The internet price war has begun

[Lydon]

Tis been posted in the ICT News thread, but thought this deserves its own thread

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ADSL uncapped at R219 per month
MyBroadband | 18 March, 2010

MWEB aims to ‘free the web’ with the lowest prices ever on uncapped ADSL accounts

An online social media campaign called ‘Free The Web’ has over the past few days gained momentum, sparking speculation that one of the larger companies are planning something big.

A Facebook page was created with the message “We're frustrated by the limitations of the internet in SA. Let's celebrate the greatness of the web and call for a change! Join us and be the first to know when we succeed in our cause to Free The Web in SA!”

This Facebook page quickly grew in popularity through both word of mouth and an aggressive advertising campaign, and has to date attracted over 13,000 fans.

The company behind the initiative, which was until recently unknown, said that “Our grand plan is announced in just a few days time [today].”

MWEB unveils their plan

It has now been revealed that MWEB was behind this social media campaign, and the announcement was indeed significant: Uncapped ADSL bandwidth at affordable rates.

“On 22 March 2010, MWEB will launch a series of affordable uncapped ADSL products in the South African market targeted at both consumers and businesses,” the company said in a press statement.

The product offerings are as follows:

MWEB Connect (Consumer product; month-to-month)
Uncapped ADSL 384kbps: R219
Uncapped ADSL 512kbps: R299
Uncapped ADSL 4096kbps: R539

All inclusive
Uncapped All-inclusive 384kbps: R349
Uncapped All-inclusive 512kbps: R599
Uncapped All-inclusive 4096kbps: R899

MWEB BUSINESS (Business product; 12 month contract)
Uncapped ADSL 384kbps: R499
Uncapped ADSL 512kbps: R699
Uncapped ADSL 4096kbps: R1 999

All-inclusive
Uncapped All-inclusive 384kbps: R629
Uncapped All-inclusive 512kbps: R999
Uncapped All-inclusive 4096kbps: R2 259

MWEB Uncapped ADSL << discussion

[dysan1]

Whats the difference between the 4 ADSL 384 options at different prices? can only make out one is consumer month to month and other is business 12 month...greater clarity?

BUT sounds amazing prices!!

[FlyBoi]

Afrihost ftw!! Where would we be if they didn't suddenly announce R29/gb adsl. I like the look of this mweb deal, sadly telkom isnt interested in installing lines in the area im living in currently so all this is gonna pass me by...

[Lydon]

Originally Posted by dysan1

Whats the difference between the 4 ADSL 384 options at different prices? can only make out one is consumer month to month and other is business 12 month...greater clarity?

BUT sounds amazing prices!!

384Kbps Consumer is an uncapped internet account.
384Kbps Consumer All-Inclusive is an uncapped internet account + Telkom line rental included.

The same goes for the 384Kbps business (+ the fact that the business accounts are not shaped and allow for more concurrent connections, hence the slightly higher price)

[briker]

Thats no good if Telkom is the only provider of fixed lines. Im waiting since NOVEMBER 2009 (almost FIVE months) to get an ADSL port to my home- and Im living in the Cape Metropole! Telkom simply doesnt care and give ten jacks!

[Lydon]

Strange...when we got DSL in 2007 (when Telkom were worse than they are now), they quoted a wait of 6 weeks minimum for installation, and 2 days later we were up and running

[Durbsboi]

I got ADSL at my place with 2 days.....

R349 is not all that bad to cough up considering what we pay now, it still is murder but hey! uncapped FTW!

[Lydon]

Score!

Hi Lydon

xxxxx's asked me to get in touch you. We really appreciate that you helped us out with keeping the big reveal under wraps.

To say thanks, we've organised:
3 months complimentary Uncapped ADSL from MWEB
512 kbps data package

[GetDownAdam]

Hey... I didn't tell anyone either! Do I get some free interwebs?

[Lydon]

Lol OpenWeb's jumped on board...

Challenges

In an apparent response to MWEB, the packages start at R219 per month for a 384kbps connection, and range to R539 for 4096kbps. For business users the price ranges from R499 to R1999, respectively.

"OpenWeb will officially be launching the packages on Tuesday (March23)," he added.

[Lydon]

Hahaha, it continues

Vox uncapped ADSL: Best prices yet!

Vox Telecom has joined MWeb by announcing the introduction of uncapped ADSL services; Best pricing in the market

The cost of broadband services in South Africa is finally being driven down by competition, despite Telkom still holding a monopoly over the internet market.

Today, Vox Telecom has joined MWeb by announcing the introduction of uncapped ADSL services for our consumers.

“We are revamping all our broadband solutions to cater for the widest spectrum of users, ranging from people who are extremely price-sensitive to those looking for the very highest quality experience.

Our consumer-oriented @lantic internet service provider is ready to launch its new broadband offering, while Vox Datapro and Vox Telepreneur are busy revamping their ranges.

Vox Telecom/@lantic will be launching bundled ADSL offerings which include both ADSL access and an uncapped ISP account. Vox’s pricing is even more aggressive that MWEB’s pricing:

Uncapped All-inclusive 384kbps: R339
Uncapped All-inclusive 512kbps: R589
Uncapped All-inclusive 4096kbps: R889

This move will give our customers unlimited access to the internet for a fixed monthly fee, with no sudden and frustrating cut-off when they reach the caps that were previously in place.

With Vox Datapro the accent will be on quality and flexibility for corporate customers. The package being created by Vox Telepreneur will create a simplified, uncapped offering designed for small businesses and consumers, and sold through our network of more than 4,000 dealers.

MWeb must be applauded for making some heavy investments in infrastructure, which have allowed it to offer uncapped bandwidth to the market. Yet the degree to which Vox, MWeb and every other player in the market can cut their tariffs is frustratingly highly constrained by Telkom.

Telkom still owns the local loop – that last mile of copper wire that reaches into residential and business premises. Despite years of promises from the industry regulator, Icasa, the local loop has still not been freed up for all service providers to use.

That means ISPs still pay heavily for the right to use a facility that was funded by taxpayers in the first place. Since access to the local loop can account for up to 90% of the fees ISPs charge their customers, further significant price cuts can only be unleashed when the regulator finally delivers on its promise to unbundle the local loop.

Uncapped internet access is the way the market has to go. It’s what consumers want and expect and it’s what they do overseas. But it’s ridiculous that ISPs are providing these price reductions while Telkom, which has all the infrastructure and is clearly in the best position to drive down prices, is happy to let the private sector lead the way. Imagine the cost cuts that would ensue if South Africa really enjoyed full competition in the market.

The message to our telecommunications regulator is clear: nothing is more effective than letting the free market determine pricing. It is imperative that Icasa’s plans to liberate the industry are accelerated, since local loop unbundling and number portability will let us unlock further price cuts.”

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/11840.html

[Durbsboi]

Let the Broadband wars.......... BEGIN!

[Lydon]

More come to the party

Afrihost uncapped here next week

Afrihost is set to take the battle to MWEB with its uncapped offering next week

The Internet has been buzzing since Thursday morning about new uncapped ADSL offerings after MWEB announced that they are offering subscribers uncapped ADSL services from R219 per month.

Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) responded quickly, including Openweb which is reselling MWEB’s services at the same price and Vox Telecom which undercut MWEB’s bundled uncapped ADSL prices.

Many consumers have asked what Afrihost, the company which started the per-GB price war late last year, will do in response to MWEB’s announcement, and their subscribers will not be disappointed.

Afrihost CEO Gian Visser today said that they will definitely respond to MWEB’s offerings, and that consumers can expect services from them next week which will match or better MWEB’s pricing.

Afrihost sales director Greg Payne added that he believes that uncapped ADSL at these rates is sustainable, but that a substantial user base is needed to make the business model work. “Basically, with this model, you have certain users subsidising other users. As long as you can control the shaping you can still give a decent service to the majority of your users,” said Payne.

Consumers can expect to start purchasing the Afrihost uncapped ADSL services from Tuesday next week.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/11843.html

[Lydon]

I'm very interested to see how Web Africa, Axxess, iBurst and other well-established ISP's respond to this.

Web Africa recently reduced their prices (rather disappointingly), but did set up a local Steam server and announced connections to their gaming servers won't use any cap.

That's all redundant now with uncapped offerings suddenly becoming the norm...

[Lydon]

MTN cuts its out-of-bundle data prices by up to 84%; Launches ‘1 day uncapped’ product

[Durbsboi]

Originally Posted by Lydon

I'm very interested to see how Web Africa, Axxess, iBurst and other well-established ISP's respond to this.

Web Africa recently reduced their prices (rather disappointingly), but did set up a local Steam server and announced connections to their gaming servers won't use any cap.

That's all redundant now with uncapped offerings suddenly becoming the norm...

I want to see what those fools Telkom are going to offer as an ISP! They the only ISP that can afford to be the cheapest, but Im guessing they wont....

[ToxicBunny]

Telkom will probably never be as competitive as these other players.

They rely on the ignorance of the large portion of the population.

[Lydon]

Well keep in mind that Mweb are the country's largest ISP...so if their prices are significantly lower than Telkom's, Telkom may struggle to sign up new customers.

[Lydon]

Telkom throw their name into the mix

This is fun to watch

(Thanks EduardSA)

[JoHaN 15]

Yay!! It's soooo cheap! My dad is considering upgrading to "Uncapped All-inclusive 4096kbps: R899" but he's waiting to see what our ISP is going to offer..