What Are the Alternatives to Fibre, ADSL & Cable Broadband?

Fibre-optic, ADSL, cable broadband, 4G and soon 5G are the dominant forces in the internet service provision market today. Fibre connections are known to be super-fast while ADSL ones, delivered over a traditional phone line consisting of a pair of copper wires, are more than enough for many households. However, there are some alternatives worth thinking about. Why?

Well, the straightforward answer is that you could be getting a better service at a reasonable price. Want to know how to get broadband without a phone line? Read on to find out.

Let's start with the different types of internet connections you can obtain today:

• Mobile data with 3G, 4G and soon 5G. This means being close to a data communications mast so your signal strength is sufficient. Although it is good for roaming, costs tend to be high.
• Hotspots. Many places provide data connections for free these days. You can find hotspots in town centres, shopping malls and internet cafés, for example. Data security can be an issue, however.
• Dial-up. Generally speaking, dial-up has had its day since modem technology isn't sufficient for most demands made of modern internet connections.
• ADSL and fibre. Both these services are often charged for each month and this suits many businesses and households. However, especially in rural areas, speeds and network reliability can be compromised.
• Satellite. Satellite internet means connecting a standard or Wi-Fi enabled router to a satellite dish which then communicates by radio-wave to a geostationary satellite that is orbiting the planet, therefore by-passing the requirement for telephone exchanges local to the installation site.

As you have just read, there are many different ways to connect to the web. Mobile data is often capped while dial-ups and hotspots have their own issues, which mean most people prefer fibre and ADSL connections. For one, many DSL-based services rarely offer speeds of anything more than 17 Mbps, especially at busy times like Friday evenings. Although some cable internet service providers suggest that speeds of up to 200 Mbps are possible, this is rarely the case. Furthermore, such services are often unavailable unless you happen to live in a city centre.

By contrast, satellite internet connections are also available in rural settings and offer a generally good connection. This is partly because fewer subscribers to such services are using up the satellite's data capabilities, or bandwidth, at the same time. In more remote settings, satellites are now the primary alternative to fibre broadband. With speeds of between up to 25 Mpbs and even up to 100 Mbps in certain countries, you can see why.

This means that satellite broadband can be used for small business connections as well as for households. These days, domestic usage is often almost as high as business demand, especially with so many people using the internet while streaming videos and music simultaneously.

What are the main advantages of satellite internet compared to fixed-line connections?

• Satellite internet offers comparable speeds to ADSL internet and often exceeds it in rural locations.
• With Konnect, a wide selection of offers allows you to choose between fixed or unlimited data and a variety of speeds so you can find the right trade-off between your budget and your data requirements 
• Satellite internet cannot suddenly go off because someone is digging up the street.
• Satellite broadband can work as a fail-safe alternative to fibre broadband, ensuring business continuity in the event of an outage.
• The pricing structure of Konnect's satellite broadband is simple to understand with no hidden costs or nasty surprises.

The fact that satellite internet is available virtually anywhere and offers great speeds compared to ADSL means that many living in rural communities or places where the internet is saturated are freed from the constraints of poor connectivity by getting satellite internet. However, you may still be asking how much does satellite internet cost. If so then the good news is that you can sign up to Konnect for as little as about $20 per month depending on your needs. You might also want to know about other factors, such as can weather affect satellite internet? The basic answer is yes, but it will only dampen signal strength to a certain extent. On the ground, poor weather can bring down phone lines or result in flooded culverts that contain fibre-optic connections, ruining them completely. By comparison, satellite broadband is much more reliable, especially in the countryside.

Satellite internet certainly has become Africa's main alternative to fibre broadband, so why not discover the right Konnect package for you today?