crouse higher connection speeds.

Right now there is only one retail 5G package that's practical and that is from RAIN, but you need to be in a 5G coverage area.

Satellite Internet

Not a very well-known option in S.A but if you out on the farm or between nowhere and Buffelsfontein then Satellite might just be your only worthwhile option. These are quick to install and works well enough should you not have any other options.

There are two big providers in S.A but usually easier to just go with a reseller like Vox

Pros:

• Works everywhere in SA even in Bloemfontein and the farmlands.

Cons:

• Can have higher latency ( bad for gaming and skype)

*WiFi

Now this we just had to add this one in here also. Since many people still Google for “uncapped wifi” or “telkom wifi internet” or ask us for “Wi-Fi Internet”.

Well 99/100 they actually just want any internet with a Wi-Fi router, or they think the WiFi router is actually internet connection. Which of course is wrong but understandable, they actually after a LTE or fibre internet from Telkom as ISP.

Speed

Just for the layman or woman we had to include a quick summary of the how much speed you will need. Since most families just ask for internet and “We want to watch NetFlix”.

The minimum requirement to watch Netflix in terms of speed is 5Mbps for HD as per their website. That being said if you are more than a two person household go for 20Mbps. You definitely don’t need 100Mbps for a 4 family house !

As you can see there are many options available if you are not sure which is right for you or what you can get. Give us a shout and we will guide you through the process.