Cape Connect - January 2025

I am probably not the only one struggling to write 2025 instead of 2024.

"Januworry" - that month with 94 days and not enough budget to go around.

So let's kick it off with some free stuff.

Exclusive Offer to Newsletter Subscribers

Would you like free internet this year? Simply refer one new client to our Cape Connect owned fibre or wireless network. All we need from them is a completed application for service form with your name and surname listed as "referred by" written at the top of the first page - we'll check this against your valid newsletter subscription and credit the value of their first month's subs to your account on successful activation of your referral. Valid for every new client you refer on our own network during 2025.

Loyalty Rewards Programme

If you have been a client on our Cape Connect-owned network for an uninterrupted 5 years with a currently paid up account, you'll automatically be made a member of our new Loyalty Rewards Programme. This will give you one free month of service a year, with exclusive access to promotions and beta test products before we launch them. Keep an eye on your inbox for details.

Win A WiFi access point!

We're giving away a Reyee dual-band ceiling mount access point plus power supply to one lucky subscriber! Complete our spot survey about your experience with Cape Connect before 20 January to enter here. The winner will be randomly selected and contacted directly for prize delivery.

Meet the Team

Damian is one of our long-standing installers and technicians, and has been with Cape Connect since 2018.

He is an expert at both fibre and wireless installations, holds a work-at-height certification, and will likely be the technician first on site for your new installation or activation.

He is from Macassar, his partner is Gretchen, and he is father to three beautiful daughters. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, loves watching sports and enjoys music.

As a kid he wanted to be a professional soccer player. He may not be kicking a ball around but at our company he simply kicks butt at his job!

(By the way, that alarm sensor protecting the tower in Damian's photo above is an Ajax Motionprotect Outdoor. At Cape Connect we not only sell Ajax products, we also use them extensively to ensure you receive uninterrupted internet.)

Tech Talk

How do different materials in walls affect your Wi-Fi signal quality? 

• Drywall is a common material used in interior walls and ceilings. Fortunately, it's relatively Wi-Fi friendly. The composition of drywall, being primarily gypsum, doesn't significantly impede radio waves. However, if you have multiple layers or particularly thick drywall, your signal strength could still suffer. When planning room layouts, consider placing your router in a central location to maximize signal distribution through drywall partitions.
•  Brick walls pose a greater challenge for Wi-Fi signals. The density and thickness of brick can severely weaken radio waves as they pass through. This attenuation of signal can lead to slower internet speeds or even dead zones where connectivity is minimal. If your home features brick walls, it's advisable to position your router in open spaces and possibly use Wi-Fi extenders to ensure adequate coverage. Remember the two wall rule. A Wi-Fi signal cannot penetrate more than two walls effectively.
•  Concrete is one of the most obstructive materials for Wi-Fi signals. Its composition includes water and metal elements, which are particularly effective at blocking radio waves. In buildings with concrete walls, you might experience significant signal degradation. To combat this, strategic placement of the router and additional access points are necessary to ensure a reliable Wi-Fi network throughout your home.
•  Metals are notorious for their ability to reflect Wi-Fi signals, causing a phenomenon known as multipath interference. This occurs when signals bounce off metallic surfaces, leading to a weaker or unstable connection. In homes with metal trim, you may need to carefully plan the location of your router and consider using dual-band routers that operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies to mitigate interference.
•  Glass and wood are generally more forgiving materials for Wi-Fi signals to pass through. However, certain types of treated glass or thick, dense wooden barriers can still diminish signal strength. Large windows with energy-efficient coatings or heavy wooden doors can be subtle obstacles to optimal Wi-Fi performance. Ensuring clear pathways for signal transmission can help maintain better connectivity.
•  Plasterboard walls, especially those with metal frames, can be particularly problematic for Wi-Fi signals. The metal mesh within the plasterboard creates a Faraday cage effect, which can block or disrupt radio wave propagation. In homes with plasterboard walls, it's crucial to minimize distances between your router and devices or to use mesh network systems to provide consistent signal strength throughout the space.

From the Archives

16 April 2011. Wikipedia has a long list of events for that day, but this is not one of them. It didn't make a single blip on the international news scene, but it hit us hard.

Imagine waking up on a sunny Saturday morning in the Cape to find there's a small problem. A fire is rapidly spreading across Lourensford, with that infamous gale force South-Easter pushing it around the mountainous curves of the Helderberg basin.

It had been a long hot summer and the vegetation was crispy dry. That fire took hold and swept from slope to slope until smokey tendrils were obscuring the face of Helderberg mountain - where our main wireless high site in 2011 was housed.

Too high a wind to deploy effective helicopter support, as many hands as could be raised were on site fighting a losing battle against the spreading flames through gum and pine and fynbos. It soon became evident that life needed to take priority over property as the wind whipped the flames forward. Reports started to come in as communications tower after tower was engulfed and services went down. Surrounding farms were scorched. Fynbos obliterated. Any attempt to reach our sites by road was met with a wall of fire and zero visibility.

One tower's last security camera view was a horror-movie picture of fire marching fiercely on, tall as the gum trees, licking away at it's image until it simply melted. We had no choice - we had to wait it out.

Hours later we drove through still-burning bush to find a moonscape. Everything below 20m high was gone. Antennas melted and bubbled like a marshmallow over a fire. Cables disintegrated and vanished. The comms hut had simply exploded as the heat of that fire hit the backup batteries.

It's a date that is literally burned into our memories. Restoring sites, rebuilding huts, running power and network cables, sourcing new equipment, checking integrity of heat-warped metal structures - the list of jobs seemed endless but within 2 weeks our site was back online and fully functional.

If you visit our offices, you'll see all that remains of that old comms hut - a melted piece of aluminium artfully decorating our reception wall.

Package Changes - Cape Connect Contracts

We will be shortening our contract periods from 24 months to 12 months from today (1 January 2025) for all contract clients who are not on a month-to-month service. Our contract terms and conditions still apply to this shortened period.

At the end of the 12 months (bound to the initial installation/activation fee costs and not your subs), your service reverts to a month-to-month package that provides you with a calendar month's notice cancellation terms without contract payment penalty. If there is no notice of cancellation at the end of the contract, your service will continue indefinitely until cancelled.

A reminder that a full calendar month's notice is required for cancellation of any product we offer - whether on contract or month-to-month, our network or third party. Cancellation will be effective the end of the following month.

Price Changes - Cape Connect Fibre Network

Pricing on our own fibre network will be increasing on 1 March 2025.

In order to continue to deliver and expand our world-class backend systems, multiple redundant links, millisecond monitoring, backup power to all sites, continued presence as one of the top South African peering companies, and comprehensive personalized support, we need to keep pace with the costs of doing so.

In June 2023 we doubled our fibre speeds but kept our pricing the same as it has been since 2020. This year necessitates the first price increase in 5 years.

All our clients will receive updates by email during this month, and our website will reflect our new pricing during February. Debit orders and invoices will be automatically adjusted.

Shot of the month

We're often out on site at very odd hours and in very strange places - but this means we get some awesome views. Here's this month's picture perfect shot.

And thus onward into 2025.

Let's do this!

Michelle Bainbridge

Chief Internet Artisan

Cape Connect Internet (Pty) Ltd