I recently moved into a new apartment, ditched the internet dongle and got fibre.

In a nutshell: game-changer.

No more lagging or loading while I’m trying to get my series binge on.

Remote-working Mondays are also a breeze now that I’m not stressing about internet cap or network problems.

Ask anyone who has made the upgrade, and they’ll tell you. Moving from standard internet to fibre is the 2019 equivalent of when you got your new modem back in the late 90s, and no longer had to listen to the dial-up tone.

Remember this?

Not a vibe.

Fibre isn’t only important for your personal life, it’s also important for the country as a whole.

BusinessTech spoke to the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who had the following to say about fibre in SA.

Fibre is potentially the most critical component of all telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa, and without further deployment the country will not be able to enter the 5G race.

“According to the FTTX Council, as at the end of June 2019, about 1.5 million end points have been passed, with a total of over 600,000 connections, comprising of over 496,000 homes that are connected and billed, and over 114,000 business premises,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

496 000 homes is a start, but Ndabeni-Abrahams says we’re still only scratching the “tip of the iceberg”.

In a bid to improve fibre rollout, Ndabeni-Abrahams and a number of sector CEOs signed a pact to roll out fibre in rural communities and connect communities to the internet grid.

“We envisage that sector collaboration will significantly reduce the time to deploy broadband infrastructure and services while minimising duplication of infrastructure,” she said.

So if your area isn’t fibre-enabled, it could be soon.

If you’re not sure whether or not your area is fibre-enabled, visit the RSAWEB website, search for your area, and find out.

You’ll want to get on that soon, because RSAWEB is currently offering uncapped Openserve fibre from as little as R395 and OCTOTEL fibre from as little as R399.

Yes, that is more than likely way cheaper than what you’re currently paying for capped ADSL.

The price may be low, but the value definitely isn’t. Despite being under R400 a month, you still get all the added benefits that come with being an RSAWEB fibre customer.

These perks include a free premium WiFi router, free LTE SIM card with 1GB of free data each month, free connection and/or installation, free one-hour onsite support, and up to R2 500 off when you refer a friend and they get connected, giving you a total of up to R4 500 in savings.

I could go on, but you get the point.

Visit RSAWEB to get connected.

[source:businesstech]