Fibre optic cables have now been laid in most major South African hubs and they have even reached many surrounding suburbs. As its more and more likely that you’ll be able to get a fibre connection at your home, it’s important that you’re clued up about what kind of plans to take out. In this guide, we’ll go over fibre data caps, and help you decide whether or not you’ll need an uncapped fibre plan.
In This Guide:
- What is unlimited fibre?
- The advantages of uncapped fibre
- Shaped and unshaped connections
- How much does uncapped fibre cost?
- How to find the best uncapped fibre deals
What is unlimited fibre?
Uncapped or unlimited fibre refers to a connection where you never run out of data. This means that you can continue browsing websites, downloading files, and streaming videos, without worrying that your data will be depleted before the next month’s quota is issued to you.
Unlimited fibre packages come with many advantages - let’s give them a brief overview below.
The advantages of uncapped fibre
Uncapped fibre has the following advantages:
- You never have to worry about running out of data.
- It’s an affordable solution to connecting to the internet if you do use a lot of gigabytes per month.
- Uncapped connections are fast even when the bandwidth usage is high.
Are there any disadvantages?
The only real disadvantage of an uncapped line is that it can be slower than a capped connection. For example, when a line is busy, users will be queued in order of importance. This means that your line speed can fluctuate accordingly. A capped line, on the other hand, will provide consistent speed because it’s given priority on a network.
Shaped and unshaped connections
As well as looking at capped and uncapped fibre connections, you’ll also see broadband deals advertised as ‘shaped’ or ‘unshaped’.
With a shaped internet connection, your downloads may be limited to a certain speed when the network is very busy or if you have used a certain number of gigabytes within a certain timeframe.
Unshaped connections will treat all internet protocols the same. This means that your download limits will never be shaped and your speed will remain consistent.
How much does uncapped fibre cost?
Fibre prices have dropped considerably since it was first introduced to the country and now your average low-medium income household can afford it. Most of the uncapped packages start at around R500, which includes installation and hardware if you agree to a 12-month contract. As a general rule, the prices increase as the upload and downloads speeds increase: faster you want your connection to be, the more you’ll pay.
How to find the best uncapped fibre deals
We mentioned that the market for fibre broadband in South Africa is a competitive one. This makes pricing great, but it does leave one feeling overwhelmed with the vast selection of choices. But that’s where we step in. Money Expert SA is here to make life easier. We want to help you find cheap uncapped fibre with speeds that you can enjoy.
To find the best uncapped fibre deals with little effort, we encourage you to make use of our obligation-free online quote comparison tool. Simply fill in just a few details and we will supply you with a neat list of the best internet deals in your area.