Privacy Policy
Wilderness ISP (Pty) Ltd ("Wilderness ISP", "we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA"). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the rights you have. It applies to our website, our sign-up and coverage-check tools, and the services we provide.
For the purposes of POPIA, Wilderness ISP is the responsible party. Any questions about this policy or your personal information can be directed to our Information Officer using the contact details at the end of this policy.
1. Personal Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following personal information:
- Identity & contact details — your name, identity or passport number (as required for RICA), phone/WhatsApp number, email address and physical/installation address.
- Financial information — banking details and payment information needed to set up debit orders and process billing.
- Location information — the GPS coordinates and address you provide when you drop a pin or search an address on our coverage map, used to check service availability.
- Technical & usage information — information such as your IP address, connection and device information, and network-usage data generated while using the Service.
- Communications — the content of enquiries, support requests and correspondence with us.
2. How We Collect Information
We collect personal information directly from you (for example, when you complete a sign-up or coverage-query form, or contact our support team), automatically through your use of our network and website, and from third parties such as fibre network operators and credit bureaux where relevant to providing the Service.
3. Why We Process Your Information
We process personal information for the following purposes, on the lawful bases indicated:
- to assess coverage and feasibility at your address, and to install, activate and provide the Service (performance of our contract with you);
- to invoice you, collect payment and manage debit orders (contract);
- to comply with our legal obligations, including customer registration and retention under RICA and record-keeping under tax and other laws (legal obligation);
- to provide customer support and communicate with you about your Service (contract / legitimate interest);
- to manage, secure and optimise our network (legitimate interest); and
- to send you marketing about our services, where you have opted in — you can opt out at any time (consent).
4. RICA
As a licensed provider of electronic communications services, we are required by the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) to collect, verify and retain certain customer information (such as your identity details and address). Providing this information is a legal requirement for us to activate your Service.
5. Who We Share Information With
We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with the following, only as necessary and under appropriate safeguards:
- Fibre network operators (FNOs) such as Openserve, Octotel and Frogfoot — to check feasibility, provision your line and manage faults;
- Payment and banking partners — to process debit orders and payments;
- Professional advisors and accredited debt-collection agencies — for auditing, advice and the recovery of overdue amounts;
- Service providers that host or support our systems, including our customer management system (WISP One), under written agreements that require them to keep your information confidential, use it only on our instructions and protect it to a standard substantially similar to POPIA; and
- Law-enforcement agencies, regulators and courts — where we are required or authorised to do so by law, including under RICA.
6. Cross-Border Transfers
From 19 November 2026, your personal information is stored in our customer management system, WISP One, on secure servers outside South Africa, at present in Germany (European Union), by service providers based outside South Africa. Some of our other service providers (for example, website hosting) may also process information outside South Africa.
We transfer your personal information outside South Africa only where the recipient is bound by a written agreement that requires it to protect your information to a standard substantially similar to POPIA (section 72(1)(a) of POPIA), to keep it confidential, to use it only on our instructions and to tell us of any security breach. Because some of these providers are companies incorporated outside South Africa, the laws of their home countries may in limited circumstances allow authorities there to request access to information they hold.
7. Security
We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage and unauthorised access or disclosure. Where sensitive information such as banking details or exact location is handled, it is kept private and access is restricted. No system is completely secure, and while we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
In WISP One, access to your information is limited to staff who need it for their role, every staff login requires two-step verification, information is encrypted while in transit and while stored, and access to and changes of your records are logged. Technicians cannot see identity documents or RICA records.
8. Retention
We keep personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described above, or for longer where required by law (for example, RICA retention obligations and financial record-keeping). When information is no longer needed, we securely delete, destroy or de-identify it.
We keep invoices and accounting records for the current financial year and the seven completed financial years before it; your agreement, account history and correspondence for three years after your account is closed (longer if a dispute is pending); RICA records for three years after your account is closed; and marketing details until your account is closed, unless you have agreed to receive marketing from us.
9. Your Rights
Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:
- request access to the personal information we hold about you;
- request correction or deletion of personal information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or obtained unlawfully, or that we are no longer authorised to keep;
- object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (this will not affect processing that took place before withdrawal); and
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see below).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer.
10. Cookies & Third-Party Website Tools
Our website uses minimal cookies necessary for it to function. Our coverage map uses third-party mapping and address-lookup tools (such as OpenStreetMap) to display maps and interpret the location you enter; these tools may process technical information such as your IP address in order to serve map content. We do not use this information to identify you.
11. Children
Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without the consent of a parent or guardian.
12. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting a revised version on our website.
Where a change is material, we will notify you by email before it takes effect.
13. Contact Us
Information Officer, Wilderness ISP (Pty) Ltd
Email: admin@wildernessisp.co.za · Phone: 044 011 0393
Serving Wilderness & the Garden Route, Western Cape.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa):
Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
Tel: 010 023 5200 · Toll-free: 0800 017 160
General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za · POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za