Online slow down

Internet uptake levels seem to be dropping in South Africa, according to a recent study carried out by World Wide Worx (WWW). The research predicts that growth for 2007 will sit at 3 percent, which, according to WWW, is the slowest annual rate witnessed so far. Looking at the predicted growth it seems that by the end of the year there will be 3.85 million connected citizens of South Africa, which equates to around 9 percent of the population.

“The harsh reality is that broadband has not yet made a major impact on overall connectivity numbers, even while dramatically increasing the usage of those who are already connected,” says Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of WWW. “The majority of broadband users are simply migrating up the connectivity food chain, from dial-up to broadband. So, while the haves get more, the have-nots remain locked out.”

According to the study iBurst is the only service offering that is attracting large numbers of Internet users, the ubiquitous dislike toward Telkom could be a big reason for this.

In the end it is all down to competition. The 3G offerings from MTN and Vodacom are starting to take a slice of the action and with the pending introduction of Neotel’s offering and the opening up of the SAT-3 cable the landscape could change. The problem is that this shift has been expected for some time now with no significant result.