Surprise in 1Gbps fibre showdown

South African residents can get a symmetrical 1Gbps fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) package for as little as R799 per month, provided they are covered by the relatively small fibre network operator (FNO) offering it.

MyBroadband compared asymmetrical and symmetrical 1Gbps FTTH packages across various FNOs and popular Internet service providers (ISPs).

Our analysis found that one FNO, Cybersmart Open Fibre, offers a symmetrical 1Gbps package through Afrihost for R799 per month.

The pair also offered a promotional period from 5 December 2024, which is still in effect until 30 June 2025.

Customers who signed up during the promotional period will pay R0 per month until 30 June 2025, after which they will pay R799.

“Clients who signed up at any time during the promotional period will, from 1 July 2025, automatically transition to being billed standard fee rates,” Afrihost’s Ts and Cs read.

“Should you cancel this agreement or fall into arrears within 6 (six) months starting from 1 July 2025, you will be charged a cancellation fee of R999.00.”

The non-promotional price of R799 per month is impressive, considering the next-most affordable symmetrical 1Gbps package available costs R470 more per month.

It is also cheaper than the most affordable asymmetrical 1Gbps package — MetroFibre’s 1Gbps line with 500Mbps upload, available through Webafrica for R1,089 per month.

However, it should be noted that Cybersmart only launched its Cybersmart Open Fibre network in November 2024, starting in Cape Town, and the network likely has limited coverage across the country.

Cybersmart promised extremely competitive pricing, and its founder and CTO, Laurie Fialkov, told MyBroadband that it will allow ISPs to create innovative products.

Established in 1998, Cybersmart is one of the country’s oldest and most successful ISPs.

When asked whether the FNO would trade under the Cybersmart brand or a different name, Fialkov said it was a tough decision.

“There was much internal debate about whether we should call the FNO Lightspeed and the ISP Cybersmart,” said Fialkov.

“However, we are launching in Cape Town, and our Cybersmart brand is strong here, so we’re sticking with Cybersmart Open Access as the FNO name.”

Differentiating itself from other FNOs

Cybersmart said it differentiates itself from other fibre providers in more ways than one, the first being designing and manufacturing its own customer premises equipment (CPE).

“There were a couple of obvious issues not addressed by current off-the-shelf hardware,” said Fialkov.

A significant issue is that fibre cables are exposed and easily damaged by regular wall boxes and optical network terminals. Fialkov said Cybersmart wants to ensure its CPE protects the fibre.

Fialkov also didn’t want different power supplies for the router and fibre CPE, as this would create a support headache.

“You need to have one power supply powering both, so they are both on or both off,” he said. “This is particularly relevant if there is load-shedding and a mini UPS involved.”

“Our CPE can take input voltage ranging from 5V to 12V, allowing you to use the router’s power supply for both the CPE and the router.”

Fialkov also wanted the CPE to present a visual alarm if the fibre is broken or the router isn’t plugged in.

“We want a zero-touch environment when dealing with the ISP,” he explained.

“Now, the troubleshooting for the ISP is simple: log a fault if the fibre light is red; otherwise, the problem is on your side.”

Fialkov said Cybersmart developed two CPE variants — a 1Gbps and a 10Gbps version.

“We managed to manufacture the 1G CPE under $12 (R219), which we believe is way below other FNOs’ input costs,” he said.

“The lower capital outlay, which relates to a lower build cost per unit, allows us to offer aggressive pricing.”

The table below compares symmetrical and asymmetrical 1Gbps fibre-to-the-home packages available from prominent FNOs across various ISPs.