Johannesburg - In light of South Africa’s internet population growing, Fin24 users say that it’s high time that the country steps up its internet speeds as well.
On Monday, Fin24 reported that networking technology company Cisco forecasts that there will be 27 million internet users in SA by 2019, up from 15 million in 2014.
Moreover, the company said that internet protocol (IP) traffic in South Africa is also forecast to grow six-fold, representing an annual growth rate of 44%.
The Cisco report further said that South Africa’s average internet speed is just 3.5mbps. However, this is forecast to improve to 10mbps in 2019.
READ MORE: Internet access to spike in SA
SA’s current average speed of 3.5mbps is slower than many other nations’ average internet speeds.
According to Akamai’s 'State of the Internet Report' for the first quarter of 2015, Morocco had an average internet speed during that quarter of 4.8mbps and the UK had an average speed of 20.4mbps.
Complaining about SA’s slow internet speeds, Fin24 users have expressed their views on the topic.
Fin24 user Jdlamini wrote: “I stay in Pongola in a place called KwaMlogo. When I’m home the internet runs on Edge and connection keeps on breaking. So there is a very poor connection.”
Fin24 user Selriksin also wrote: “Yes they (SA’s internet speeds) are very slow especially mobile ones, mostly you spend your data trying to download, and the signal is always weak. I don't think our service providers are ready for multiple users simultaneously. Overhauling is required on all networks because they cannot meet the national demand at all.”
Fin24 user David wrote: “Yes, internet speeds are far behind those in Europe and The States.”
In the comments section of the story, Fin24 user Shaun Gouws said that South Africa also needs to focus on its power problems, which could affect the country’s internet usage figures.
“Hopefully by 2019 we have electricity to keep the Wi-Fi routers going and the phones charged,” wrote Gouws.