Are you paying too much for your business internet? Hippo.co.za’s new, free comparison tool helps businesses to find the best deals on internet connectivity, instantly.
Comparison site Hippo.co.za has launched South Africa’s first online portal that enables business owners to immediately compare fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) connectivity packages and prices at their location. The portal is free to use and offers geolocated price comparisons on an array of connectivity types including fibre, microwave, wireless, satellite and LTE connections.
‘This will be a game changer for South African businesses,’ says Chris Peters, CEO of Fibre Compare, whose platform powers Hippo.co.za’s FTTB comparison tool. ‘Some tech companies have used this process before, but it’s never been made available to the public for free.’
‘With many businesses trying to stay afloat or just getting on their feet, we want to enable business owners to compare business fibre quotes online,’ adds Hippo.co.za CEO Bradley Du Chenne. ‘A small cost-saving or faster internet speed to assist with productivity should not be underestimated.’
Using the tool, business owners can drop a pin on a virtual map and be served instant comparisons for business-connectivity packages, as they would for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), which is also offered on the Hippo website.
Creating the business-connectivity comparison tool was a complex process, due in part to the many different connectivity types on offer. ‘On some maps, the fibre cable doesn’t go past the road, so your business premises might register and not be feasible for FTTB,’ says Peters. ‘This platform auto-locates where you are, down to within two metres, and tells you much more accurately what real-world options are available to you.’ All deals are subject to a further feasibility by the service provider, but we have put quite a few measures in place to provide up to 95% accuracy throughout the country.
While the tool is free to use for any business of any size, small businesses are likely to benefit from it more than large corporates, which tend to use IT companies to establish feasibility and then provide pricing. ‘Small- and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of South Africa’s economy, and this platform will enable them – and larger companies – to save time and costs through simplified connectivity processes. The business environment is now one where if you’re not digital, you’re simply not competing. Having the best deal on connectivity could be the difference between an SME scaling up or closing down,’ Du Chenne says.
‘One of the biggest frustrations, especially for SMEs, is that no one knows what their business connectivity could and should cost’ says Peters. ‘Before this tool was available, business owners would have to either go directly to the internet service providers (ISPs) for prices or work through IT providers.’
Over and above the lack of transparency, time was another frustration. ‘The process for getting aggregated quotes on business connectivity would typically take anywhere from three days to two weeks,’ Peters adds. ‘With this tool, comparative quotes are provided instantly, subject to feasibility testing.’
It’s exactly what small businesses need, given the global shift towards remote working and digital adoption; and given the national need for cost-effective solutions.
‘We know that many businesses are coming out of the COVID-19 crisis and are looking at ways to reduce their operational costs and improve their connection speeds,’ adds Du Chenne. ‘And with so many people working from home, those businesses will probably have internet connections that they would like to downscale. Our comparison tool lets them save time and money by getting quotes to see if they’re still getting the best deal possible, while also helping them to get connected much quicker.’
