Telkom will start to upgrade its “Up to 1024kbps” ADSL users to “Up 2048kbps” from 24 August 2012, free of charge, but for uncapped ADSL subscribers to take advantage of the higher speeds it will mean higher data fees.
The price for capped data is not charged according to speed, but the price of uncapped ADSL accounts varies depending on the speed of the account.
This means that current 1Mbps uncapped ADSL users will have to upgrade their account to a 2Mbps uncapped ADSL account to enjoy the higher access (line) speed.
MWEB
MWEB explained that current 1Mbps ADSL subscribers who wish to maximise the benefit of the new higher line speed upgrades will have the opportunity to upgrade their data product to 2Mbps.
“We won’t upgrade them automatically as there is a price difference. E-mail communication and outbound calls will be made to these customers to make them aware of this opportunity and their options,” said MWEB ISP CEO Derek Hershaw.
Cybersmart
Cybersmart MD Laurie Fialkov said that they will automatically establish whether a client’s line is syncing at 2Mbps, and will then upgrade the subscriber’s uncapped account to 2Mbps.
“We will inform the customer of this upgrade via e-mail, giving them the opportunity to downgrade should they wish to,” said Cybersmart CEO Laurie Fialkov.
Fialkov added that their 1Mbps uncapped ADSL pricing will be reduced from R375 to R299 per month from 1 September 2012.
Afrihost and Axxess
Afrihost recently introduced a new 2Mbps uncapped ADSL product, priced at R297 per month, but their uncapped subscribers will have to pro-actively upgrade their accounts because of the price difference.
“Unbundled ADSL Lines will be automatically upgraded without any change in price. Uncapped clients will have the option of keeping their existing products, or upgrading to the higher speeds,” Afrihost stated.
Axxess also said that their subscribers will have to pro-actively upgrade their uncapped accounts to take advantage of the higher line speeds.
Web Africa
Web Africa CEO Tim Wyatt-Gunning said that they are really excited about the upcoming speed increase and plan to pass on a host of savings to new and existing customers.
“With our current 1 Mbps Uncapped pricing being one of the lowest offerings in the market, we will be introducing a new ‘Up to 2 Mbps’ Uncapped offering to take advantage of the new line speeds which will be available on the 27th of August,” said Wyatt-Gunning.
“We have developed a tool to identify our users’ current line capabilities, so will be notifying our 1Mbps users to upgrade as soon as 2Mbps Line speeds are available to them.”
Openweb
Openweb CEO Keoma Wright said that they recently introduced new 2Mbps uncapped ADSL packages to compliment their current basket of products. “1Mbps clients can easily upgrade their service to 2Mbps,” said Wright.
“If we take our Vanilla Uncapped service level as an example, our 1Mbps Uncapped costs R179 and our 2Mbps solution costs R279 per month. For only R100 more per month a client will receive double the speed,” explained Wright.
Wright added that their new bundled ADSL packages will be launching soon, promising to offer Openweb’s clients further savings.
Internet Solutions
Sean Nourse, executive for connectivity at Internet Solutions, said that he believes the decision on what is best for the client needs to be left to the client.
“We will maintain our current 1Mbps service, as well as the 2Mbps service we introduced a few months ago so that clients who want to match their spend to their requirements will still be able to do so,” said Nourse.
Pricing difference
The following table provides an overview of the pricing difference between the 1Mbps and 2Mbps uncapped ADSL accounts.
| 1Mbps versus 2Mbps uncapped ADSL pricing | |||
| ISP | 1Mbps uncapped ADSL account | 2Mbps uncapped ADSL account | Price difference |
| Openweb | R179 | R279 | R100 |
| Axxess | R196 | R296 | R100 |
| Afrihost | R197 | R297 | R100 |
| Cybersmart | R184 | R299 | R115 |
| MWEB | R199 | R369 | R170 |
| ISP | 1Mbps uncapped ADSL account + ADSL access | 2Mbps uncapped ADSL account + ADSL access | Price difference |
| MWEB | R339 | R599 | R260 |
| Cybersmart | R299 | R599 | R300 |
