Data Connectivity: What is Right for my Small Business?

“Every man for himself.”

While this may not be the most popular call when things go south, in many cases it is the grim reality of life. Small businesses in South Africa are taking a hammering: COVID has decimated incomes and placed small and micro enterprises with their backs to the wall.

We can’t change what’s happening, but we can change our response to it. From a business perspective we have to be adaptable and forward-thinking, and that means gathering as much information as we can about the best way to do business tomorrow.

We are grateful to note that there are so many data connectivity options available to the small business owner in SA. That means that you can still operate online, take payments and connect with your customers, no matter what path your business takes.

We’d like to explore the benefits and challenges of some data connectivity options to help you make the best decision for your small business.

Data Connectivity Options in South Africa

Mobile Data Connections

A nimble and adaptable small business will make use of the most efficient and cost-effective data connectivity solution. In some cases, it comes in the form of mobile data that refers to internet access on your cell phone or any sim card connected to the cellular network.

• Mobile data allows you and your team the flexibility to work from anywhere as long as they have a laptop or other mobile device.
• It allows your employees to be together in virtual meetings to enjoy the energy of the team, as well as being accessible to your customers and their needs.
• Mobile data allows for instant replies and urgent updates no matter where you are.
• Smartphones and a geographical map application, make use of accurate GPS to get your team to meetings, no matter how remote.
• GSM technology allows small businesses to take card payments from anywhere there is a mobile signal such as at road shows, expos, and markets.
• During power outages, a battery-operated GSM-ready POS device mostly allows you to accept card payments quickly and securely, even if your primary internet connection is down.

While a flexible option, mobile data costs in SA are fairly high, so it’s a good idea to look for the best package deal for your mobile data needs. Depending on your carrier and its environmental challenges, data speeds can be variable, which is something to consider if you’re using mobile data for all your business needs.

LTE

LTE has proven a powerful tool for small businesses due to its speed and stability. While LTE is not available everywhere in SA yet, it enjoys a sufficiently large footprint to offer an effective connectivity solution.

• Fixed LTE offers the benefits of mobile with a lower cost. Simply arrange with your ISP and plug your LTE router in wherever you are and you’re back in the office.
• Stable networks allow for an always-up connection for your team, so your customers never have to be informed that the ‘system is down.’
• It is not dependent on slow and unreliable copper lines which can suffer from a lack of maintenance and ongoing theft.
• An LTE connection is fast and can achieve download speeds of around 50Mpbs.
• LTE provides a great fail-over option for fixed line connections.

While this is a great mobile option, your LTE router will always need a power source. In addition, data costs are fairly high except for Fixed LTE that is arguably the most cost effective broadband data option available in the market today.

FTTx

Fiber to the Home or to the office is one of the best connectivity options for smaller businesses.

• Fibre is fast – easily achieving speeds of 200 Mbps, depending on your line speed.
• Home fibre is cheaper than its business counterpart but does not have the bells and whistles than business fibre enjoys – such as certain guarantees for customers, for example higher Service Level Agreements (SLA) and lower contention ratios.
• Fibre is the most stable connection with no cable theft, low maintenance requirements and a good infrastructure.
• Fibre connections offer excellent bandwidth, which makes video conference calls, VoIP systems, cloud computing and streaming video a cinch.

Fiber is not quite as flexible as LTE or mobile connections, being a fixed line connection and potentially long installation times, but what it lacks in mobility it makes up for in speed. It’s also one the cheapest connectivity solutions in South Africa.

Satellite

Satellite is certainly the most costly of your connection options, but if you live on a farm in North East Nowhere, or you travel to the far reaches of the South African plains, then this will prove to be your best friend.

• Satellite connections are relatively fast, considering the distance the data need to cover to the satellite and back. It allows you to place your office anywhere and enjoy a clear voice call and effective downloads, dependent on your chosen bandwidth package.
• Coverage is never an issue for a satellite connection: one satellite can cover an entire country.
• As far as connectivity solutions go, satellite is incredibly robust and mostly remains unaffected by load shedding, cable theft or poor maintenance.
• Satellite connections can offer 99.95% uptime – certainly something to brag about.

With all of these fast, secure and reliable data connection options, the final piece of the puzzle lies in your Wi-Fi setup; taking your speedy connection and disseminating it to your team is the full stop at the end of this matter. Of course, a secure and easy-to-use Wi-Fi system is the main focus of the small business owner … who really just wants everything to work, so he can.

If you’re future-proofing your small business, then you’ll want to know more.

Your last decision will be choosing the right business to work with which will manage your connections, guarantee your up time, maximise your speeds and minimise your costs.

That’s Huge – let’s connect.