Author: Matthew Campbell
A few years ago, if you’d been asked to picture the year 2021, would you have envisioned a tech-driven, futuristic landscape similar to the one we see in The Jetsons? It might seem far-fetched and unlikely, but the world today is quickly catching up to the one George and Jane call home. Give us a few more decades and we’ll see where technology takes us. What is similar to this iconic, futuristic show is the use of artificial intelligence to build smart, connected homes. Home automation sees various Internet-powered electronic devices connect in a way that allows your home to…
Small businesses are the heart and soul of the economy – each offering job opportunities, growing various industries, and enabling ambitious people to live their best lives doing what they love. Yet, with the good comes the bad. Cybercriminals don’t care if your business is big or small or about how hard you’ve worked to grow it. They see a quick way to take advantage of private information or an opportunity to hold your digital assets hostage. So, what can you do to protect your small business from these types of events that could potentially lead to ruin? It all…
With more of us working, learning, and staying entertained at home over the past 18 months, it’s never been clearer that being without a fast, reliable internet connection for even just an hour can be intolerable. As South Africa grapples with a third wave of COVID-19 infections, some children are returning to home-schooling, and adults who had gone back to the office are once again working remotely. One of the best ways to ensure that you and your family stay connected is to invest in a fibre line. Fibre connectivity is more reliable for so many different reasons. Compared to…
That frustrating moment when the connection drops in the middle of an important Zoom meeting with a client, or your favourite TV show fails to stream after a long, tiring day. Having a slow Internet connection is a pain we’ve all had to deal with. But why should we? Many things can affect your Internet speed, but your ISP shouldn’t be one of them. If you’re paying good money for a reliable, quality and secure fibre line, that’s exactly what you should be getting. To ensure your connection quality meets your needs (and debit order every month), here are some…
No one has ever invested in an Internet connection with the expectation that it’s going to dip in performance, especially if you’ve specifically sought out what should have been a fast and reliable service. Thankfully, in many cases, boosting your Wi-Fi signal can fix the problem, and this requires a simple fix that will have you reconnected to the digital world in no time. The most common culprit? The router. In case you need a refresher: Internet service providers (ISPs) provide Internet access to your home. Your router then allows your smartphones, laptops and other devices to connect to the…
We tend to take Wi-Fi for granted at times, expecting it to miraculously work 24/7 and in every room of our homes – even on that remote patio that doesn’t quite reach the wireless router’s signal. As wireless connectivity runs on radio waves, obstructions and interferences come with the territory, resulting in Wi-Fi dead spots where wireless signals can’t penetrate. This means that your wireless devices won’t pick up Wi-Fi signals in these zones, and you’ll have to move to gain Internet access again – a particularly annoying ordeal if you’ve just settled in a comfy, quiet spot away from…
It’s hard to imagine life without connectivity – both in our personal lives and especially in business. It enables collaboration between co-workers in different cities, opens up opportunities to new markets, and gives us access to applications that make many processes more efficient. Just as the introduction of technology like steam power and machine automation led to exponential leaps in productivity at the turn of the 19th century, the Internet has led to increased productivity in this century. Mckinsey estimates that the Internet accounted for 21% of the GDP growth in mature economies from 2005 to 2010, and research shows…
With many South Africans working and learning from home, when it was announced that we’d have to deal with load shedding as well as lockdown, you could almost hear the collective groan across the country. The resulting costs and inconveniences of power cuts for businesses and regular people have certainly been a pain, especially for those working from home, but being ‘powerless’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be disconnected from the Internet. Let’s look at some common questions related to this topical issue, and find out what happens to your fibre when the lights go out. Can I still access the…
In our current context of constant change and disruption, digital transformation enabled by Internet connections has been a lifeline for many companies and entrepreneurs, helping them preserve livelihoods, careers, and businesses. In 2019, South Africa exceeded 1.6 million fibre-to-the-home or fibre-to-the-building subscriptions, making our country a leader when it comes to Sub-Saharan Africa’s fibre uptake. But with so many connectivity options on offer, it can be tricky to decipher what’s worth your money and what’s not, and what the different benefits are. Most recently, providers have launched products with names like “AirFibre”, “LTE fibre” or “wireless fibre” as alternatives to…
Fibre-based, ultra-high-speed access networks are revolutionising the way we connect with each other and the rest of the world. Changing how we work, learn and socialise, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) enhances the quality of life, empowering us to move confidently towards a digital future. But beyond its obvious consumer and business benefits of bandwidth capacity, speed, reliability, security and scalability, FTTH contributes to the economy, environment and education sector. By building next-generation communication networks and driving the development of new services and solutions, FTTH boosts economic growth, improves e-learning and promotes a sustainable future. Economic and efficiency benefits Without…