As thousands of students return to school with fresh notebooks and new ambitions, reliable connectivity will be essential to sustaining learning and opportunity well beyond the first term.

In 2026, high-speed, uncapped internet has become as fundamental as stationery and school uniforms. Schools are increasingly adopting AI-driven study tools, cloud-based platforms like Google Classroom and Teams, and interactive video lessons. These tools require reliable connectivity to function, making quality internet access essential for students to fully participate in modern education. 

“We’re seeing a fundamental shift in what educational equity looks like,” says Simon Butler, Chief Commercial Officer at Vuma. “For students, including those in underserved communities, a device is only half the solution; it requires a robust, uncapped, reliable connection to truly unlock a world of opportunity. Access to e-learning tools and unlimited data isn't a luxury - it is a necessity to ensure that a learner’s postal code never determines their potential or their ability to compete with their peers across South Africa.”

A scaffolding for the future:

This is where infrastructure truly matters. Connections offering speeds ranging from 20Mbps to 100Mbps provide the bandwidth required by today’s digital learning tools. Uncapped prepaid models remove the anxiety of data running out mid-assignment or research project, allowing learning to continue uninterrupted.

The pricing also makes sense. For less than the cost of a daily commute, families can secure connectivity that supports in-depth research, extracurricular online learning, and the level of digital literacy required by the 2026 economy. This goes beyond completing homework; it’s about preparing learners for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), where digital fluency is the gateway to opportunity.

Vuma’s commitment to this vision is evident in initiatives such as its  Fibre to Schoolsprogramme, which connects schools in historically underserved communities with 1Gbps fibre broadband internet and has connected over 980 schools. 

One of the beneficiaries is Thabo Secondary School in Naledi, Soweto, Gauteng, which has been connected since 2023. Since receiving fibre connectivity, the school has consistently achieved strong academic results, recording a 98% pass rate, which improved to 98.4% this year.

“We are grateful for the connectivity, which not only supports learners with their schoolwork but has also simplified our administrative processes. Not many service providers can deliver this level of support to a school, and we would not have been able to achieve this without the support of our partners in education and Vuma.” Said Ms Maureen Phaka, principal of Thabo Secondary School. 

This is further strengthened by its recent partnership with YouTube, aimed at tackling digital inequality in South African township homes by enabling affordable, high-speed fibre internet bundled with Smart TV streaming. The collaboration aims to empower families to learn, connect, and be entertained from the comfort of their own homes, bridging the gap between connectivity and meaningful online participation.

In doing so, the company lives its “because we can, we must” philosophy, creating exponential opportunities through technology infrastructure.

As the new academic year begins, the message is clear: the digital school bag has arrived. Students need more than pens and paper to succeed in 2026. They need connectivity that keeps pace with their potential, removes technical barriers to learning, and ensures that academic momentum builds rather than stalls.