I have been sitting with a Dial-up Internet connection at home for more than 10 years. It all started with the MWEB big black box I scored at a Camps Beach promotion (I don't wear the shirt anymore) and then switched to Xsinet a while later.

With the so-called "price wars"  happening at the moment I decided that the time for a faster Internet connection had arrived.  I wanted something affordable (I was on Dial-up for so long for a reason!) and would be using the connection for general surfing and email (so no big downloads).

Well it took some digging but basically it came down to a Telkom ADSL connection or a Vodacom wireless connection.

I found it pretty difficult to get an overall cost from the Telkom website. There seems to be hidden costs (like the ISP monthly fee that is not included in their price) so I decided on the Vodacom wireless connection for R250 per month (500mb cap). They throw in everything you need so they are no additional costs. I can use it on my desktop and then later on a laptop if my constant nagging at my wife proves successful.

The bummer is that the contract is for two years so if a competitor brings out a much cheaper offering I won't be able to switch without paying a hefty cancellation fee. The benefit, however, is that I’ll benefit from any rate reductions over the next two years – so I won’t be locked into a fixed price - just a fixed time period.

I checked out the speed at a friend who lives down the road and it was impressive. He has the 1GB option at R350 per month.