Telkom, MTN go uncapped

In a new chapter for Internet access in South Africa, Telkom and MTN have both announced uncapped versions of their consumer broadband offerings. Telkom is reshaping its “Do”” portfolion with uncapped ADSL, while MTN is running a four-month uncapped 3G promotion on its HSPA+ network.

TTelkom and MTN have unveiled product ranges and promotions to give consumers unlimited access to the Internet.

Telkom’s Do Uncapped offering has removed restrictions on data volumes, while MTN are offering an unlimited internet promotion on its MTN Uncapped Lite and MTN Uncapped Pro packages which come with a free MTN Sh@reLink Wi-Fi Router or a MTN F@stlink USB modem from R289 per month.

Joining Telkom’s Do Broadband portfolio, the Do Uncapped range includes: Do Uncapped 384 kbps: Do Uncapped 1Mbps and Do Uncapped 4Mbps. This unveiling comes shortly after the Company announced a free increase on the bandwidth caps of certain existing TelkomInternet packages.

Telkom’s says its move into the uncapped product market comes after concluding intensive market research and data usage trials. Research indicated that increased data volumes are top of the consumers mind, and is further prioritised over data speeds.

“”To feed the hunger for data, Telkom has tailored its Do Uncapped range according to consumer usage patterns derived from findings of the Company’s broadband trials on higher cap trials conducted earlier this year,”” the company said in a statement today.

Said Steven White, Telkom Executive for Converged Business Services: ‚Telkom has observed industry trends and analysed data usage patterns to develop an uncapped product that delivers a quality and sustainable service.‚

White noted that, while Telkom was not the first to market with an uncapped product, the company had taken the time to develop a product that ensured responsible, fair and balanced data consumption.

To this end Do Uncapped 384 kbps and Do Uncapped 1Mbps are subject to daytime speed restrictions outlined in TelkomInternet’s Acceptable Use Policy. However, Do Uncapped 4Mbps is offered without any restrictions.

‚The products have been designed for home users that traditionally are away from home during the day, who instead spend time online in the evening mostly,‚ said White. ‚The Acceptable Usage Policy is designed to ensure that all consumers enjoy a quality online experience.

‚Meeting our consumer’s expectations for data usage today remains our priority, however the Company remains equally committed to innovating towards the demands of tomorrow.””

MTN announced yesterday that it is launching uncapped and unlimited data promotion, “”the first in the mobile industry””, that will see customers navigating on MTN’s world class network at peak HSPA+ speeds from October 01.

MTN will be launching these data packages from October 1 as part of a summer promotion which runs for a period of four months until 31 January 2012.

Says Serame Taukobong, MTN South Africa Chief Marketing Officer: ‚We have seen a significant number of our customers taking up latest smartphones, tablet PCs, wireless routers and laptop deals that MTN is offering. This promotion is a response to the increased data appetite that comes with the usage of these devices.‚

The unlimited internet promotion will be applicable to the MTN Uncapped Lite and MTN Uncapped Pro packages which come with a free MTN Sh@reLink Wi-Fi Router or a MTN F@stlink USB modem from R289 per month.

Earlier this year, MTN slashed the standard subscription of both these packages from R749 to R299 for MTN Uncapped Lite and from R1999 to R899 for MTN Uncapped Pro.

‚During the promotional period, existing customers will enjoy a seamless experience on MTN’s world class network without being throttled after they reach the fair use value limit. Our customers will enjoy theoretical peak HSPA+ speeds of 42Mbps (megabits per second),‚ says Taukobong.

The actual speeds are likely to be below 10Mbps, depending on equipment used, distance from base stations and number of people connected simultaneously.

Earlier this year, MTN launched two industry first carry over features for all Internet packages that enables its customers to carry over their unused internet data bundle for additional months over the term of the contract with a maximum carry over extension of two times the monthly inclusive internet value. For example, an MTN customer who is on a MTN 2GB internet package will now be able to carry over unused data in line with their 2GB cap for the duration of their contract. The maximum amount of data that can be carried over to the next month is twice the monthly inclusive data, i.e. 4GB in this example.

‚ From February 1, 2012, these uncapped and unlimited data offer will be subjected to fair usage of 3GB for the Uncapped Lite and 10GB for the Uncapped Pro after which users’ maximum speeds will be limited to 128Kbps,”” says Taukobong.

He adds that MTN will continuously monitor customers’ internet usage and needs and continue to strive to satisfy them. The service is designed for unlimited internet browsing, emails and social networking. While peer to peer traffic is allowed, “”continuous downloading is not encouraged as it impacts on overall customer experience””.

Additional Information

Telkom’s Uncapped Internet Products

Daytime Restrictions

Internet Uncapped Price

Including VAT

ADSL Line Price

Including VAT

Combined Price

Including VAT

Do Uncapped 384kbps*

6 am to 6 pm: Up to 295kbps

R 219

R 152

R 371

Do Uncapped 1mbps*

6 am to 6 pm: Up to 472kbps 6 pm to 10 pm: Up to 767kbps 10 pm to 6 am: Up to 1Mbps No restriction on local traffic

R 369

R 289

R 658

Do Uncapped 4mbps

None

R 2 097

R 413

R 2 510

“