Choosing the right internet connection is crucial for your business operations. The wrong choice can lead to slow speeds, frequent downtime, and frustrated employees. Here's your complete guide to making the right decision.
Understanding Your Options
1. Fiber Optic (Best for Most Businesses)
Speed: 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps
Best for: Offices with 5+ employees, cloud applications, video conferencing
Cost: R1,500 - R8,500/month depending on speed
Pros:
- Fast, symmetric upload/download speeds
- Low latency (perfect for VoIP and video calls)
- Highly reliable
- Excellent for cloud applications
Cons:
- Not available in all areas
- Installation can take 2-8 weeks
- Higher monthly cost
2. Wireless Internet (Fixed LTE/5G)
Speed: 10-100 Mbps
Best for: Areas without fiber, temporary offices, backup connections
Cost: R800 - R3,500/month
Pros:
- Quick installation (same day possible)
- Available almost everywhere
- No expensive infrastructure required
- Portable—can move with your business
Cons:
- Speeds can vary based on network congestion
- Higher latency than fiber
- Data caps on some plans
- Weather can affect performance
3. ADSL (Being Phased Out)
Speed: 4-40 Mbps
Best for: Very small offices (1-3 people) in areas without fiber
Cost: R500 - R1,500/month
Note: We don't recommend ADSL for new installations as Telkom is phasing it out in favor of fiber.
How Much Speed Do You Need?
Here's a quick guide based on employee count and usage:
1-5 Employees (Light Use):
- Email, web browsing, basic cloud apps
- Recommended: 10-20 Mbps fiber or wireless
5-20 Employees (Medium Use):
- Cloud applications, video conferencing, VoIP
- Recommended: 20-50 Mbps fiber
20-50 Employees (Heavy Use):
- Heavy cloud use, frequent large file transfers, constant video calls
- Recommended: 50-100 Mbps fiber
50+ Employees (Very Heavy Use):
- Multiple offices, video streaming, data-intensive applications
- Recommended: 100-200 Mbps+ fiber
Don't Forget Redundancy!
Even the best internet connection can fail. We recommend having a backup connection:
Option 1: Dual Fiber Lines (Best)
- Two fiber connections from different providers
- Automatic failover
- Cost: 2x your primary connection cost
Option 2: Fiber + Wireless Backup (Recommended)
- Primary fiber connection
- LTE/5G backup for emergencies
- Cost: Primary + R800-R1,500 for backup
Upload Speed Matters!
Most businesses focus only on download speed, but upload speed is equally important if you:
- Use cloud backup systems
- Host video conferences
- Use VoIP phone systems
- Transfer files to clients/partners
- Use cloud-based software
Fiber offers symmetric speeds (same upload and download), while wireless often has lower upload speeds.
Questions to Ask Your ISP
- What's the contention ratio? (1:1 is best, avoid anything over 1:10)
- What's the Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
- How long is the installation process?
- Are there setup fees?
- What happens if there's downtime?
- Is there a data cap?
- What's the contract term?
Quadracom Recommendation
For most South African businesses, we recommend:
- Primary: Fiber connection (appropriate speed for your needs)
- Backup: LTE/5G wireless with automatic failover
- SD-WAN: For multi-site businesses to optimize traffic and ensure reliability
Need help choosing? Quadracom offers free internet connectivity assessments to help you select the perfect solution for your business.