Broadband Introduction

1. What is broadband?
2. What broadband services are there in South Africa?
3. What does it cost?
4. I currently have a dial-up account, if I get a broadband connection will I save money?
5. What should I ask before I buy a service?
6. How do I buy a broadband service?
7. What are usage allowances (e.g. 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 3 Gig) and the cap?

What is broadband?

Broadband is fast, always-on Internet. You get many types of broadband services – like ADSL, HSDPA, iBurst and CDMA – but all of them have the same characteristics: they all have speeds of 1 Mbps or faster, you don’t have to pay for every minute you are online and you can stay connected for as long as you want.

What broadband services are there in South Africa?

There are six main broadband services:

ADSL - supplied by Telkom
HSDPA – supplied by Vodacom and MTN
iBurst – supplied by iBurst
NeoConnect – supplied by Neotel
MyWireless – supplied by Sentech
Wi-Fi – supplied by Wireless Internet Service Providers

What does it cost?

The cost depends on many factors, including the speed of the service and the monthly usage limit. The faster the service, the more expensive it is. The higher the usage allowance (cap) the more you pay.

If I switch from dial-up to a broadband service will I save money?

Most likely! You pay a monthly fee for dial-up and then you also pay for every minute you spend online. With broadband you only pay one fee per month.

What should I ask before I buy a service?

The following questions will help you decide what service you must get:

--Do I want a fixed service (only to be used in one place like an office) or a mobile service?

Fixed: Consider ADSL, iBurst or HSDPA

Mobile: Consider only HSDPA

--What speed do I need?

The faster the speed the higher the price, so decide beforehand on what speed is good enough for you.

--How much bandwidth am I going to use?

Light User: I only use the Internet for basic things like email, Internet banking and some web surfing. You need 1 GB or less per month.

Standard user: I use the Internet daily for email, web surfing, Skype, and sometimes for other things like downloading music, watching YouTube and downloading software. You need between 1 GB and 10 GB per month, depending on how much downloading you do and the online videos you watch.

Heavy user: I use the Internet daily for all kinds of things, like web surfing, YouTube, downloading software, music and movies. I am basically a heavy user in need of many Gigs! You need in excess of 10 GB per month.

How do I buy a broadband service?

After you have decided what service you need and how much bandwidth (cap) you need, click on the links on this website and click ‘Go’ when you find a suitable service. This will take you to page where you can order the service.

We recommend that you get information from more than one provider to make ensure you receive a good deal.

What are usage allowances (e.g. 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 3 Gig) and the cap?

Broadband services in South Africa are restricted to only allow customers to use a certain amount of bandwidth which is measured in Gigs. Once you have used up your allotted number of Gigs your service will be throttled and you will have reached what is called your cap.

To see how much a GB is, use these handy bandwidth calculators: http://www.webuser.co.uk/bandwidthcalculator.php and http://www.broadband.org/usage_calculator.html