As the news stories about service providers switching off their networks continue to dominate the tech headlines, there appears to be panic around what the consumers ‘next move’ needs to be. As cliched as it sounds, the reality is that everyone should stay calm, stop, think then act.
Firstly, consumers need to understand that in order to maintain connection quality, FNOs (Fibre Network Operators) and ISPs (Internet Service Providers) must upgrade and maintain the technology used to connect their users. When this technology becomes outdated, reaches a point where it is no longer financially viable to maintain and ultimately affects the connection quality for its customers, business decisions need to be made (for the customer, for the business or both).
When consumers are faced with these issues from their service providers, Calvin Collett from Supersonic urges them to be rational and sensible as they anticipate their next move.
“ISPs are not in short supply in South Africa. Pricing and connectivity are the issues to be considerate of, so the only way to ensure you’re receiving the best possible connection in your area is to know what you’re looking for.”
As fibre infrastructure continues its roll out – outer lying areas tend to be at the lower end of the priority list, but this is by no means indicative of the connection quality in those areas.
“MTN has recently won the Best Mobile Network of the Year which was based on ‘over 1 million network tests plus their ubiquitous 4G coverage’ which currently sits at 95% for the entire country, not just key metropoles,” says Calvin.
“This is great news for customers coming to the end of their current internet connection relationship – it means that they can connect to a quality network via a Fixed LTE service that offers strong upload/download speeds regardless of where they live – a bold move towards a future where everyone is connected,” affirms Calvin.
The simplest way to check whether your area is covered by FLTE is to explore the ‘coverage’ pages for the ISP you’re considering.
Find out from family, neighbours and friends using that ISP what their speed test results are so you’re making a decision based on statistics rather than assumptions.
“Then it’s a case of selecting the best and simplest package that works for your internet needs although don’t be fooled by day time vs night time data options – being cognisant of your internet user behaviour is the only consideration to make here,” adds Calvin
