Last year, Showmax was launched in South Africa and it was followed this year by Netflix, bringing online film hire into our homes. “In light of the perks that come with Netflix, DStv will struggle in the age of the Internet to remain relevant and competitive, despite its big trump card, the sports channels,” states the website Clickncompare.co.za.
Broadband in a nutshell
These services require broadband, which is always-on Internet connectivity of at least 1 Mbps (Mb/s stands for megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed). With broadband, you can stay connected for as long as you wish, and do not have to pay for every minute that you are online.
In South Africa, there are currently six main broadband services: Wi-Fi (supplied by various wireless Internet service providers); HSDPA (Vodacom and MTN); iBurst; NeoConnect (Neotel); MyWireless (Sentech); and ADSL (Telkom).
Speed and usage determine the cost
The cost depends on many factors, including the speed of the service and the monthly usage limit. The faster the service, the more expensive it is. The higher the usage allowance (cap), the more you pay.
A broadband cap is an Internet data transmission limit imposed by an Internet service provider over a specified period, usually a month. It is applied whenever a channel shared by a number of users may be overloaded.
Calculator to help you choose
The website is a broadband bandwith calculator that will assist you in deciding what connectivity to buy. This is based on your usage, taking into account the number of websites you visit, the emails and attachments you send and receive, and how many videos and films you watch.
Sources: clickncompare.co.za,
mybroadband.co.za and broadbanddeals.co.za.
