The internet gets talked about as though everyone already understands what it is. Politicians talk about internet access. Advertisements promise faster internet. Schools teach children to use the internet. And yet nobody ever seems to stop and explain what it actually is — in plain language, from the beginning.
This article does exactly that. By the end you’ll have a clear, practical understanding of what the internet is, how it gets to your phone or computer, and what’s actually happening when you go online. No technical background required.
What the internet actually is
The internet is a vast network of computers connected to each other all around the world. Not two or three computers. Not thousands. Billions — in homes, offices, schools, hospitals, government buildings and data centres on every continent on earth.
These computers are connected by a combination of physical cables — some running underground, some laid across the ocean floor between continents — and wireless signals. Together they form a single enormous network that allows any connected device to communicate with any other connected device, anywhere in the world, almost instantly.
Think of it like a road network. South Africa has roads connecting every town, city and village — some highways, some gravel tracks, some in between. If you want to get from Cape Town to Johannesburg you don’t need a direct road between them — you follow a series of connected roads that eventually get you there. The internet works the same way. Information travels from one computer to another via a series of connected routes, finding the fastest path available at any given moment.
When you open a website, send a WhatsApp message, or watch a YouTube video, you are sending and receiving information along those routes — from your device, through a series of connections, to a computer somewhere in the world, and back again. It all happens in fractions of a second.
What lives on the internet
The internet itself is just the network — the roads. What travels along those roads is a different thing entirely.
Websites are pages of information stored on computers called servers — powerful machines running constantly in large buildings called data centres. When you visit a website, your device sends a request to that server, which sends the page back to your screen.
Email travels across the internet from one mail server to another — like a letter that goes through several sorting offices before arriving at its destination, except it takes seconds instead of days.
WhatsApp messages and calls travel as data across the internet — encrypted so that only the sender and recipient can read them.
Videos on YouTube are stored on enormous servers and streamed — sent continuously to your device as you watch, rather than downloaded all at once.
Online banking connects your device securely to your bank’s computers, allowing you to view balances, make payments and transfer money without visiting a branch.
All of these different services — and millions more — share the same underlying network. The internet is the infrastructure. The websites, apps and services are what’s built on top of it.
How the internet gets to your home
Understanding this demystifies a lot of everyday frustrations — why the internet goes off during load-shedding, why it’s faster in some rooms than others, and why your phone still works when the home internet doesn’t.
Fixed home internet
A fixed internet connection comes into your home via a physical cable or fibre optic line. A device called a router — a small box usually with flashing lights — receives this connection and broadcasts it wirelessly throughout your home as Wi-Fi.
Your router needs electricity to work. When load-shedding cuts the power, your router goes off and your home Wi-Fi disappears — even though the internet itself is still working perfectly. The cable or fibre line is still live. The router simply has no power to broadcast the signal.
This is why a small UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) connected to your router keeps your home internet working during load-shedding — the router stays powered even when everything else goes dark. Basic router UPS units are available from around R300 to R600 at most electronics retailers.
Mobile data
Your phone connects to the internet via your mobile network — Vodacom, MTN, Cell C or Telkom. These networks have towers distributed across South Africa that transmit a wireless signal your phone picks up. This signal carries both phone calls and mobile data.
Network towers have their own backup power systems, which is why your mobile data continues to work during load-shedding even when your home Wi-Fi is off. The towers stay up — your phone stays connected.
Mobile data is measured in megabytes and gigabytes and costs money from your data bundle. We cover this in detail in the Phones module article on data and Wi-Fi.
The difference in practice
Home Wi-Fi via a router is generally faster, more stable and cheaper per gigabyte than mobile data — which is why connecting to Wi-Fi at home is always preferable when available. Mobile data is convenient, works almost everywhere, and keeps working during load-shedding — which makes it an essential backup.
How fast is your internet — and does it matter?
Internet speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps). The higher the number, the faster data moves between your device and the internet.
For everyday home use, here is a practical guide:
| Activity | Minimum speed needed |
|---|---|
| Browsing websites | 1 Mbps |
| Video calls (WhatsApp, Zoom) | 2–5 Mbps |
| Streaming video (YouTube, standard) | 5 Mbps |
| Streaming HD video | 10–25 Mbps |
| Multiple people using internet simultaneously | 25 Mbps+ |
Most modern South African home fibre connections offer speeds of 25 to 100 Mbps — more than adequate for a household. Mobile data speeds vary considerably depending on your location, network and how many people are using the same tower at the same time.
If your internet feels slow, the most common causes are:
- Too many devices connected simultaneously — every device sharing the same Wi-Fi reduces the speed available to each
- Distance from the router — Wi-Fi signal weakens with distance and through walls
- Load on the network — evenings when everyone is home tend to be slower than daytime
- Your data bundle is nearly depleted — some networks throttle speed when you near your bundle limit
Is the internet always on?
The internet itself — the global network — essentially never goes off. It is designed with so many redundant connections that no single failure can bring it down.
What does go off is your connection to it — your home router losing power, your mobile data running out, your network having a local outage, or your device’s Wi-Fi being switched off.
When you lose internet access it is almost always one of these local causes rather than anything wrong with the internet itself. The first questions to ask are always:
- Is my Wi-Fi switched on?
- Is the router on and showing its normal lights?
- Has load-shedding cut the router’s power?
- Have I run out of mobile data?
- Is my phone in airplane mode by mistake?
Nine times out of ten, one of these is the answer.
Is the internet safe?
This is one of the most common questions from people new to going online — and it deserves a straight answer.
The internet is neither safe nor unsafe in itself — just like a city. A city contains shops, libraries, hospitals, schools, parks and restaurants — all useful, all safe. It also contains areas and people that require caution. The internet is the same.
The vast majority of websites, services and online activity is completely safe. Billions of people use the internet every day for banking, communication, learning, entertainment and work without incident. The risks are real but they are specific and largely avoidable once you know what to look out for — which is exactly what the Stay Safe module covers.
The right attitude toward internet safety is the same as the right attitude toward city safety — awareness and sensible precautions, not fear and avoidance.
Does the internet cost money?
Accessing the internet has a cost — but the cost varies enormously depending on how you connect.
Mobile data costs money from your bundle. We cover managing this carefully in the Phones module.
Home Wi-Fi is paid for as a monthly subscription to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) — companies like Telkom, Afrihost, Vox, MWEB and Rain. Monthly costs for home fibre start at around R300 to R500 for entry-level packages.
What you do on the internet — reading websites, sending emails, using WhatsApp, watching YouTube — is almost entirely free once you are connected. The internet connection costs money. Most of what’s on it does not.
Try this now
Look at the Wi-Fi symbol at the top of your phone or the bottom right of your computer screen. Are you currently connected to Wi-Fi or using mobile data? Now locate your home router — the box with the flashing lights. Notice the lights on it. When everything is working normally, most routers show a steady or slowly flashing white or green light. If the internet stops working one day, checking these lights is always the first step — they often tell you immediately what the problem is.
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