{"id":299928,"date":"2019-03-20T13:07:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T11:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=299928"},"modified":"2019-03-20T13:15:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T11:15:46","slug":"how-to-keep-your-internet-connection-during-load-shedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wireless\/299928-how-to-keep-your-internet-connection-during-load-shedding.html","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your Internet connection during load-shedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Load-shedding looks like it is here to stay for some time, according to Eskom.<\/p>\n

Being without power for eight hours a day is not an enjoyable experience, but it is often made worse by the lack of an Internet connection.<\/p>\n

If your home ADSL or fibre connection is connected to a router and the power goes out, your Internet is gone.<\/p>\n

With the increasing reliance on a data connection for entertainment and communication, this can prove frustrating for South Africans who are stranded in their own home with no electricity.<\/p>\n

However, there are several ways to stay connected to the Internet during periods of load-shedding.<\/p>\n

\n

UPS for fixed-line<\/h3>\n

If you have a fixed-line broadband connection and your home is struck by load-shedding, you can prevent Internet downtime with a UPS or battery backup powering your router and CPE.<\/p>\n

This does depend on your ISP and network provider, however, but most companies will have their own power backup solutions which keep their broadband products online during load-shedding.<\/p>\n

A cheap UPS which could run your router and PC for a short period will cost you around R549.<\/strong><\/a> You will need a bigger unit if you are connecting multiple devices or relying on the power supply for sustained use, and larger UPSs sell for up to R5,000,<\/p>\n

A better choice for long periods of downtime is an inverter or generator, but this is more expensive.<\/strong><\/a> A large home generator costs up to R8,999, while inverters sell for up to R32,000.<\/p>\n

If you are not willing to commit to such a big purchase, you may be better off looking at a mobile solution to your Internet problems.<\/p>\n

\"Router\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Mobile LTE router<\/h3>\n

One of the most useful gadgets to have when Eskom turns the lights off is a battery-powered MiFi router.<\/p>\n

These portable routers contain a SIM card and run for ages on a single charge while delivering an LTE connection to Wi-Fi-connected devices.<\/p>\n

Many mobile operators offer these routers along with an LTE data plan, which work out much cheaper than using standard mobile data.<\/p>\n

This is especially true if you use a data-only provider like Rain<\/strong><\/a>, which bundles a MiFi router and SIM with 10 days of unlimited data for a once-off cost of R790.<\/p>\n

While the data rates are more expensive than fixed-line broadband, a MiFi router is cheaper than using standard mobile data while also providing the advantage of a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Mobile tethering<\/h3>\n

A last resort in the case of load-shedding is to rely on the mobile data connection provided by your smartphone.<\/p>\n

Many modern smartphones include support for Wi-Fi hotspot tethering, allowing them to act as hotspots for other devices to connect to.<\/p>\n

This can be turned on in the device’s Wi-Fi settings, where users can set up an SSID.<\/p>\n

This is the most expensive option in terms of data consumption, and if you are planning to use the Internet this way you should expect a hefty data bill.<\/p>\n

However, this is often the fallback for many South Africans who need to send out one more email or finish one more document just as their power goes out.<\/p>\n

\"iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Now read: Cell C and Facebook launch public Wi-Fi hotspots at UWC<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are several ways to stay connected to the Internet during periods of load-shedding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341028,"featured_media":267681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[58116,30466,35,27483,58114],"class_list":["post-299928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wireless","tag-battery-pack","tag-generator","tag-headline","tag-inverter","tag-mifi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300028,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299928\/revisions\/300028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}