Getting fibre at home gives you direct access to lightning fast internet, but do you still need a phone line? The short answer is no. Fibre doesn’t run on a telephone line. Instead, it works with fibre optic cables. These are quite different to traditional phone lines.

ADSL internet, on the other hand, uses a phone line. These cables, particularly those that we find in South Africa, are made of copper. When broadband first became available in South Africa in 2002, it was through ADSL internet. At that time, it was the fastest type of connection available in the country. 

Fibre optics are replacing copper phone lines

The first fibre optic cables went live in South Africa in 2009. Since then, high speed internet has become available to South Africans via the international subsea fibre optic cable network. 

Since the early days of fibre, there has been massive investment in setting up the necessary infrastructure for fibre in South Africa. Many more fibre optic subsea cables have landed on South African shores from other continents. When the cables meet the shore, they connect to cable landing stations. From there, the terrestrial fibre network branches out to all major cities and towns in the country.

Since 2009, fibre has taken over as the fastest, most reliable and most secure type of internet. Throughout the country, ADSL is being phased out and replaced with fibre connections. The good news is that households and businesses no longer need to rent a telephone line in order to get fast internet. This reduces the overall cost of the internet and users benefit from higher speeds and a more stable connection.

Phone lines offer a poor connection

ADSL internet no longer meets our needs. These connections are relatively unstable and expensive, considering the poor quality connection. Copper cables are easily affected by poor weather conditions, especially in areas where there are a lot of electrical storms. Heavy winds and rain tend to disrupt ADSL services. Copper is also a valuable resource, so these telephone lines are often stolen and sold on the black market.

The other downside of ADSL is that it has limited capacity. When more users are connected to the internet, speeds slow down. Fibre networks, on the other hand, are designed to have extra capacity. As internet traffic increases, these fibre networks can scale up to meet increased demand. 

With a fibre connection, it doesn’t matter how many users are connected, your internet speeds will remain the same throughout the day and night. With ADSL, you’ll find that your internet speeds are slower during peak times, such as evenings in residential areas or office hours for businesses.

What do fibre cables look like? 

Fibre optic cables are covered with a plastic casing, so they look inconspicuous and nothing out of the ordinary. However, inside the casing, there are fibres made of thin glass strands that are used to transmit data in the form of light pulses. 

The speed of a fibre connection can be around 20 times faster than ADSL internet as light travels faster than the signals sent down a copper telephone wire. For more detailed information on how fibre internet works, check out our basic guide. 

Fibre internet offers the best connection 

In South Africa, we have a number of different internet options available. From ADSL and mobile LTE to satellite and fibre, South Africans have greater choice than ever before. Fibre internet still offers world-class connectivity that is leagues ahead of other types of connections. 

You can expect constant speeds and flexible contracts; features that generally don’t exist with other types of connections. LTE needs mobile data to work and this is relatively expensive per gigabyte. Both LTE and ADSL generally have some kind of data cap where either your internet is cut off after you have used a certain amount of data, or you pay a higher price after you have reached your data cap. 

Fibre internet packages from a reputable provider, such as WonderNet, are uncapped and unthrottled. This means you can use as much internet as you like without worrying about being cut off before the end of the month.

Fibre internet gains popularity in South Africa

Fibre is now an essential part of modern life. It offers us a gateway into new ways of working, socialising and studying. Many consider fibre to be South Africa’s newest utility – a service that is considered integral to daily life. Much like water or electricity, an internet connection has become an essential household or business expense.

The fibre optic cable market is set for exponential growth. These glass fibres can transmit data over long distances without any significant loss in signal strength. The demand for fibre optic internet in South Africa has boomed in the last few years, especially with more people going online for their work or studies.

In the last decade, there has been a massive growth in internet traffic in South Africa. With almost 70% of South Africans going online on a regular basis, there is growing demand for improved connectivity. More and more South Africans are choosing fibre over ADSL, getting rid of their phone lines and setting up fibre-optics instead. 

Setting up fibre internet

You can get fibre internet for around R500 a month, depending on the package. This is usually enough for general use, but might not be enough for gamers, binge streamers or those who work intensively online. In comparison, an ADSL package with similar bandwidth can cost almost double and users still need to rent the telephone line – adding to the cost of your internet connection. 

As more and more users connect to the fibre network, this stimulates competition among fibre network providers to constantly lower costs and provide more affordable services for South Africans.

Fibre internet with WonderNet

WonderNet offers world-class fibre internet to homes and small businesses in South Africa. You can sign up for fibre internet within minutes via our homepage. We have a range of packages to suit light, medium and heavy internet users. You can also upgrade your package quickly and easily. Flexible contracts means that you can not worry about being locked into long two to three-year contracts, as is the case with phone line ADSL.

For more information about our fibre offerings or to get a quote for an internet upgrade, please contact us today or check if we’re connected to your address.