SMEs moving from dialup to ADSL

Johannesburg, 01 Jun 2005

The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) connecting to the Internet via a broadband connection has almost doubled when compared to the 2004 statistics.

This is the key finding of the SME Survey 2005, which was released last week.

The preliminary findings were based on the first 1 700 responses from a random sample of 6 000 SMEs and these show that uptake of high-speed options such as leased-lines and ADSL is growing as this market increasingly moves away from dialup connections.

The figures show that in 2003, only 2% of companies in this sector used ADSL connections, while this year the percentage has grown to 23%.

"The growth potential for broadband in SA is enormous as it exposes SMEs to a range of opportunities that were previously unattainable," says Andre Joubert, GM of MWEB Business.

"ADSL will transform the way in which SMEs conduct business, aid their competitiveness and ensure sustained growth."

Other results from the survey indicate a spirited uptake of ADSL across all industry sectors, with the areas that showed the highest uptake being IT software and service (32.31%), mining (31.25%) and electricity and utilities (31.10%).

Another sector that witnessed a significant increase in leased-line usage was financial services, which grew from 25% in 2004 to 33% in 2005.

"We believe that in future, broadband connectivity will be the preferred Internet access method for SMEs," says Joubert.

"The current high cost of broadband in SA is, however, an inhibitor for broader adoption and effecting change in this regard should be a strong priority for all those involved, whether government or industry players."