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Afrihost slashes their ADSL prices to R29 per GB

I just received news from the Afrihost CEO that they are butchering their ADSL prices. As a late entrant into the ADSL market Afrihost have decided to invest money that would have been spent on advertising into cheaper prices instead.

As a result they are now offering a range of ADSL packages from 1GB to 100GB priced at R29 per GB.  The prices do stack up well against other ADSL packages when compared on the Broadband Chooza ADSL comparison page.

Gian, the CEO, explains their actions in his own words:

Why is Afrihost doing this? What are your motives? What’s in this for Afrihost?

Well here is the key question! Why would we willingly offer a package
where we will subsidise our clients going into the future?

We are doing this for 3 main reasons:

1.
We entered the ADSL market late and it is very competitive.
We felt that this was the best way to get a footprint in the market and
establish ourselves as one of the premier ADSL providers. We believe
that the market is ready for this offering especially, because of the
current news relating to South Africa’s high bandwidth costs, Telkom’s
stranglehold on the industry and Winston the pigeon’s beating Telkom
in a race to deliver data!

2.
We are hoping that this move causes a stir in the internet
community and somehow forces the bigger ADSL players (esp. Telkom)
to carefully consider how they are going to bring bandwidth charges
down. We would be absolutely delighted if this in some way causes
overall pricing to be reduced and thus provide a better deal for the
ADSL consumer.

3.
We believe that the Internet is an incredible tool that
can truly boost the development of South Africa into a first world country.
Unfortunately, at the moment time bandwidth is simply too expensive for many
people to be able to use the Internet. We believe that
if we can in some way speed up the decrease in the cost of connecting
to the Internet we will have made a significant contribution to the future
of South Africa.

However, having said all of this the truth is that we are an entrepreneurial
company focused on being profitable. We believe that this move will be
profitable to us in the long run.

We may very well lose some money over the next few years on the
new clients who sign up but we believe that this will expose more people
to our name and show people just what kind of value driven and awesome
service they can get from Afrihost.

The price cut is only a limited offer, but Afrihost aren’t letting on about how long it will be available for. Existing Afrihost customers have automatically had their accounts moved to the new pricing which suggests that maybe the prices are there to stay.

This is a bold move by Afrihost and it will be interesting to see how some of the established players respond. Don’t forget to keep comparing ADSL prices to make sure you are always getting the best deal.

The South African National Broadband Forum (SANBF) launched a framework in earlier this year, focusing on various initiatives which will ensure that “all South Africans should have affordable broadband access to the Internet.”

The objectives of the “Framework for a Comprehensive National Broadband Strategy in South Africa” include the maximization of fibre and wireless broadband infrastructure, to stimulate the creation of digital broadband content, to enhance e-governance and e-citizenship and accelerate the adoption and use of advanced broadband connections.

The SANBF wants to achieve the following milestones by 2014:

1. Have broadband access in every town and village;

2. Have the cheapest broadband access on the continent; and,

3. Be number one in terms of broadband penetration on the continent.

The Department of Communications (DoC) recently said that a national broadband policy and addressing high telecoms costs will be a high priority for the department in this financial year.

The DoC’s focus on a national broadband policy may tie in well with the SANBF’s recent work regarding the development and implementation of a comprehensive National Broadband Strategy for South Africa.

To further facilitate cooperation between the two organizations the SANBF recently met with the DoC to discuss a national broadband policy. The meeting was positive and Ministry more proactive stance a welcome change.

The DoC already has a draft national broadband policy which has been approved by the Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda. This policy is currently being circulated widely within government and is set to be gazetted within the next two weeks. The DoC indicated that it welcomes public input and comment on the draft policy once it has been gazetted.

Song said that the next step for the SANBF will be to mobilize public participation in commenting on the draft policy.

The clearest way to increase broadband penetration break the monopolies that keep adsl prices high. Strong public feedback will send a clear message to the ministry that we need them to do everything they can to reduce the price of adsl access.

via National broadband policy under the spotlight.

Source: SME survey website

According to principal researcher Arthur Goldstuck, ADSL had almost precisely replaced dial-up as the primary form of Internet connectivity among SMEs. “ADSL had grown from 3% to 63% penetration of SMEs using the Internet in the period between 2003-2008, while dial-up dropped from 62% to 9.5% by last year. This year’s research shows that dialup has halved again to 4%,” he states.

This confirms the prediction made by SME Survey 2005 that dial-up would disappear as a viable connectivity option for SMEs. “ADSL is finally wiping out dial-up access as an alternative,” Goldstuck adds.

The findings also show a clear reversal of wireless broadband growth as a primary form of Internet connectivity. That, says Goldstuck, is an indication that wireless broadband is not meeting the needs of the SMEs to the extent that ADSL does from both a cost and performance perspective. It also demonstrates the need for reasonably priced services. “ADSL simply offers more reliable and cost-effective broadband than any wireless option – and the cost of incremental usage is not as high as for 3G,” explains Goldstuck.

“What is clear is that once businesses start using the Internet, it very quickly becomes an essential service. Those that may have started using a dial-up connection very quickly realised its limitations and seek a faster, more reliable connection, with an increasing number looking for an alternative to keep them connected even when travelling,” Goldstuck concludes.

The increasing importance of internet access as an essential business service is particularly noteworthy and is likely to be even more true of broadband services. Research by the Centre for the Study of Media Technology and Culture shows that when users move to broadband they adopt more “advanced” internet behaviour and are more willing to spend money online.

As businesses get more used to affordable usable internet access they will become more confident using online tools and services. The rise of broadband amongst SMEs will lead to the internet playing an increasingly important role in business to business transactions. Either through marketing opportunities, networking or supply chain management.

The message for SMEs is clearly: to stay in the game you need to get broadband access. Broadband Chooza covers a broad range of packages many of suitable for business.

I’m not a fan of Gordon Brown but this is very powerful and very real reason why its important to ensure everyone in SA gets access to cheap broadband. The internet connects us, it allows us to share ideas, images, thoughts, opinions and cultures. It allows us to learn from each, to make friends, to have discussions to focus on what connects us at a human level.

Source Neotel

Innovation and competition are hotting up in the broadband market as Neotel launches its new data card, NeoGo.  An ideal product for consumers who are looking for a mobile solution. The NeoGo data card offers customers up to 50% more data within bundle, plus an attractive out of bundle rate of 8 cents per MB,  significantly lower than current offerings in the market.

The new NeoGo data card operates on CDMA Rev-A (download speeds up to 3.1 Mbps and upload speeds up to 1.8 Mbps) and it compares favourably with HSDPA connections.

Mukul Sharma, Head of Consumer and Channel Sales at Neotel, says “the company is rapidly changing the way consumers experience its wireless communication. The NeoGo Data card with its large data bundle at a competitive price is just what the consumer needs and we don’t hide our out of bundle rate which at 8 cents per MB redefines market pricing for data cards,” he adds.

NeoGo has two purchase options the first of which allows consumers to purchase the data card over a 24-month period with a monthly service fee of R299.00. The second option allows consumers to purchase the data card upfront for R1, 499.00 (incl. VAT) with a monthly service fee of R239.00.

Both purchase options include 1.5GB of in-bundle data, a NeoMail Basic account, SMS capability and high-speed data.

“The data card offers consumers a simple and hassle-free method of connecting to email and the Internet. It is compatible with multiple operating systems such as Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Mac and the attractive price range gives it an edge over other existing data cards available in the market today,” he concludes.

Compare Neotel pricing with other 3g, adsl and wireless broadband packages on the BroadbandChooza Chooza page.

Neotel coverage is currently available in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

Source: Seacom

A few days on from the connection of the Seacom cable and it feels like the dawn a of new internet era in South Africa. Like the sun shining on a fertile soil, new shoots of hope emerge for the beleaguered broadband consumer.

Whilst some doubt the impact of Seacom cable on broadband prices, the consumer demand is too strong for market forces not to respond quickly to renewed competition.

Some internet providers such as Wireless G have already dropped their ADSL prices by 25%. This is just the start. There is strong demand for broadband and internet services in South Africa and increased competition will reduce the major barrier to access; price.

Whilst many early adopters are clamoring for improved quality of service and affordability the real economic benefits of broadband will be felt when prices reach mainstream affordability.

Its unfortunate that more there hasn’t been more pro-active support by the government to improve competition, improve access and reduce prices in the broadband arena, especially given the economic, educational and democratic benefits.