ADSL runs over copper lines. Copper often is unreliable, heavily contended and offers average speeds of around 4Mbps. It is also vulnerable to theft. Fibre is fast. It’s very, very fast, up to 200Mbps, and gives you a much more reliable connection.

Our Home Fibre Internet speeds start at 10Mbps and can go up to 1Gbps. All our packages are uncapped data. You pay for the Internet speeds you choose, not the data you use.

Please check coverage on our Home Fibre Coverage Map to enquire or order. Our home Fibre coverage map can be found on this page of our website: https://www.bitco.co.za/fibre-to-the-home/

If you are running a micro home business you can apply for Home Fibre. Please note that home Fibre is a best-effort service.

We will provide you with the appropriate FREE TO USE Router with your package of choice. It is a dual band Zyxel Router.

You can use the Router for free whilst connected to us. If you decide to cancel with us the Router will need to be returned or you have the option to buy the Router at a reduced price.

The router is the device that connects you to the Internet. Your Laptop, Smartphone and / or tablets uses the signal (WiFi) from the router to connect to the internet.

We will configure your router for you and it is as simple as plug and play.

Our Home Fibre is uncapped, not shaped and there is no throttling.

If five people are connecting to the WiFi and are streaming, gaming, using social media, downloading, etc. simultaneously the speed may reduce for each person. This means that there is contention. The less devices connected the faster the line speed.

When an Internet service provider throttles your line speed, they are slowing your line speed down. In a round about way, throttling can be understood the same way as load shedding where the power utility reduces the electricity because of over usage.

Shaping will usually occur on heavy protocols such as torrenting, downloading and / or (excessive) streaming. This is done so that you can still enjoy the “full” speed of your Internet connection when browsing the web, emailing, chatting on social media and so on. Your line speed is technically reduced but is only noticeable on application that have heavy bandwidth requirements.

Uncapped vs Capped.

Uncapped: Simply put, there is an unlimited amount of data available to use. Unlimited access to the Internet. Keep in mind, some Internet Service Providers state their packages are “uncapped” but implement a Throttling and / or Shaping policy.

Capped: Capped Internet is the opposite of uncapped. There is a limited amount of data available to access the internet. The Internet Services Provider will set a maximum amount of data available to use. Once that amount is reached more data will need to be purchased.

Internet data is shared from your device(s) to the Internet or with the Internet to your device(s). This is referred to as Upload and Download respectively. When taking something from your device and storing it on the internet / cloud, you are uploading data. When taking something from the internet and storing it on your device, you are downloading.

Streaming and downloading are similar but the difference is when streaming, the file is played as it becomes available whereas downloading refers to the physical storing of information on a device.

We provide one dynamically changing public IP address. Should you require a static IP address there will be a small fee of R50 per month (Provided the FNO’s Network can support a static IP). *Please note that this applies to the Fibre-to-the-Home service and is not the same as our Business services/ products.

Every Fibre Network Operator (FNO) has their own installation and activation costs. Please contact out FTTH team to provide all set up costs for the FNO in your area.

If you do not have Fibre into your premises the lead time can take approximately 2-8 weeks. This will depend on the Fibre Network Operator (FNO) in your area. The FNO does the installation. We will supply the Router and activate your Internet.

No, our standard home Fibre offering is a month-month agreement. One calendar month cancellation notice is required.

An Open Access Provider (OAP) or Fibre Network Operator (FNO) is an organisation that physically digs up the ground and lays the Fibre. The FNO installs the Fibre into suburbs, complex’s, flats and homes. They physically own the Fibre line but don’t provide any bandwidth or services.

The FNO provides fair and equal opportunities to any Internet Services Provider (ISP) to assist with connectivity across a Fibre line. You have a choice to decide which ISP you want if they have an agreement with the FNO in your area.

ONT: Optical Network Terminal or Optical Line Terminal or CPE. This is a phrase that Internet Services Providers use when referring to any equipment that is used / installed at your house. For example, the point where the Fibre terminates as well as the Fibre Modem are all known as Client Premise Equipment.

Note: some Internet Service Providers use the term ONT and CPE interchangeable which does tend to confuse people.

You will need to place an order with us and then cancel with your current ISP. We then take care of the rest. Please submit an enquiry and our FTTH team will guide you through the process.

It is as simple as sending an e-mail to sales@bitcohome.co.za with your request. Upgrades/ downgrades can take up to 2 working days to implement.

Our Fibre to the Home support agents will be available 24/7.

WiFi is a signal that is generated from the router that your smart devices (TV’s, Laptops, Smart Phones, Etc.) use to connect to the Internet. Other devices can also give off WiFi signals too. These signals are used to connect with one another, like how your laptop connects to the WiFi router to connect to the Internet.

Yes we do offer VoIP on the Vumatel and SADV Network. The cost is R199 per month for 850 local minutes. Please note that the IP Handset will need to be purchased at R1,250 Ex. Vat.

VoIP is an acronym for “Voice over Internet Protocol”. Don’t panic, even though it sounds complicated, its not. It just means that your telephone calls are made and received over the internet or through your Internet connection. VoIP is better, faster, cheaper and easier to implement as it uses the existing Internet connection to get things done.

There is no need for the old, out dated, telephony infrastructure where an additional cable was needed and then installed into the home. VoIP telephones can be accessed remotely, and settings can be changed by a support agent a 100+ km’s away.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the common term used to describe how fast your connection is. For example, the “20” in 20Mbps is known as the bandwidth. 20Mbps does not necessarily mean that you can download “20 megabytes per second”, this is just a reference. The download rate of any Internet connection can be calculated by dividing the bandwidth (line speed) by 8. Therefore:

Note:
MB/ps = Megabytes per second (the Rate at which data is transferred)
Mbps = Megabits per second (A measure of data transfer speed)

• 10 Mbps / 8 = 1.25 MB/sec
• 20 Mbps / 8 = 2.5 MB/ sec
• 50 Mbps / 8 = 6.25 MB/ sec
• 100 Mbps / 8 =12.5 MB/ sec
• 200 Mbps / 8 = 25 MB/ sec
• 300 Mbps / 8 = 37.5 MB/ sec
• 500 Mbps / 8 = 62.5 MB/ sec
• 1000 Mbps / 8 = 125 MB/ sec

Using the above as a guide, the time it takes to download a file from the internet can be calculated. For example, you have a bandwidth availability of 20Mbps in your home. You would like to download a file that is 200MB in size. Therefore:

200MB divide by 2.5 MB/sec = 80 seconds (1 minute, 20 sec)*

*Always take your available bandwidth when doing the calculations. The above examples are under ideal situations and does not take any other technicalities into consideration.

Data: Or internet usage is the amount of information that is shared between your device(s) and the internet and vice versa. The data package that is chosen is either capped or uncapped. Therefore, you either have a limited amount of internet usage or an unlimited amount.

Fibre: Light technology to provide faster and more reliable Internet.

DSL: Digital Subscriber line. Internet via a copper phone line. In order to connect to the internet, you would need to use the phone line.

LTE: Long-Term Evolution. Wireless form of Internet that utilises a mobile network. LTE is usually associated with 4G which is the 4th generation of mobile network technology.

Most of our home customers choose the 100Mbps and 200Mbps packages because speed is highly important especially when there is a lot streaming and/or gaming.