South Africa`s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are aggressively adopting ADSL, which is fast becoming the preferred Internet access method for this sector, driven by greater choice and lower prices of ADSL offerings, a survey has revealed.
It is also anticipated that ADSL will overtake dial-up as the most common method for Internet access by the middle of next year, fuelled by downward pressure on ADSL prices and the introduction of low-cost entry-level offerings.
The SME Survey 2005, conducted by World Wide Worx, also highlighted that the trend in ADSL uptake among SMEs is largely related to Internet connectivity and geography, but the leap in ADSL usage among SMEs cuts across all industry sectors.
The findings, based on research conducted among 6 059 South African SME decision-makers, revealed that Pretoria leads the way in ADSL usage, with 37% of SMEs in the area using this form of connectivity, followed by Cape Town at 33% and Johannesburg at 27%.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says that whereas ADSL still remains relatively expensive, SMEs are increasingly seeing the advantages of ADSL connectivity in the context of speed, efficiency and availability.
"Time is a precious commodity for SMEs, who are seeing huge savings from ADSL`s performance as opposed to the time that dial-up connectivity uses up," Goldstuck states.
The lowest level of ADSL usage was found among businesses in the Free State, with only 6% making use of an ADSL connection. This may be attributed to the low levels of ADSL service availability in the province, he says.
However, another issue that is slowing the uptake of ADSL in this region, Goldstuck believes, is rural SMEs` lack of understanding of high-speed connectivity, as the survey revealed that dial-up connections are used by SMEs in less urbanised areas.
This trend was especially evident in provinces such as the Northwest Province (35%), KwaZulu-Natal (35%), the Free State (34%) and the Southern Cape (34%). The national average is 24%. Greater Johannesburg ranks the lowest in terms of dial-up usage at 16%.
Interestingly, Goldstuck says, the fact that SMEs are leading the way with ADSL usage in Pretoria is related to Telkom being headquartered in the city. As such, Telkom`s ADSL roll-out and beta testing on ADSL was initiated in the capital - a key factor for ADSL availability and adoption among businesses located there.
The survey concluded there has been a significant leap in ADSL usage among SMEs across all sectors during the year, which confirms this form of connectivity is fast becoming the preferred connectivity option for most SMEs.
Some of the most pronounced increases in ADSL uptake were in the following sectors: advertising and marketing (from 15% to 30%), communication and broadcasting (from 5% to 27%), construction (from 7% to 27%), hotels and accommodation (from 0% to 24%) and IT software and services (from 14% to 36%).
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