Q:What Is The Absolute Minimum I Should I know About Fibre Internet ?

Fibre Internet has two parts:

1. Fibre Network: (Openserve, Vumatel, Frogfoot, or Octotel) there is usually ONLY ONE fibre network in your area - if any. The fibre network, installs and owns the fibre optic cables that is in the ground in front of your house.

2. Fibre ISP: (WebAfrica, Vox, Home-Connect, Afrihost or MWeb), the ISP will sell you a fibre package on top of the fibre network in your area.

You CAN NOT pick and choose the fibre network.
You CAN pick and choose the fibre ISP.

Have a look at the fibre coverage map to see which Fibre Network is in your area.

Q:Why Do Fibre Prices Differ So Much ?

The Fibre Networks (Openserve, Vumatel, Frogfoot or Octotel) sets the "bulk" of the pricing component that the ISP sells to you.

That is why the same ISP (e.g. WebAfrica, Telkom, Vox, Mweb etc) will have multiple prices for their 20 Mbps Uncapped Packages, based on the underlying fibre network.

So even though you and your friend are both with Vox (the ISP) and have signed up for the 20Mbps Uncapped fibre(the package), but you live in different areas with a different fibre network (Openserve vs Frogfoot), you will pay a different price.

Q: How Much Fibre Speed Do I Need For Streaming ?

For Netflix, ShowMax or Amazon Prime streaming you only need about 5Mbps connection to stream in HD quality.
We usually recommend for a household of 1-2 people to go with 10Mbps, for each additional person add 5-10 Mbps depending on your budget. It’s very easy to upgrade the speed later.

Q: Telkom Fibre VS Openserve Fibre ?

Openserve is a fibre network which is owned by Telkom. Many ISPs sell packages on top of Openserve.
Examples are Vox, WebAfrica, RSAWeb, Afrihost or Telkom.
Telkom is also an ISP which sells fibre packages for Openserve and Vumatel fibre networks.

Q: What Is Telkom Wi-Fi ?

There is no such product, you might be thinking of Telkom LTE , which is wireless internet access. You can also get Telkom Fibre with a Wi-Fi router which is also wireless.

Q: How Long Does Fibre Installation Take And How Much Does It Cost ?

Depends on the fibre network (Vumatel, Openserve, Frogfoot or Octotel) but anything from 3-10 days usually.
Installation costs again vary by fibre network, but is anywhere from R1000-R2500 depending on your house setup. Most ISPs will give you free installation, provided that you stay with them for at least 12 months.

Q: Is Fibre Better Than Wi-Fi Or LTE ?

Absolutely yes, fibre is a dedicated physical internet connection, compared to LTE or Wi-Fi which has to share the radio waves with other people to bring you internet.
LTE and Wi-FI is much less reliable and consistent than a physical optic fibre connection.

Q: How Much Is Telkom Uncapped Fibre ?

Have a look at the latest Telkom and Openserve Fibre prices, but there are many other fibre ISPs with better pricing.
Telkom Fibre ISP, has fibre packages for the Openserve and Vumatel network.

Q: Who Is The Best Fibre ISP ?

We always tell our clients to judge the fibre isp on the actual fibre product, not their call centres or support staff. We get a lot of feedback, complaints and compliments from our clients about their fibre ISPs.
Over time, we have learned that we can happily recommend any of these ISPs: WebAfrica, Home-Connect, Vox or RSAWeb - as some of the best fibre ISPs in South Africa as of 2020.

Q: What Is More Important Upload Speed Or Download Speed (Mbps) ?

The download speed is much more important than the upload speed for 99% of the users. This is the amount of data-throughput per second that the other side (example NetFlix) can send you.
It is usually measured in Mbps (Megabits Per Second) not megabytes (MBps)

Q: Do I Need A New Wi-Fi Router For Fibre ?

Most ISPs will provide you with a fibre router free of charge. The fibre connection also requires a Fibre ONT(FrogFoot, OpenServe) or Fibre CPE device (Vumatel) in addition to a Wi-Fi router with a WAN port. The ISPs will supply both items.
You can also use any Wi-Fi router that has a WAN port, but you might need to reconfigure it.