Johannesburg – Access to reliable home internet in South Africa is severely limited, with fewer than 14% of the population having access to uncapped internet.
The lack of connectivity creates significant barriers for low-budget residents to education, jobs, and entrepreneurship.
TooMuchWifi is addressing this issue and has become South Africa’s fastest-growing community internet service provider.
The company, which focuses on the Western Cape, says it has saved residents more than R1 billion in data costs, trained over 600 people, and employed more than 400 staff, with 95% of them from the local community.
TooMuchWifi says it has become the largest community-focused internet service provider (ISP) in Africa, bringing internet to areas that other players view as unprofitable.
Before launching in a new area, TooMuchWifi says it meets with local leaders, hires and trains staff from the community, and partners with local suppliers.
The company says it builds trust, creates jobs, and supports initiatives that matter to residents.
TooMuchWifi says it reinvests more than 30% of its revenue back into the areas it serves.
TooMuchWifi says it operates in over 70 communities in the Western Cape, serving over a million users with uncapped air fibre with no deposits, contracts, or credit checks.
“Reliable internet should not be a privilege that disappears after 2GB or is a choice between food or connectivity,” says Tauriq Brown, CEO of TooMuchWifi.
“Access to the internet is now a basic human right.
“When we don’t have a stable connection, we are locked out of studying, learning, applying for jobs, and running businesses.
“We cannot participate in today’s economy without the internet.
“Talent is everywhere, but access is not. That is what we are changing.”
Brown adds: “As a nation, we must ensure that our people have equal access to the benefits of the internet because without connectivity, people fall behind and the digital divide becomes an economic divide”.
From its first community in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay to its latest rollout in Zwelihle, near Hermanus, TooMuchWifi says it has shown that affordable, high-quality internet allows communities to change their trajectory positively.
