I’ve been a happy RocketNet customer since May 2017 but my relationship with the company has changed. Before I get into the details, I want to give you some background information. FYI this isn’t a sponsored post nor have I been asked to write it.

I’ve had fibre in my home since it launched in my suburb and initially signed up with the first and only provider who offered the service. Usually when this happens, you just take what is available. Ten months later, I wasn’t happy and started researching my options.

Photo by: Vije

I came across RocketNet, a new company that started out in 2016. Since fibre to the home (FTTH) was fairly new back then, there were lots of ISPs cropping up. I read almost every review I could find online before I signed up with RocketNet. Subsequently, for any friend or family who asked for my help when it came to selecting an ISP, I gave them my reasons for going with RocketNet. My list here is in order of importance:

  1. Month-to-month billing: this is non-negotiable. I don’t do CONtracts of any kind, and I was not going to be held hostage for months with an ISP if I wasn’t happy. 
  2. Symmetrical speeds and uncapped data: I wanted my upload and download speed to be the same (I don’t do 5Mbps up). Uncapped data is just one less of a worry.
  3. Online chat support. If you know me, you know I hate phone calls. Having tech support via online chat is a huge deal to me.

Based on the above, it’s now almost three years later and I’m still a happy customer. I work from home so notice immediately when my line is down. I  go to the chat support via the web to let them know and someone is on it. There was this incident last year, too:

I started out on the 25Mbps package, and eventually upgraded to the 50Mbps line. And as of February 2020, I am on the 100Mbps line.

The CEO of RocketNet Simon Swanepoel got in touch with me this year to test their products and provide feedback, which they would use to improve the service. I’ve been trying out their new app and customer portal, which is a (separate) app.

My relationship with RocketNet has changed, and you need to know why.

RocketNet have upgraded me to the 100Mbps line but they’ve also heavily discounted my monthly payments. While I am still paying a small percentage, I think it is fair to disclose this. Up until the point of being approached, I had no intention of leaving RocketNet. This will in no way affect what I write professionally (ISPs not being my beat). Basically, I’m testing their products and will provide feedback to them directly, so it’s a win-win for both sides. I’ve also put up a logo on my sidebar to reflect this even though I was not asked to.

I’ve been testing RocketNet products

As an early sign-up, I was on the company’s old system, so when my line was upgraded to double its speed, I was moved to the new portal. I now use the customer app to access my account. It’s comprehensive with access to your account, support tickets, service, stats, profile, etc. All invoices get loaded here and you can pay directly from the app with Sage. The stats page is also useful if you ever wanted to know how much data you use a day. 

Another app that recently came out is RocketNet Probe (you can read about it here). The way it works, you need the app open on your smartphone and place it next to your router to run a test for a network scan or router check. It has the ability to send a photo or do a live video with the support team. Once you run this, you copy the key attached to your diagnostics and send it to the tech team. You will then be sent a detailed report for any issues and what the fix would be. It is very detailed; mine was eight pages long and listed every single device connected to the network, and at what quality (with gradings). Something I didn’t count because who does this, but I didn’t realise we have 19 connected devices in our household (of two). 

My intention is always to be upfront and candid with my readers and I trust this is in keeping with that and the faith my readers have always put in me.