Wi-Fi broadband numbers in SA revealed

Awesome work - somebody needs to light the fire under this industry
 
drukkie said:
Only to be shutdown by ISP's...or be forced to move to business packages?
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Drukkie - I'm intrigued by that comment. Operators who are WAPA members are licensed and are ISPs and the customer base is growing nicely.

Happy to discuss.
 
info@WAPA said:
Drukkie - I'm intrigued by that comment. Operators who are WAPA members are licensed and are ISPs and the customer base is growing nicely.

Happy to discuss.
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What measures are there in place to regulate this industry?

I live in a golf estate with no fixed lines, there is only an independent wireless provider. I know for a fact that they run +- 300 residents bandwidth requirements on 4x 4mb lines with Mweb business lines. Download speeds are mostly great, but when I need latency most (online gaming) just one or two torrenters **** up the whole network for me and I get lag and dropping. I have bitched for weeks and months on end, and they've just decided to add another two ADSL lines to the mix.

My point is they seem to be making a great turnover, the service is not cheap, averaging minimum R500 a month to subscribe, but to the end user the service lacks.

Do I need to wait for FTTH?
 
a-person said:
What measures are there in place to regulate this industry?
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on a licensing level these operators have an ECNS and ECS licence and are subject to pretty much the same level of regulation as the big boys

wapa members are also subject to its Code of Conduct
 
I just checked the wapa website and my provider isn't listed as a member. What now?
 
a-person said:
I just checked the wapa website and my provider isn't listed as a member. What now?
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they don't have to be :)

it is a voluntary organisation which is trying to clean up how companies operate in this space
 
a-person said:
I just checked the wapa website and my provider isn't listed as a member. What now?
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I am glad you pointed that out. As dominic said, WAPA is a voluntary organisation formed specifically to improve the quality of service in the industry. This is done by requiring that members have the necessary government licensing, and then by holding members to a code of conduct.

The reason why we want to improve our public profile is so that customers realise the benefit of working with operators who adhere to a code of conduct. The better the industry reputation, the more these operators can compete - thereby improving quality and innovation, for the good of broadband as a whole.

If you go onto the website (www.wapa.org.za), you can send in a query (based on your location) to see if there are other providers in your area who respond to your query.

Another issue which I am pleased you have raised, is backhaul. Our members have a challenge to get quality backhaul (i.e. internet broadband to the areas where they serve) and this is a major focus area for 2012.
 
Welldone WAPA keep up the great work. surely with better quality spectrum the numbers will grow.
 
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