At no time in our history have we ever been this reliant on internet connectivity to work, learn, play, connect and communicate.  The Covid-19 lockdown has amplified our digital reliance in unimaginable ways.  Giving your family the gift of fibre connectivity is a massive advantage in terms of the educational progress and ability to keep pace with the new remote learning realities, as well as access some of the incredible educational and recreational content that it holds.  Your fibre internet connection is likely to be one of the best investments you can make in helping your family navigate their online journey.   Make it your 2021 new year resolution to get the most out of your fibre internet connection and all that it has to offer.

Top MetroFibre resolutions for 2021:

• Save money on your data and connectivity costs- Get serious about canning expensive data subscriptions and get a lot more bang for your buck with your ‘connected’ home.  With fast, uncapped and reliable fibre connectivity, accessing these services now comes at a fraction of the eye-watering costs of mobile data, LTE and other wireless broadband connections. 
• Online Shopping – COVID-19has rocketed online shopping into the limelight, and for many of us its likely to remain a preferred shopping channel.Beat the queues and wasted time spentinstore- shop online, save time and avoid those tempting impulse buys. Save time, money, petrol and only purchase what you really need - and who doesn’t love the convenience of having it all delivered to your door?   
• Learn something new – before you clock out thinking that online learning is only for the academically-inclined, check out the mind-blowing array of mind-stretching and very affordable educational experiences – from learning to play a new musical instruments, photography and design courses, to cooking and baking up a storm of the latest foodie trends, to fitness and health, meditation, travel, DIY, gaming, through to specific industry trades, academics and teaching content.  The internet is the most extensive library of learning materials and it’s all available to you courtesy of a high-speed, reliable internet connection.
• Music Streaming – no one still forks out for archaic CDs and DVDs that take up space, scratch and deteriorate over time.Music streaming is the ultimate spoil - think Spotify, Joox, iTunes, Youtube Musicand Google Play Music -

• Video and audio on Demand – With fibre internet, the world of entertainment is your oyster.  You can subscribe to multiple streaming services for music, video and entertainment at an absolute fraction of the subscription cost of a typical satellite pay TV subscription - thinkNetflix, Showtime, Showmaxand Classic Cinema Onlineto YouTube, Amazon Prime Videoand so much more.  Watch what you want, listen to what you want, when you want, or download content to watch later.   
• Wi-fi-calling, Facetime and Video-calling:  Make video or audio calls over your fibre wi-fi connection via Whatsapp, Skype, Facetime (Apple devices) and save on expensive telephony and mobile network costs.  Online family meetings via Zoom are a breeze! Remember to set your mobile phone up to automatically switch to your Wi-fi network at home and save a packet by keeping your (more expensive) mobile data for when you’re not in Wi-fi range.        

• Safety and Security at home – With uncapped fibre internet, you can connect safety and security devices such as your alarm system and CCTV cameras to the web, allowing you to remotely log in and access these devices – you can check in on your cameras and see what’s is going on at home or the office.  You can even arm and disarm your alarm remotely.  If your vehicle tracking provider offers a portal log in, you can use your internet connection to log in and check where your loved ones are travelling and that they are safe and sound.
• Get e-mail– there’s very little you can do today without an email address and internet connection – free e-mail services like Google’s Gmail are perfect if you don’t have access to subscription-based services such as Microsoft Office and Outlook.  With symmetrical upload and download speeds, those e-mail attachments will fly through for speedy communication.  
• Cloud-based storage and back-up – Get serious about backing up your important data – providers like Google and Dropbox offer free accounts up to a certain storage capacity, and a paid subscription for users with bigger storage needs.  The best part of being in the cloud is having access to your data and documents from any device, anywhere in the world, with a simple log in.  Never again regret losing all your precious family photos and important documents due to a hard-drive crash.
• Get Virus and Malware Protection– just like any work laptop or device, make sure your personal devices are protected from the usual threats posed by viruses, malware and spyware, and keep these up to date. Applications such as Nortonprovides protection for the whole family from computer viruses, cryptolockers, secures passwords and more.

Get the most out of your fibre internet service in the new year. You will save money, time, expand your knowledge and learn new things, and find that essential downtime to shoot the breeze, watch a movie or chill out to your favourite tunes…

For more information go to www.metrofibre.co.za