The moment fibre arrives in your hood is an exciting one. But it can also be confusing. You hear plenty of company names flying around - so how does it all work?
The installation
To get fibre to your home or business, you’ll generally have to engage with two providers - the company that installs the physical infrastructure, and your chosen internet service provider (ISP), with whom you sign a contract that allows you to connect to the internet.
This system of building the network relies on open or bit-stream access, and it allows a company like Vodacom to provide you with internet access even though they didn't lay the actual cables that make fibre possible. An open access network is built by Company A - in your case perhaps Openserve. They dig the trenches for and lay the fibre optic cabling, or in some areas, connect overhead fibre optic cables. They build the physical network that brings the signal to your router, just like, in SA, the government builds the roads that allow you to travel from place to place.
Similar to how you don't rely on the government to sell you a car or petrol, your infrastructure provider - such as Openserve - doesn't provide you with the actual connection that will give you internet access. For that, you need to choose an ISP, like Vodacom.
Your choice of who installs your physical link is limited - only one company is currently installing per neighbourhood. You can, however, choose who you want to deal with for the rest of the ‘life’ of your fibre connection. You want to go with someone you trust, who offers you the best deals and great customer service. Check out Vodacom’s Fibre deals here.
Get started with fibre
Here’s a handy article on getting started with fibre that will give you guidelines on how fast your connection should be. When choosing how many GB to budget for each month, remember that, inevitably, the better your connection, the more you’ll want to surf, as you discover the joys of streaming on Showmax and Netflix! Uncapped fibre gives you the option to stream, surf and listen to music to your heart's content, without ever worrying about running out of data.
Next, check out fibre coverage in your area, and brush up on Vodacom’s latest fibre offers.
