Big shift in South Africa’s router speeds and features

South Africa’s router and customer premise equipment (CPE) market has evolved radically in the past ten years, driven by homes and businesses seeking faster, higher-capacity, and more secure connectivity to serve their heavily increased data demands.

That is according to recent feedback from two of the country’s biggest ICT equipment distributors — Nology and Pinnacle.

MyBroadband asked these companies how the industry has evolved, which manufacturers are proving the most popular, and what trends they are currently observing.

Nology and Pinnacle highlighted several key developments impacting router preferences and demand during the period.

Firstly, there was the gradual move from the Wi-Fi 4 standard to Wi-Fi 5, supporting faster speeds and more capacity. This was followed by the adoption of Wi-Fi 6 in the last two to three years.

Secondly, there was the dramatic switch from copper-based connectivity (ADSL/VDSL) to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), which offers much faster speeds and greater capacity.

In addition, fixed-mobile connectivity has become more affordable and much more widely adopted.

This includes fixed-5G rolling out in South Africa from 2019, requiring more powerful and advanced routers.

According to Nology, the average of three to four Internet-connected devices in a home has increased to 10 devices in the past decade.

Pinnacle added that another development was mesh networking gaining traction, as consumers sought seamless Wi-Fi coverage across large areas.

Five major brands identified

Pinnacle explained that there is intensified competition between brands to meet these evolving demands, driving innovation and leading to the rapid introduction of new technologies.

Manufacturers are also battling on price, to the benefit of customers.

“Consumers and businesses now have access to more advanced features at more affordable prices, as manufacturers strive to offer better performance and greater value,” Pinnacle said.

Pinnacle told MyBroadband that TP-Link was the dominant router brand among its customers because it offers affordable yet reliable routers suitable for both personal and small business users.

Huawei is particularly strong in the telecom sector, with advanced technology and a robust presence in mobile broadband solutions, including 5G-enabled routers.

D-Link is also popular for its user-friendly and high-performance routers, especially among home users and small businesses.

Nology has also seen continued strong demand for TP-Link and Huawei, as well as Zyxel and ZTE.

Personal versus business trends

Pinnacle also elaborated on the similarities and differences in market trends for personal and business router users.

It explained that home users demanded routers with more bandwidth, capable of supporting 4K streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing.

“This has led to the popularity of dual-band and tri-band routers, which offer better performance in congested networks,” Pinnacle said.

Similarly, business users’ speed requirements have also increased substantially.

“Where average business Internet speeds used to range from 10 to 50Mbps, they now often exceed 1Gbps, necessitating more powerful and scalable network equipment,” Pinnacle said.

Personal users also prioritise smart integration and user-friendly interfaces.

“Modern consumers prefer routers with easy-to-use management apps, parental controls, and intuitive interfaces that balance advanced features with simplicity,” Pinnacle said.

The distributor said although advanced capabilities were important, affordability and reliability remained critical factors for personal users, who often favoured brands that boast a good mix of performance and value for money.

Both personal and business users are paying more attention to enhanced security features.

“There is a growing demand for routers with built-in security measures, such as malware protection, advanced encryption, and secure guest networks,” Pinnacle said.

For businesses, security has become of paramount concern.

“The discovery of the KRACK vulnerability in WPA2 in 2017 highlighted the need for enhanced security, accelerating the transition to WPA3 protocols across the industry,” said Pinnacle.

In addition to speed and security, business users also want the ability to manage CPEs remotely and integrate them seamlessly with cloud services.

“Telecom companies now prioritise equipment that supports remote management, enabling easier updates and troubleshooting without the need for on-site visits,” Pinnacle said.

“Furthermore, scalability and flexibility have become essential, with telecoms looking for modular CPE solutions that can be easily upgraded as technology advances.”

Near-future developments

Pinnacle maintained that demand for more powerful, secure, and feature-rich routers and CPEs will increase as Internet speeds continue to rise and the number of connected devices grows.

Nology expects fibre-to-the-room (FTTR) to garner increased interest in South Africa as the technology has gradually gained international traction.

FTTR replaces all the conventional copper cables in a home or office network with fibre optic cables.

Huawei previously provided a demonstration of the technology at Mobile World Congress 2022.

Openserve is currently the only fibre network that offers FTTR as a product to home users seeking a 1Gbps fibre service.