5G’s Role in Enhancing Business Communications and Operations

Posted on 26 August 202424 November 2025 by Chris Boshoff

Not Just Entertainment: The Future of 5G in Business Communications

5G was developed to handle the growing demand for data and deliver faster, more efficient mobile networks. In doing so, it brings major improvements to how we connect, work, and communicate. While most people get excited about 5G for entertainment — lightning-fast downloads or smoother gaming — the real game-changer lies in what 5G can do for business communications and business operations.

Why Effective Communication Still Decides Business Success

Business communication — internal and external — is the backbone of operational success. When communication is strong, companies see higher productivity, quicker problem-solving, better relationships, and healthier company culture.

DecisionWise, a global consulting firm, found:

Companies with low employee engagement earn 32.7% less in operating income compared to engaged companies.
Companies with a highly engaged workforce see operating income rise by 19.2% within 12 months.

The message is simple: when communication improves, engagement improves, and the bottom line follows.

How 5G Transforms Business Communications

5G theoretically delivers up to 20Gbps download speeds, 10Gbps uploads, and latency as low as 4ms. Tests in South Africa reached average speeds around 250Mbps, equivalent to high-end fibre.

Its biggest strengths — speed, latency, bandwidth and efficiency — directly improve how companies communicate, collaborate, and operate.

1. Faster Speeds for Instant Collaboration

5G can reach speeds up to 100x faster than 4G LTE.
This means:

Faster file transfers
Smoother video calls with clients and teams
Instant software updates
Faster access to cloud platforms and business tools

For fast-paced businesses, speed equals efficiency.

2. Ultra-Low Latency for Real-Time Performance

Latency is the time it takes data to travel from point A to point B. With 5G, latency drops to 1 millisecond — compared to 30–50ms on 4G.

Ultra-low latency benefits:

Real-time communication tools
Live collaboration
AI-driven decision-making
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications
Data-heavy IoT devices

Web pages load faster, systems respond instantly, and real-time technologies finally work the way they’re supposed to.

3. More Bandwidth for More Devices

Modern workplaces rely on multiple connected devices. 5G’s increased bandwidth allows:

More IoT devices operating at once
More users connected without slowdowns
Better performance in high-density environments
Reliable smart office automation

As businesses add more tools, sensors, and platforms, bandwidth becomes non-negotiable.

4. Improved Network Efficiency and Reliability

5G introduces technologies like:

Dynamic spectrum sharing
Network slicing

Both ensure users get the network resources they need without interruptions — even during peak usage.

This allows businesses to:

Automate processes
Host high-quality web conferencing
Enjoy consistent, reliable connectivity
Reduce downtime and performance bottlenecks

Reliable networks aren’t a luxury. They’re a requirement.

The Future: 5G Unlocks the Next Wave of Innovation

5G doesn’t just improve communication — it enables entirely new business models and capabilities.

5G supports advanced technologies such as:

Internet of Things (IoT)
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Augmented reality (AR)
Virtual reality (VR)

These aren’t new concepts, but 5G finally gives them the infrastructure to scale.

For example, VR in education and training is already accelerating. Forbes projects the global VR education market to reach US$13 billion by 2026.

With 5G, innovations like VR classrooms, remote diagnostics, AR-assisted engineering, and predictive automation move from “future tech” to daily reality.

Bring Your Business Comms Into the Future with 5G

The advantages of 5G — speed, low latency, bandwidth, and efficiency — make it a powerful upgrade for any organisation looking to improve productivity and communication.

If you’re ready to modernise how your business connects, collaborates, and operates, explore the 5G offerings from Vox.

The future of business communication is already here. 5G just makes it faster, smarter, and more capable.

Sustainability and Telecom Businesses: Why Green is the Way to Go

Posted on 2 August 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

Business Benefits for Organisations Aiming to Reduce their Carbon Footprint

We are living in interesting times.

A number of local events so far are all pointing to this year going down in history as being a big one. To name just a few, this includes the 2024 local national elections resulting in a Government of National Unity (GNU); the recent floods in parts of the country, including the Western and Eastern Cape areas and KZN; and an actual tornado in the Durban area.

This year’s local historic events also include the 2024 Springbok Home Fixtures Rugby series, which is truly juicy (and did you know that you could win double tickets with Vox?).

So it’s a big year for South Africans.

But if we circle back to those extreme weather incidents, it reminds us that the planet seems to be fighting back against humanity’s eco-unfriendly practices – and let’s face it, no one wants a tornado to hit one of those big rugby games.

Tornado near Tongaat, Durban, in June 2024 (Image courtesy of The Witness)

More seriously: the call to action for businesses and consumers alike must therefore be: Embrace Sustainability.

(And the same goes for the GNU also, of course, but that’s a ‘wilde-beast’ of a story all on its own.)

For the Planet – And Future Generations

Most people today agree that people – individuals, organisations, countries – MUST become more environmentally sustainable. We all rely on the Earth’s resources for the air that we breathe; water to drink; plants and animals for food; wood and metals for construction; and fuels, whether fossil or renewable, for energy resources.

If we use them up too fast, and if we burn energy unsustainably so that it over-heats the planet, these resources won’t be there fore future generations. We must bring our consumption in line with what our planet can support.

Spotlight On the Telecommunications Industry

The telecoms industry is vital for allowing our world to remain connected – but it also has a considerable negative impact on the environment.

Data centres on their own account for about one percent of the world’s electricity use, and the telecom industry overall produces about three to four percent of global CO2 emissions. To put this into perspective, it is twice as much as the civil aviation industry[1].

This is quite a significant amount to come from an industry that at first glance doesn’t seem to be directly associated with environmental concerns.

In addition, the telecoms sector also contributes to electronic waste through rapid device turnover, when outdated cell phones, modems and routers often end up in landfills, creating an additional environmental challenge.

With the growing concern over climate change, the telecoms sector is now embracing more sustainable practices, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint significantly.

Solutions to reduce carbon footprint in the telecommunications industry include the following:

Embracing renewable energy: In moving towards reduced carbon emissions, it makes sense to shift towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to run data centres and network operations.
Smart energy management in operations: Energy consumption and in turn operational costs can be reduced by upgrading equipment to more energy-efficient models, optimising network operations, and implementing smart cooling systems in data centres.
Equipment sustainability: Manufacturers can design more durable devices that are easy to repair and upgrade, which will extend their lifespans.

Creating a circular economy: Programmes for the recovery and recycling of electronic equipment contribute to reducing electronic waste overall.
Eco-friendly infrastructure development: Adopting eco-friendly design and construction practices for new infrastructure sites includes using sustainable materials, minimising land use, and ensuring that new projects have a low environmental impact.

The carbon footprint of telecommunications presents significant environmental challenges, but there is hope. Through initiatives like renewable energy usage, equipment sustainability, and consumer and business awareness, real progress can be made in reducing its impact.

At the same time, extreme weather conditions such as flooding, storms, a lack of water, and wildfires have potentially disastrous consequences for telecommunications, causing damage to infrastructure and essential equipment, as well as business- and supply-chain interruption. If the world as a whole embraces sustainability issues, we can hope to reduce these natural disasters.

Business Benefits for Telcos in Going Green

As far back as 2022, multinational professional services experts Ernst and Young (EY) urged South African businesses to embrace sustainability issues voluntarily before they were made essentially compulsory for all. However, never mind being forced to embrace global trends: there are actually intrinsic business benefits for telcos around the world, including locally, in ‘going green’ anyway.

Energy cost reduction feeds into improved OPEX: In 2023 the GSMA, the global technology standards organisation for mobile operators from over 100 countries, published a report entitled: “Green is good for business: making the financial case in telecoms”.

According to the report, mobile telecom operators can potentially reduce operational expenses (OPEX) by 4% through a 20% reduction in energy costs, achieved by implementing power-saving technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and lithium-ion batteries.

New customers: Additionally, the report notes that customers worldwide are willing to support telecom operators that invest in sustainability. The study reveals that 30 to 60 percent of telco subscribers surveyed in 16 countries would be willing to pay more for mobile airtime tariffs certified as carbon neutral.
Reputational wins: In a follow-up report entitled: “Green is good for business: the reputational in telecoms”, the GSMA notes: “The reputational impact of corporate green credentials and actions extends to brand perception and purchasing decisions. …Analysis of data from a recent GSMA Intelligence survey indicates that 60 percent of people, on average across 16 countries studied, consider climate or sustainability criteria an active part of product purchasing.”

The lesson is clear: by investing in sustainable practices and driving the adoption of digital solutions, telecom operators can contribute to their own financial success through reduced energy and operating costs, a potential increase in eco-friendly customers, and reputational and branding wins, while simultaneously supporting global sustainability efforts within the industry overall.

Proudly Green

The journey towards a smaller carbon footprint in the telecom industry is complex and requires a multi-faceted approach. This commitment benefits the environment and also sets a new standard for responsible business practices in the digital age.

Overall, reduced energy consumption, the adoption of renewable energy sources and the implementation of a carbon reduction strategy are the three vital elements that must work in tandem for a telco to be considered green.

Vox is always proud to work with telecommunications partners that are committed to environmental sustainability issues, for the overall benefit of the country and the planet in turn. After all, you just have to look at our own branding to know that our blood runs green (and gold).

[1] https://explore.intellias.com/hubfs/Whitepapers/Intellias_Sustainability_In_Telecom_Whitepaper.pdf page 4

From Sign to Surfing: How Vox Makes Your Home Internet Experience Hassle-Free

Posted on 17 July 202427 November 2025 by Vivienne Fouche

The internet is part of everyday life now and something that we access continually, whether it’s for online banking and shopping, working and studying, or gaming and entertainment options.

And the difference between having access to capped versus uncapped data can feel life-changing – not to mention that if you are constantly topping up your data, it can quickly become expensive. In comparison, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) provides lightning-fast, uncapped data – and the cost just might surprise you when you compare it to constantly having to buy data bundles.

Why not check out our Vox FTTH offerings and see how making the switch to uncapped data could change your life for the better?

What’s Your Story?

Almost everyone has had a bad experience with using uncapped data – so what’s yours?

Maybe you were working from home with an urgent deadline, but your Internet wasn’t up to the task and you missed the cut-off. (You also missed out on your next pay increase.)

Or perhaps your data ran out during a job interview? (Another potential salary increase that went whizzing by into the realm of ‘If Only’…)

What about that movie you were really looking forward to watching, but it stopped streaming halfway through? Or the times you were speaking to family members far away and the data-based call dropped, just when the catch-up was getting really enjoyable?

Maybe you were writing an online exam at home, but your data cut out and stopped you from submitting the paper. (You still passed, but that zero really brought down your grade average for the year.)

Running-out-of-data stories generally don’t end with a smile on the storyteller’s face – so maybe it’s time to ditch using a data package that needs constant topping up, and move over to the convenience and enjoyment of fast, uncapped data with Vox’s Fibre to the Home.

Problem, Solution: Enter Vox

If you’re still thinking: “Why Vox Fibre for your Home?” – well, Vox offers access to a home environment where super-fast Internet lets customers stream Netflix or YouTube without the annoying buffering. It allows you to connect multiple devices inside your home, simultaneously, on a single Fibre line. You can surf the Internet – for working, studying, gaming, shopping, socialising or simply being entertained – with no interruptions.

Long story short: Vox FTTH offerings bring you a home in which your Internet experience is reliable and fast (Eskom allowing, of course, and Vox has loadshedding solutions there too).

And not only does Vox FTTH bring you a fantastic Internet experience, it’s also pretty easy to sign up with us.

Easy Steps to Signing Up with Vox

Fibre Coverage?

The first step is checking that Fibre lines have been laid in the ground in your area. Go to the ‘Vox Shop’ to check out the useful coverage map. Simply put in your address – you can have a quick peak at the neighbours’ rooftops and surrounding vicinity if you enjoy cyber-sleuthing – to find out if Fibre to the Home is available in your area. The answer will come up very quickly.

Fibre Package

Next up is to choose a Fibre package option. Once you’ve matched the options to your needs, simply hit the ‘Send’ button and follow the instructions to input your details.

Quotation and RICA Time

Next, you will receive an emailed quote from one of our sales consultants. When you accept the quote, you’ll also need to send in your RICA documents.

A quick technical note: By law, you need to follow RICA procedures (the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication Related Information Act), which involves submitting certain documents, like your ID and proof of current address. RICA legislation was enacted to protect the security and privacy of South Africans.

Fibre Installation with the FNO

Once all your documents are processed, Vox will log a call with the relevant Fibre supplier associated with your chosen quotation package.

Another quick technical note: As an Internet Service Provider (ISP), Vox works with the Fibre Network Operators (FNOs) who own and operate the Fibre lines in the ground.

It’s a Date!

The relevant FNO will get in touch with you to bring a short Fibre line onto your property. Basically, the FNO’s job is to connect the Fibre outside in the street into your home, ultimately to be connected to your Vox Wi-Fi equipment.

The FNO will plan the route for the Fibre line and the location of the ONT inside your home, which you’ll be asked to accept and sign off.

Another quick technical note: The ONT is the Optical Network Terminal and is also commonly referred to as a ‘fibre box’. The ONT is what allows the fibre optic cable to be connected from inside your home, out through your property and to the fibre network at the street.

Once you have signed off the necessary paperwork for the Fibre line handover with the FNO company, it’s back to Vox.

Vox Wi-Fi Router

Vox will deliver your Wi-Fi router by courier. You’ll then set up the Wi-Fi router as per the self-installation instructions, which are simple and clear to understand. Welcome to an online experience that is easy, uncapped and FAST!

Come Home to Vox

Are you ready to make the life-changing move to uncapped data and super-fast internet?

With Vox, you will enjoy uncapped Wi-Fi, with unlimited surfing possibilities, an end to movies buffering, super-fast gaming and a working-from-home experience that, quite simply, works.

Just click here to find out more about signing up for FTTH with Vox.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Vox Home Fibre and how does it differ from mobile data?

Vox Home Fibre is a fixed fibre connection to your house offering uncapped, high‑speed internet; unlike mobile data, Fibre provides consistent, symmetrical speeds and supports many devices simultaneously.

How do I check if Fibre is available at my home?

Use the Vox coverage map and enter your address. The tool will tell you immediately if Home Fibre is available in your area.

What documents do I need to sign up for Vox fibre?

You’ll need to submit RICA documents: a valid South African ID and proof of current address. RICA is a legal requirement for new internet connections.

What is an ONT and who installs it?

The ONT (Optical Network Terminal) is the fibre box installed by the Fibre Network Operator (FNO) to bring the fibre into your home. The FNO plans the route and hands over the ONT once installed.

Will Vox install my Wi‑Fi router?

Vox delivers your router by courier and provides simple self‑install instructions. Support is available if you prefer guided setup.

How long does installation take after I accept the quote?

Installation lead times vary by area and FNO schedules. After you accept the quote and submit RICA documents, Vox and the FNO will confirm an installation date.

No 1 in Teams: Unpacking Voice Solutions with Vox and Operator Connect

Posted on 2 July 20241 August 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

A quick and easy way to integrate Voice calling into Teams – no matter where your employees are working from

Using Microsoft Teams has proven itself as an excellent platform for calling, holding meetings and collaborating with colleagues working remotely or from office spaces in different parts of the country. Teams has been proven to keep effective communications going among skilled colleagues no matter where in the country – or the world – they might be based.

Did you know that in addition, with Microsoft Operator Connect, businesses can quickly and easily integrate Voice calling into Teams, saving on costs and enhancing communications and efficiencies further?

As a Microsoft Operator Connect partner, Vox hosts and manages the infrastructure required for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or calls made over the internet) as well as PSTN[1] calling (meaning calls made over landline), using Teams, powered by Microsoft Azure.

By enhancing the integration of Vox’s low-latency, quality-controlled Voice Network with Microsoft Teams, Operator Connect offers streamlined, fully-managed Vox Voice services and radically improved call quality. With Operator Connect, users can make, receive, transfer, forward and put a Voice call on hold from any location via a Teams-enabled computer or smart device.

Vox and Microsoft Operator Connect

Customers can connect their existing phone numbers to Microsoft Teams or obtain new numbers, manage their calling plans, and configure their call routing right from within Microsoft Teams. This is particularly helpful for the IT department – your technicians can quickly assign numbers without needing to go through external providers, and can manage everything from one place.

By subscribing to Operator Connect, Teams users get a telephone number on which they can make and receive calls. Users can call any phone number in the world and receive calls from anyone in turn, from their mobile phone or computer.

With Operator Connect, Teams replaces the company’s old handsets, and users make and receive phone calls directly within Teams.

Benefits of partnering with Vox and Operator Connect include:

Migrate your current Vox Voice services or port numbers from your existing operator quickly and easily (Geographic and Non-Geographic numbers).
Operator Connect is designed to be easy for the IT team to use from the Teams Admin Centre.
The solution is budget-friendly: One of the benefits of Operator Connect is that by enabling Voice calling directly from Microsoft Teams on PC or mobile phone, no other hardware is required.
Vox provides tech support and service level agreements (SLAs) for excellent trouble-shooting and ongoing reliability.
Significant savings: With either Unlimited or Post-Paid Voice packages to choose from, Vox will tailor a calling plan suited to your business needs.
Every customer receives the most secure and value-rich solution as default, with active 24/7/365 fraud monitoring and guaranteed 99.9% uptime, with punitive SLA clauses should we not deliver on our promise.
Quality of service: Your Microsoft Teams and Voice traffic is prioritised above all other traffic travelling across your Fibre connection. This means that your Teams and Voice calls will not be interrupted by other activity happening on your network. This is a proprietary service offered by Vox on your Vox home or business Fibre last mile link.

Teams and Vox: A Winning Combination

Subscribing to Operator Connect is not difficult at all – just click here to enquire, and then a Vox expert will contact you and guide you through the quick and simple subscription process.

Once you accept, we’ll establish a trunk connection for you, assist you to provision users and assign phone numbers directly from the Teams Admin Centre so you can start making calls – it’s friendly on the bottom line, hassle-free, secure and tailored to your unique business requirements.

Simply subscribe to Operator Connect from Vox and leave the rest to us.

[1] The PSTN (Publicly Switched Telephone Network) is the network that carries your voice calls when you call from a landline or cell phone. It refers to the worldwide network of voice-carrying telephone infrastructure, including privately-owned and government-owned infrastructure.

Stay Connected with Vox Email Solutions

Posted on 11 June 20241 August 2024 by Vivienne Fouche

When people think of Vox, they probably think of us as being a market-leading Internet Service Provider (ISP). But did you know that we offer many more additional solutions to connect South Africans to the world?

One of these is our range of email products, to help keep you continuously in contact and running your life and your work affairs easily, efficiently and cost-effectively.

We’ve created solutions that will meet your requirements to keep you communicating safely and continuously.

Snail-Mail? What Snail-Mail?

In addition to email’s speed advantages (when compared to the original postal offering), it also provides a written record of communication that has taken place. It’s a powerful tool for business as well as personal use, helping with clarity, accountability and references, for future communication and decision-making.

The invention of electronic mail is generally credited to an ARPANET engineer named Ray Tomlinson, who, in 1971, successfully sent a short message to himself from one computer to another in the same room. After that, though, email took a while to kick off, and was initially used almost exclusively in academic and research circles.

When people still used the post office as their only option, written communications were limited by time and distance. Today, our default expectation is that email messages can be sent and received instantly from anywhere in the world, which changes both the speed as well as the reach of text-based interactions, across borders as well as time zones.

The arrival of email – which originally stood for ‘electronic mail’ to distinguish it from the paper kind – provided a faster, more efficient and more convenient way to communicate with others in a written format. Email first began transforming communication on a global scale in the 1990s, when it became increasingly accessible to the public. At its height, Hotmail, the world’s first free internet-based email service, had over 400 million users.

(Fun fact: Hotmail was bought in 1997 by Microsoft and became the basis for what we today know as Outlook.)

Email Changes Communications

Unsurprisingly, email has forever changed the way we send and receive written communications. Most people have all their bills and statements – which used to be sent via traditional mail – now delivered in a paperless manner through email. Letters have become less common, as it’s more convenient to send an email message – on your smartphone as well as a computer.

In a business context, email serves as an effective way to communicate with colleagues or customers – a communication can still be sent without requiring all parties to be ‘present’ at the same time to receive it, phasing out the need for an in-person or phone-based meeting in real-time.

Vox Enhances Local Email Offerings

Vox POPMail is a Cloud-based email offering that provides solutions for both business and family purposes, including the option of owning your own domain. We aim to ensure that your data is kept safely and not shared with any other entities – and it’s incredibly cost-effective also, with different options to suit your pocket.

As a specialist email solution, Vox POPMail also brings you upgradeable storage and features such as Calendar, Contacts and Tasks.

Vox POPMail is based in South Africa and offers all the features you need from email, at a fraction of the price. The key functionality includes:

A choice between using your own domain name or our shared domain: A domain is a tool used to establish a unique Online presence, and a domain name that relates to your business or organisation can help to improve your ranking on top search engines like Bing, Google and Yahoo.
Anti-spam and anti-virus to enhance your email security and keep unwanted marketers away: At Vox, we ensure that your data is kept safely and not shared with any other entities, to keep your information, home and loved ones safe.
Mail options, including Calendar and Tasks, with access via web browser and/or Outlook.
Mailing list functionality: Bringing you the option to create and manage mailing lists.
Flexibility: Create up to three different alias email addresses.
Admin that works: An easy-to-use admin interface to create and manage your email.

We also offer three flexible mailbox sizes to choose from, built to accommodate your budget and business needs.

The Domain Game

Do you have an entrepreneur inside you? If so, another positive from Vox POPMail is being able to start an online business by establishing your own domain and website to promote your company. A website portrays your business, whether it’s a startup or a well-established company – it’s the first place that anyone will go to when looking for general information, products and services.

A website helps to establish your business identity or brand image. It builds credibility, and can also be used for lead generation.

With a domain from Vox, you can give your organisation a professional look and feel. Find out more here.

Why Vox POPMail?

There’s no denying that there are a number of email offerings out there. Vox is pleased to bring you personalised email solutions, with advantages that include convenience, choice, flexibility, security and excellent cost offerings.

It’s all part of what Vox does best: ‘Staying Connected – Together’.