Afrihost crushes the competition

Afrihost has extended its lead over Vox, Telkom, and Rain as the Internet service provider (ISP) with the strongest brand in South Africa.

This was revealed in Analytico’s 2023 South African Broadband and ISP Brand Report released this week.

Analytico is a South African research company that focuses on the IT and telecommunications market.

It provides market research, network intelligence, and marketing insights that help companies make accurate and informed decisions.

In April 2023, Analytico conducted its annual survey completed by 4,877 broadband subscribers across South Africa.

As part of the survey, respondents were asked which ISP they would pick if they had to sign up for a new fibre service.

26% said they would choose Afrihost if they signed up for a new fibre service, a significant increase from 21% in 2022.

Vox, Telkom, and Cool Ideas also had a good showing, with more than 10% of consumers each saying they would pick them as their new ISP if they had to choose now.

People selected Afrihost because of its good customer service, easy cancellation policy, and excellent online client portal.

Vox was selected due to customers’ longstanding history with the ISP and recommendations from others who have been clients for a long time.

Respondents often picked Telkom because it is a household name and offers good pricing and value for money.

The chart below ranks South Africa’s top Internet service providers based on brand strength.

ISP brand strength among different skill levels

The survey results revealed a clear trend — Afrihost is the preferred ISPs among tech-savvy people, while Telkom and Vodacom rule among non-technical consumers.

Cool Ideas performed very well among technical users, but its popularity declined quickly with consumers’ technical knowledge, as it is not a well-known household brand like Telkom.

Rain, a competitor to ISPs offering fibre and fixed LTE products, performed poorly among tech-savvy consumers.

This is likely a result of its mass-market marketing strategy, which does not target tech-savvy consumers.

Another challenge for Rain is that it has not effectively communicated to knowledgeable users that it has resolved most of its historic network problems.

Afrihost, Cool Ideas, and Vox’s strong brand awareness among tech-savvy users is good news, as most households and businesses rely on this group for their broadband purchasing decisions.

ISP brand strength in different cities

Afrihost is the preferred ISP in all the major cities in South Africa, with a good margin over the second place.

Telkom is still popular overall but lost its second place in Gauteng and Port Elizabeth over the last year.