Workonline Communications — pan-African wholesale IP transit network
Workonline Communications runs one of the largest IP transit networks in Africa. Founded in 2006 by Ben Maddison and Edward Lawrence, it sells wholesale connectivity — IP transit, wholesale Ethernet transport, remote peering and colocation — to carriers, ISPs, content delivery networks and mobile operators. Its customers are other networks, not businesses buying an internet line.
Key facts
| Who they are | Workonline Communications, founded in 2006 by Ben Maddison and Edward Lawrence, and one of the largest IP transit networks on the African continent. |
| What they actually sell | Wholesale connectivity to other networks. Customers are carriers, ISPs, CDNs and mobile network operators. There is no retail or business internet product. |
| Services | IP transit, wholesale Ethernet transport, remote peering and colocation, delivered across multiple points of presence. |
| Network | Autonomous system AS37271, with peering details published openly on PeeringDB. |
| Head office | Block B, 1st Floor, 100 on West, 100 West Street, Johannesburg, 2196, with a second office in Cape Town. |
| Recognition | Named Best Pan-African IP Transit Network 2025 by the MEA Business Awards. |
| Listed In | Fibre Internet Providers |
A carrier’s carrier
IP transit is the layer most people never see. When your ISP carries your traffic to the rest of the internet, it buys that reach from a transit provider, and in Africa Workonline is one of the larger ones. That makes it genuinely important infrastructure and completely unsuitable as a supplier to an individual business: the commercial relationship is wholesale, measured in gigabits and peering sessions, and the company publishes its network details on PeeringDB rather than a price list. If you are buying a business internet line, you want one of the ISPs that may well sit downstream of a network like this — compare the verified fibre providers.
Who Workonline Communications is a fit for
- ISPs and carriers buying IP transit or wholesale Ethernet transport in Africa
- Content networks and CDNs needing African reach and remote peering
- Operators looking for colocation alongside transit at established PoPs
Get quotes for business fibre and connectivity
Two ways forward, both free for buyers and with no obligation — WhichVoIP doesn’t take a cut from your contract.
Looking for a business internet line?
Workonline sells wholesale IP transit to other networks, not internet services to businesses, so there is no quote to request here. Compare the South African providers WhichVoIP has verified.
Compare Fibre providers →Or browse the full fibre internet providers directoryFree for buyers. We don’t take a cut from your contract.
Also compare business phone systems
Rolling out VoIP or a cloud phone system alongside your connectivity? These are South Africa’s top-rated business phone systems, ranked by WhichVoIP score.
Compare phone systems →Commonly asked questions
Can my business buy internet from Workonline?
No. Workonline is a wholesale IP transit provider. Its customers are carriers, ISPs, content delivery networks and mobile operators, not end-user businesses.
What is IP transit?
It is the service that carries a network’s traffic to the rest of the internet. An ISP buys transit so that its own customers can reach everything else online.
When was Workonline founded?
In 2006, by Ben Maddison and Edward Lawrence. It has grown to become one of the largest IP transit networks in Africa.
What is AS37271?
It is Workonline’s autonomous system number — the identifier other networks use to peer with it. Peering details are published openly on PeeringDB.
Where is Workonline based?
Johannesburg, at 100 on West in Sandton, with a second office in Cape Town and points of presence across multiple markets.
Who should I buy business internet from instead?
An ISP that sells to businesses. The WhichVoIP fibre comparison covers South African providers whose coverage and pricing we have verified.
This listing is maintained by WhichVoIP, an independent South African telecoms comparison service running since 2019. Details are verified against the provider’s public website and were last reviewed on 1 August 2026.