Fibre vs LTE for Business: What’s Right for You?

Let’s be honest, when it comes to choosing internet for your business in South Africa, it can feel like you’re expected to become a part-time network engineer just to make the right call. Fibre? LTE? What's faster? What’s more reliable? What works during load-shedding? What even is a failover?

The good news? You don’t need a degree in telecoms to make a smart decision. You just need the facts in plain language, with a little local context and maybe a dash of humour, because hey, we could all use a laugh after our third Teams call drops in one day.

So let’s break down fibre vs LTE for business — what each one is, where they shine, and how to choose the one (or combo) that fits your business best.

First up: What’s the difference between fibre and LTE?

Fibre and LTE both get you online, but they do it in very different ways.

Fibre sends your data along glass cables buried underground using pulses of light. It’s fast. Like, ridiculously fast. And stable. It’s a fixed connection straight into your office, and it doesn’t care about the weather, tower congestion, or how many people are bingeing Netflix in the area.

LTE, on the other hand, is wireless. It uses the same cell towers your mobile phone connects to, so it’s essentially internet via SIM card. You plug in a router, it connects to the nearest tower, and boom, you’re online. No cables. No digging. Just pop in and go.

Think of fibre as a dedicated, private lane on the N1: smooth, fast, and reliable. LTE? It’s more like the main road during Friday rush hour: can be quick, but sometimes it’s stop-and-go depending on the day, the tower, and how many people are using it.

Let’s talk speed: Who wins?

When it comes to raw speed, fibre leaves LTE in the dust. Fibre connections can reach up to 1Gbps (that’s 1,000Mbps), more than enough for large teams, real-time cloud access, HD video calls, offsite backups, and all the open tabs your marketing team insists on having.

LTE speeds vary based on location, signal strength, and tower congestion. A good LTE connection might give you 20–50Mbps on a good day, and up to 100Mbps if you’re lucky. But it can also dip. Ever tried having a Zoom meeting during peak traffic hours with weak LTE signal? Yeah, it’s not great.

Fibre is also symmetrical, meaning uploads and downloads are equally fast. LTE is usually download-heavy, meaning upload speeds lag. That matters more than you’d think, especially if your business relies on things like cloud storage, file sharing, video conferencing, or remote backups.

In short? If your business needs speed and consistency, fibre takes the trophy. LTE can absolutely get the job done, but it’s more suited to lighter use or as a supplementary connection.

Reliability: Who can you trust not to ghost you?

Here’s where the plot thickens.

Fibre is generally more reliable. Once it’s in, it’s rock solid. It’s not affected by rain, tower overloads, or someone five blocks away streaming the rugby in 4K. As long as your office has power and the provider’s infrastructure is intact, you’re sorted.

LTE is more unpredictable. It’s dependent on the tower’s condition and the signal in your area. And here’s the kicker: during load-shedding, mobile towers can (and often do) go down if their backup batteries run flat. So your LTE router might show full bars in the morning, and zero after lunch when the nearest tower is out of juice.

That said, some LTE setups are remarkably stable, especially in well-covered urban areas with good failover planning. But on average, LTE is more prone to speed dips and temporary outages. It’s the nature of wireless tech.

If reliability is mission-critical to your business: think POS systems, VoIP calls, client-facing online services, fibre’s the better bet. And for even more peace of mind, pair it with LTE as a backup. Which brings us to…

What about setup and installation?

This one’s pretty straightforward.

Fibre installation can take some time. If your building already has fibre, great, you could be online within a few days. But if you’re the first on the block, the provider might need to trench, cable, and install new infrastructure. That could take a few weeks. Once it's in, though, you’re golden.

LTE, on the other hand, is instant gratification. You pick up the router, plug it in, and you’re online in minutes. No technician. No jackhammers. No waiting for municipality permits. It’s a dream for businesses that need to get up and running right now, like new branches, pop-ups, or temporary sites.

So if you're in a hurry, LTE wins. But if you're planning for the long haul, the wait for fibre is usually worth it.

Flexibility and mobility: Are you tied down?

Here’s where LTE shines like a freshly polished bakkie.

Fibre is fixed, it’s wired into one location. Once it's installed at your office, that's where it lives. Moving offices? You’ll need a new fibre installation.

LTE is mobile. Need to relocate? Just unplug and go. Working remotely? Bring the router home. Running a stall at an event? LTE’s your guy. It’s perfect for teams on the move, remote workers, or any setup that changes location often.

For hybrid teams, field agents, or operations that span multiple sites, LTE offers unbeatable convenience. It’s also handy as a short-term solution while you wait for fibre, like a friendly placeholder until the main event arrives.

Coverage in SA: Fibre’s growing, but LTE’s everywhere

Fibre coverage is booming in cities, especially in business hubs like Sandton, Rosebank, and Cape Town CBD. If you’re in an urban area, chances are good you’ve got a fibre provider nearby, and maybe even a choice of a few.

But it’s still patchy in some places. Rural areas, industrial parks, and newly developed zones may not have fibre yet, and no amount of wishful thinking will speed that up.

LTE, on the other hand, is pretty much everywhere. As long as you’ve got cellphone signal, you can usually get LTE internet. This makes it a great fallback for locations fibre hasn’t reached, or as a secondary connection in areas with dodgy power or trenching delays.

In the connectivity Olympics, fibre wins on performance, LTE wins on reach.

And the price tag?

Let’s not get too deep into Rands and cents; prices change, packages vary, and what’s available in Joburg might not be the same in Bloem.

What we can say is this:

Fibre tends to have higher setup costs and usually comes with a contract. But for businesses that rely on fast, always-on internet, it’s often worth every cent. Many fibre packages are uncapped, with high speeds and proper SLAs, which means fewer surprises and better long-term value.

LTE is cheaper upfront. You can often go month-to-month, with no contract, and the router setup is dead simple. But LTE packages are usually capped, so if your team is burning through gigs, those data top-ups can stack up fast.

If your business has light usage or you just need connectivity for a short period, LTE is cost-effective. But for high-traffic operations or larger teams, fibre’s flat-rate, high-speed model wins out.

Also worth noting: a brief outage during trading hours can cost you way more than your internet bill. Sometimes, investing in better connectivity is cheaper than dealing with downtime.

What’s the best use case for each?

If you’re in a stable location with decent infrastructure and need reliable, high-speed internet for daily operations, fibre is your go-to. It's made for offices, retail stores, and any business that can’t afford flaky connectivity.

If you’re in a more remote area, on the move, or just getting started, LTE gives you the flexibility to stay connected wherever you are. It’s also fantastic as a failover: when your fibre goes down, LTE jumps in to keep you online.

Many businesses (smartly) use both; fibre as their primary connection, LTE as their backup. It’s the best of both worlds: speed and stability, with flexibility and peace of mind.

Load-shedding? You need both.

We can’t talk about internet in SA without mentioning our old friend, load-shedding.

Here’s the truth: both fibre and LTE can be affected. Your fibre router needs power. So does the infrastructure in the street. LTE needs powered towers, and when those towers’ batteries run flat, so does your signal.

That’s why so many businesses are investing in both a failover internet solution and basic power backup (a small UPS or inverter for your router can make all the difference). Fibre + LTE + UPS = happy team, even when the lights go out.

So… what’s right for your business?

Still not sure? That’s totally fair. The answer depends on where you are, what your business does, how your team works, and how much internet downtime you’re willing to tolerate.

Here’s a simple way to think about it:

If you need speed, stability, and service, and fibre is available, go for it. It’s the long-term win.

If you need flexibility, fast setup, or you’re not sure where you’ll be next month, LTE has your back.

If you’re serious about never being offline, combine them. One keeps you running. The other catches you if you fall.

Need a hand?

At Yolo Telecoms, we help South African businesses find their perfect connectivity match, no pressure, no jargon, just real solutions that work.

We’ll help you check coverage, assess your usage, and choose between fibre, LTE, or a combo that fits your business like a glove. We’ll even set up a failover so your calls, payments, and cloud tools don’t miss a beat when Eskom does its thing.