When TP-Link unveiled the Archer 8 last week, billed as the first consumer router platform built for Wi-Fi 8, the striking thing was what it did not promise. There was no headline jump in peak speed. Instead, the company pitched the device, due around October 2026, on reliability: steadier coverage room to room, fewer drop-offs under load, smoother mesh roaming and lower latency.

South Africans experienced challenges paying with their cards and using ATMs following the severe storms that recently wreaked havoc in parts of the country. According to Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA) executive Paul Colmer, the problems were widespread and may possibly be related to a data centre peering issue.

The South African media landscape has been saturated with Starlink coverage for months. Every ministerial statement, every regulatory development, every parliamentary objection becomes headline news. Yet amid this relentless coverage, a curious question emerges: why Starlink specifically?

Everyone’s talking about artificial intelligence. And I mean everyone. The hype reminds me of the fanfare around 5G’s launch – all promise, waiting to see delivery. We built and enabled those towers everywhere, and now? Well, let’s just say the revolution was somewhat overstated.