Why Speedpoints on LTE Alone Are a Bad Idea | Lessons from South Africa’s Recent Mobile Network Outage

In an increasingly cashless society, the ability to accept card payments is a business-critical function. But what happens when the connectivity underpinning that function fails?

Last night, South Africa experienced a widespread mobile network outage affecting several mobile operators. The fallout was immediate and visible. Pubs, restaurants, and fuel stations that rely solely on LTE (4G) for their card payment terminals—commonly known as speedpoints—were left scrambling. Patrons couldn’t pay. Businesses couldn’t trade. And this morning, numerous filling stations were still offline, unable to process transactions.

This situation highlights a major flaw in the current setup of many South African businesses: relying solely on LTE for point-of-sale connectivity is a recipe for disaster.

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The Problem with LTE-Only Speedpoints

Mobile network connectivity may be convenient, but it is not infallible. LTE networks in South Africa are prone to disruption, whether due to:

• Load shedding affecting towers,

• Infrastructure vandalism or theft,

• Capacity issues, or

• Software/configuration failures within mobile operators.

When speedpoints depend entirely on LTE, they become vulnerable to these risks. The result? Loss of revenue, frustrated customers, and damage to brand reputation.

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The Smarter Alternative | SD-WAN Resilience from Nepean Networks

A modern solution is available—and proven: deploying an SD-WAN solution from providers like Nepean Networks, who specialise in building resilient multi-path networks for business-critical applications like speedpoints.

Nepean Networks’ SD-WAN architecture enables intelligent traffic steering across multiple access technologies, including:

• Fibre (for high-speed, primary connectivity),

• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) (as a low-latency backup), and

• LTE (as a tertiary failover path).

All of this is managed by software that constantly monitors the health of each link and makes automatic, real-time decisions to ensure application availability.

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How to Implement SD-WAN for Speedpoint Resilience

Step 1: Deploy an SD-WAN appliance or edge router on-site. This will serve as the central point of connection for all WAN links.

Step 2: Connect your access links:

• Fibre: Primary line for normal operations.

• Fixed Wireless Access: Provides redundancy with performance similar to fibre in many urban areas.

• LTE: Added as a tertiary backup path. Can be shared across multiple devices.

Step 3: Attach your speedpoints via Wi-Fi or Ethernet to the SD-WAN device. The SD-WAN will handle failover transparently to the payment terminal.

Step 4: Monitor and maintain through Nepean Networks’ management portal, which provides visibility into link health, performance metrics, and historical outages.

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Benefits to the Business

• ✅ Always-On Payment Services: Continue to process card transactions even during outages.

• ✅ Faster Failover Than Manual Intervention: No need to restart or reconfigure devices; the SD-WAN handles transitions seamlessly.

• ✅ Improved Customer Experience: Reduce frustration at checkout and maintain foot traffic.

• ✅ Revenue Protection: No lost sales due to network downtime.

• ✅ Centralised Visibility: Monitor multiple branches or outlets from a single pane of glass.

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Wrap

The recent mobile network failure in South Africa is a wake-up call. Businesses can no longer afford to treat connectivity as a convenience—it’s a necessity. Relying solely on LTE for your speedpoints is like running a restaurant with only one chef: it works—until it doesn’t.

Solutions like Nepean Networks’ SD-WAN provide the kind of multi-layered connectivity needed to operate reliably in today’s unpredictable telecoms landscape. It's time for businesses to upgrade their network resilience, protect their ability to trade, and give their customers the always-on service they expect.

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