As from 1 February 2012, users of Uncapped Lite packages will be able to download more, moving from the current (very slow) limit of 128kbps to a slightly faster 256kbps after the 3GB limit is reached. Uncapped Pro package users will also will also get a slight increase, with a maximum speed limit lift from 128kbps to 384kbps after the 10GB limit is reached. MTN Uncapped Lite is currently R289 pm for 24 months, and Uncapped Pro is R899 per month for 24 months.

The current promotion, began on 1 October 2011, and will run until 31 January 2012. It was a response to customer demands for faster and reliable Internet access at an affordable fixed monthly cost. And with a truly uncapped, no restriction limit.

“It was impressive to see the consumption rate – which certainly speaks to the value customers are getting from this R289 p/m promotional package,” said Serame Taukobong, Chief Marketing Officer at MTN South Africa. “The term ‘uncapped’ data has been bandied around in the industry – but this is truly the most competitive unlimited promotion on offer today.”

This promotion’s success has been the impetus for MTN’s decision to revise the Fair Use policy, permanently increasing its maximum speed limits after the limits have been reached.

This means that high usage customers will then be throttled again after the current promotion, ending on 31 January 2012, but at higher speeds than previously. These products have been designed for uncapped browsing, e-mail and social networking, and customers are not encouraged to continuously download peer-to-peer files. The benefit is that MTN will still be in line with the new broadband standards in terms of the speed limits on Fair Use policies.

“If we consider the data that customers are currently using, it is a key milestone for us, and one that is indicative of the potential of uncapped data on our world-class quality network,” Taukobong added.

Right now this still seems like a better deal than spending money on a 384kbps ADSL line from Telkom.

Source: MTN Press Release

Once again it is the newcomer amongst the mobile networks that seem to shake up the pricing for 3G in SA.

Local mobile broadband provider, 8.ta has today announced reduced broadband rates for its Once-Off Internet packages as well as its Post-paid Internet packages. In addition to this 8ta has also revised its contract terms which now include month to month, 12 and 24 months terms. The month to month contract excludes a modem while the 12 and 24 months contracts will include a modem.

“Today 8.ta has reduced its broadband pricing, responding to the need for affordable broadband Internet in the South African market. Effectively, 8.ta has tailored these packages to give users the freedom to choose packages that suit their pockets.

“Existing 8.ta Internet subscribers will automatically be migrated to the new price plans, and after their contracts are up for renewal they can also opt to subscribe on a month to month or 12 months contract basis,” says Managing Executive of Telkom Mobile, Amith Maharaj.

Once the monthly recurring Post-paid Internet package has been depleted, users will be charged an out-of-bundle rate of R 0.30 per MB while the Once-off Internet subscribers will be charged an out-of bundle rate of R1.00 per MB. Compare this to other mobile broadband solutions out there that still get charged more. For example Vodacom charges R1 per out of bundle meg for contract users, and R2 (!!!!) for prepaid users.

Post-paid and Once-Off Internet subscribers will also benefit from the following value added services:

• Free 8.ta email account with 5GB mailbox giving users access to 25GB online storage and free access to online Microsoft Office suite, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Send 5 SMSs daily and receive 50 FREE SMSs to use on that day.
• 8·ta also provides users with a ‘safety net’ to check their balances on the self-service portal and via USSD and make out of bundle purchase decisions in real-time, using the redirect functionality.
• Users will also receive a free call-out and support services with every 3G data modem purchased.

Now we have to wait and see to see if the other cellular networks will match this offering. Post-paid Internet Bundles – Month to Month contract:

Post-paid Internet Bundles – 12 Months contract:

Post-paid Internet Bundles – 24 Months contract:

Pre-paid Once-Off Internet Bundles

Best Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2

Even the most ardent fans of iPhone have to agree – the Galaxy S2 is a truly great phone. It is very fast, is built well (despite being made of plastic), the screen is beautiful, the camera is excellent – the list goes on. Pricing is also pretty good, and the phone is still great several months later, which you cannot typically say of the Android phone marketplace. You cannot go wrong. Not even Samsung’s bigger and faster Galaxy Note could change our name. Now we just have to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Close second: Apple iPhone 4S. Expect our review in the new year.

Best Tablet: Apple iPad 2

The iPad was the first successful touch-centric tablet on the market, and after some growing pains from the phone-only iOS to the larger screened iPad based iOS, Apple merged the two with the launch of the iPad 2. No other tablet comes close when it comes to the interface, app selection and overall build quality. Even more than year after the original iPad has been launched, no other tablet has come close. And the best part – it is priced very well. Close second: The Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet is a might impressive enterprise focussed device.

Best Computer: Apple Macbook Air 13

The Macbook Air is nothing new, but the latest Core i-carrying Macbook Air is truly great computer. Extremely thin, great battery life and surprisingly good performance has many users wondering why they might need a different (or higher end) laptop. The price is still a little high, but it is still great value for money. Sure, gamers will stick to their Alienware class machines, but the Macbook Pro is looking less and less relevant. And before the Apple haters start – we are referring to the hardware and overall performance. The OS is your own choice. Close second: The Lenovo X220 is a great laptop if you are not interested in the whole Apple thing. It can take a few knocks, and it is very fast.

Best Camera: Olympus E-PL3

Here at BandwidthBlog we love our SLRs, but carrying around big ol’ cameras with long lenses quickly get tiring. The Olympus PEN series is still a great range of cameras for people who want SLR-class image quality in a nice compact camera shape. Sure, it is not cheap, but nothing comes close for sheer portability and image quality. The new flexible screen is also great to use for difficult shots. Close second: The Nikon V1 follows a similar principle – but we have not tried it yet.

Best Broadband Product: 8ta 10GB deal

South Africa still has some pretty expensive broadband, and Telkom is primarily to blame for that. That is why we really appreciate it that cellular operators have stepped up to make ADSL look less and less relevant. Last year Cell C did it with their 5GB deal, and this year Telkom’s cellular arm 8ta did it as well. Yes the irony is not lost on us – 8ta offers 10GB of data for R199 per month. Yes, it is a 24 month contract, and you have to be in 8ta’s own coverage map. But if you are, it is really a great deal. 10Gb of data for less than the cost of a Telkom line and the ADSL “line”? Great. Close second: Nothing really.

Best Gaming Device: Xbox 360 Kinect

The XBox 360 has been around for a while now, but Microsoft has to commended for bringing out the Kinect. The Kinect is a truly great add on, and it really breathed some new life into the console market. The Kinect effectively took away the market from the Nintendo Wii, with better graphics and better control schemes. Good thing is that the Kinect is still very new, and there is still some great features that will arrive in future. The Kinect SDK for Windows means you will also see some pretty great things on Windows soon as well. Close second: The Microsoft Speed Wheel is a lot better than we expected – expect a review in the new year. It is a great steering wheel for guys who do not want their lounges to look like a bachelors flat. Use it, put it away.

Best Cheap and Cheerful Product: BlackBerry Curve 8520

The Blackberry 8520 is now officially quite an old phone – in fact many people are on their second 8520 because their contracts could have been upgraded already. Even though BlackBerry had a tough 2011, the 8520 continues to sell like hotcakes. It is a seriously good deal – it costs around R1700 cash, and it is bundled with many of the cheapest contracts by the operators. Combine that with BIS “all you can eat” web browsing at R60 a month, and you have a winner on your hands. Now we just hope that BlackBerry replaces the 8520 with their newer Curve models at the same price point. But 2011 was the year RIM focussed on higher end handsets like the brilliant Bold 9900, but maybe 2012 sees some of that designs trickling down to the Curve. Close second: The iPhone 3GS. Yes, not close to as cheap as the 8520, but still a mighty good phone at the price.

SA Tech Innovator of the Year: FNB

Yes – a BANK. But FNB did a bang up job in 2011. They announced brilliant deals for clients who needed devices like iPads, but most importantly they rolled out mobile apps to the major smartphone platforms. We still find it strange that only FNB has decent smartphone apps - In essence the app provides a more convenient and elegant version of all the commonly used functionality provided by the online banking system. Kudos to FNB for bringing some much needed innovation to the SA banking sector.

MWEB’s Free the Web (FTW) initiative has taken up the cause of Naked ADSL, calling on South Africans to take a stand and add their vote to remove mandatory landline billing with ADSL lines.

Derek Hershaw, CEO MWEB ISP, says: “With Uncapped ADSL finally becoming the norm for fixed line access, the time has come for Free the Web to focus on the next cause. So we’re asking consumers to take a stand and call for Naked ADSL.”

“There are currently three costs associated with having ADSL connectivity in South Africa: the ADSL line rental; the cost of the ADSL data; and the cost of the landline rental from Telkom,” says Hershaw.

As Telkom is bundling the landline with the ADSL line, consumers are unable to subscribe to an ADSL-only service, where they just rent the ADSL line and pay for data usage. If they want ADSL, customers are forced to also pay the rental fee for the landline, irrespective of whether they use the line for voice calls. Although our voice lines do currently subsidise a portion of our ADSL line costs, consumers should still see a reduction in costs if you didn’t have to have a landline.

“Since a landline is not required for ADSL connectivity, Naked ADSL calls for Telkom to unbundle landlines from ADSL lines, ensuring that ADSL customers who don’t want a telephone line don’t end up having to pay for one unnecessarily,” says Hershaw.

The Naked ADSL issue was once again brought to light at the recent Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) hearings held by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). These hearings discussed opening last mile access to the copper ADSL infrastructure, which is currently owned by Telkom. LLU would mean more competition within the Internet Service Provider space, which would benefit consumers.

MWEB sees Naked ADSL as being a step closer to complete LLU, as LLU is expected to be a very lengthy process.

“The FTW initiative has therefore taken up the call for Naked ADSL. South Africans can visit the FreeTheWebSA facebook page, watch a quick video which explains the concept and campaign, and show their support for Naked ADSL via an Appeal Mosaic,” he says.

The mosaic will feature a visual representation of South Africa’s call for Naked ADSL and will allow people who have already made their mark to spread the word and grow the petition by sharing the mosaic with their friends, further spreading the message.

“Naked ADSL is another step in the process of driving down the cost of connectivity. It’s also about the right to only pay for something if you want to use it which is completely logical,” Hershaw concludes.

MWEB originally devised the FTW initiative to champion change in how South Africa connects to the Internet and to provide a platform for South Africans to come together and work towards a local Internet landscape that’s aligned with international benchmarks. MWEB’s pioneering launch of uncapped, unthrottled ADSL for just R219 per month (data only costs on a 384kpbs line speed) in March 2010 followed closely on the launch of FTW.

It’s been a long day, and you finally decide to just zone out in front of the television and unwind. You start with your favourite channels and then proceed to lesser favourites in the hope of catching something that you find mildly entertaining. For R529 pm (DSTV premium subscription) and a multitude of channels promising the very best in entertainment, you would expect to find something interesting to watch whenever you switch on the telly. Yet, time and time again, all one finds is a multitude of choice with no real options!

I am certain that I am not alone with the above experience but this is not the forum to discuss such gripes. Rather is it completely relevant to discuss the recent DSTV offering, BoxOffice – but I would like to briefly state my opinion on this new product. BoxOffice is an on-demand movie rental service but it is only available to DSTV’s PVR subscribers. That means that if I wanted to use BoxOffice, I would have to firstly upgrade my decoder and then pay an additional subscription of R65 pm. Only then would I be allowed to rent out the ‘latest’ movies (R25 for a 48 hour loan). It does not take an actuary to ascertain that this makes no financial sense unless of course you are already a PVR subscriber and you happen to find a movie on offer that you meant to watch on circuit but never got around to. As a premium DSTV subscriber, I would expect the latest movies to be on offer with my current bouquet and simple economics dictate that if a movie is popular on BoxOffice, it is going to be a long time before it is available on DSTV.

The reason for this post is the announcement from John Kotsaftis, CEO of DStv online, that BoxOffice, or a service like it will be launched online by the end of 2011 and that it was launched on satellite first due to South Africa’s broadband constraints. This new service will not only be available to DStv subscribers but to all South Africans. Firstly, this is encouraging news. Multichoice believe that by the end of the year, South Africa’s ‘broadband constraints’ would not be as limiting. With the recent announcement of the MTN LTE pilot and the ongoing broadband pricing wars, this is perhaps a fair assumption and I am sure most of us would agree that it’s about time. However, I think DStv may want to take cognisance of one factor before embarking on this venture. Reality.

If broadband prices are reduced considerably, it would still only be economically viable to download encrypted movies if you have an ADSL line. I doubt that cellular data costs would ever drop as low as those offered to ADSL customers, but I would be pleased to be proven wrong in this instance. This implies that the user would have to add the cost of downloading the movie to the price charged by the service provider, and bear in mind that these movies are typically larger than 1 GB. Furthermore lower bandwidth costs and faster speeds could result in many choosing to rather just download movies from international websites (you know the type) thereby saving the subscription fee to the service provider and removing sharing and time restrictions that would be otherwise imposed. I intend to neither justify or condone this option but wish to merely point out there is a strong liklihood of it occurring.

Another point for the brains at DStv to consider is that after paying to watch a movie, most people would be frustrated if they are forced to watch the movie on their Laptop screens. They would therefore need to either have the ability to connect their laptop up to their TV or use a dedicated media player. How this player would have the ability to play the encrypted video is anyone’s guess? The pricing would also have to be very competitive, if the intention is to get people who watch movies at home to suddenly stop going to their DVD store but to rather get a movie from this new service. Seems like a lot more inconvenience for very little (if any) benefit.

Companies at the forefront of this type of offering internationally (Netflix, Blockbuster) do not only focus on streaming VOD (Video on Demand) but have other offerings like DVD by mail delivery. Although recent Netflix pricing changes appear to be encouraging subscribers to use the streaming feature rather than the mail option, this has been met with severe criticism from subscribers. Furthermore whether such a mail delivery system would work in South Africa is debatable, especially if one considers the decision by Amazon to no longer ship goods to SA via the South African Post Office.

Many Apple users already have access to VOD via the US iStore and the cost of hiring a new release is typically $4 with a vast library of other movies available either for sale or for rent at a reduced rate. I cannot see a future where the proposed business model for BoxOffice VOD via broadband makes sense. So for now, I’ll keep watching my blockbusters at the movies (where they can be truly appreciated) and the Discovery channel late at night.

Update: The Undecided Future of My Television

This just in. MTN is about to rollout their new high speed LTE network. This is great news in SA’s current very competitive broadband space – but LTE is a newer wireless internet standard which has not been rolled out at this scale in SA yet.

However the final speeds are still a big improvement over existing wireless broadband solutions, but the biggest improvement is in latency, with around 20ms times. Compare this to current high speed HSPA+ connections, which typically do not get faster than 60ms. This will of course be beneficial for people who like their online gaming, but also for things like VoIP.

These new fibre backed network clusters only have around 600 meters coverage per antenna, which means that a significant effort is required to roll out this service, and it will not be available everywhere at first (in other words, typically city areas).

But here is the full scoop:

Today MTN announced the launch of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) pilot in five clusters around Gauteng that will revolutionise the provisioning of broadband services in South Africa.

The LTE rollout and pilot test, which MTN is undertaking in partnership with Huawei and Ericsson, will see selected MTN customers with provisioned dongles reaping the benefits of navigating on an ultra-high speed network that boasts speeds of up to 70Mbps across over 100 sites

This translates into an enhanced overall experience and a lighting quick PING Time.

MTN’s pilot network encompasses over 100 LTE sites in five clusters covering parts of Sandton, Fourways, Centurion, around OR Tambo International Airport and in the vicinity of MTN Head Office in Roodeport. Activation of the 100+ LTE sites will be done in phases and all the sites are expected to be live within the next months.
MTN expects to make this new generation network commercially available throughout the country within the next two to three years once the regulator allocates the required spectrum to enable a national rollout.
Says Kanagaratnam Lambotharan, MTN South Africa Chief Technology Officer: “Today’s pilot launch will give our customers a glimpse of what the future looks like. Being the first operator in Africa to launch a LTE pilot network of this scale is a reaffirmation of MTN’s vision to be the leading telecoms operator in emerging markets and emphasises our technology and innovation leadership in mobile communications.
“Our technical teams and partners have been working at full throttle to ensure that we have the technology on the ground that will take customer experience to the next level. We are confident that the pilot will give us sufficient time and opportunity to fine tune the technology and deal with whatever teething challenges we might encounter. We hope that with this initiative our subscribers can optimally tap into future services and applications that the LTE ecosystem is expected to provide,” says Kanagaratnam.
The pilot will run on 10Mhz of refarmed 1800 MHz spectrum and boasts speeds 70Mbps and a latency of under 15ms. The speed is almost twice faster than what is currently available on the market.

Kanagaratnam adds that MTN’s early pilot of a significantly sized LTE network in areas of high traffic will give MTN the ability to gain better knowledge and experience about the deployment of the LTE technology ahead of its competitors.

“Full deployment of LTE in future will allow MTN to maximize its infrastructure investment to provide its subscribers with a quality experience that is richer, faster and with significantly more capacity than that provided currently,” Kanagaratnam explains.

Ryan Gould, MTN South Africa General Manager: Brand and Communications, adds that the pilot and ultimately the full rollout of LTE network in the future will not only help MTN to improve brand equity, but is an investment in the future that will enhance shareholder value.

“MTN has always been at the forefront of innovation in the telecoms sector in this country. Being the first telecoms company to pioneer pre-paid and the critically-acclaimed MTN Zone, MTN constantly strives to anticipate market trends and be responsive to the needs of its customers.

“Being the leading operator on a continent where half the population is under the age of 35, MTN has prepared the infrastructure that will cater to the growing data needs of this section of the population. Our LTE trials should be seen as a response to this need and an attempt at fostering socio-economic development and bridging the digital divide. We are confident that today’s historic event will be a defining moment that will catapult the MTN brand to dizzying heights,” says Gould.

MTN has invested R18 billion in infrastructure investment and ploughs approximately R4-6 billion in beefing and upgrading its infrastructure each year. These investments that also encompass undersea and fiber optic cables are in preparation of the LTE pilot which will serve as the last mile.

“While providing speed is important to our customers, our investment in LTE is driven more by giving our subscribers consistent and quality user experience,” concludes Gould.

Source: MyBroadband

Contracts range from R90 all the way up to R500. But unlike the prepaid deals, these deals seperate the costs between on-net and calls to other networks. What bothers me are that these contracts are not really clear upfront about what you get, you have to go dig a bit on their site:  

Contract 1 gets 90 minutes to 8ta and landlines, and only 15 minutes to other networks. This also gets 25MB of data. R90 pm

Contract 2 gets 130 minutes to 8ta and landlines, and only 30 minutes to other networks. This also gets 25MB of data. R130 pm

Contract 3 gets 230 minutes to 8ta and landlines, and only 60 minutes to other networks. This also gets 25MB of data. R230 pm

Contract 3s gets 230 minutes (13800 sec) to 8ta and landlines, and 60  minutes (3600 sec) to other networks. This also gets 25MB of data. R230 pm

Contract 4 gets 500 minutes to 8ta and landlines, and 200 minutes to other networks. This also gets 50MB of data. R500 pm

What you should note is that all except one of these contracts have only per minute billing, which I find odd. The phone selection is not bad at all as well – you might want to go take a look at what is available. 8ta is also making the deal a little sweeter for contracts – you can phone one landline number for free for the length of the contract. So if you phone one number a lot, it might make sense to look at a 8ta contract.

But presently the bigger concern is the mobile broadband deals – competition is heating up with Cell C taking the market by storm with their deal.

So how about 8ta’s data deals?

Internet 1 – 650MB for R195 p/m
Internet 2 – 1.5G for R280 p/m
Internet 3 – 3.2G for R500 p/m

At present these deals look quite competitive with Vodacom and MTN, but do not come close to Cell C’s current deal. If you are someone who wants to get a notebook with your data contract however, 8ta’s deals look very good,  but 8ta might want to consider giving more info about the netbooks and notebooks they are supplying with the contracts…

Up to now I have avoided signing up for 3G contracts in South Africa – despite being someone who is constantly online. True, I do add data bundles to my cellphone, but the idea of signing away 2 or 3 years to a 3G contract seems silly. It is after all such a competitive industry, why would I want to subscribe to a fixed cost for the next few years?

However, things have started to change in the last few months. It is as if someone lit a cracker underneath the cellular operators in SA – and for once it is not the Vodacom and MTN who is getting all the attention. Up until now Cell C did not really have any presence when it came to mobile broadband in SA, in fact they did not roll out 3G until recently. Clearly their late entry to into the data market has a few advantages.

Cell C uses a different payment approach – instead of signing a 24 or 36 month contract, you pay a once off fee that gives you a certain amount of data every month, for a year. This suits me perfectly – because it means in a year from now I have the freedom of choosing a different 3G service, and not be locked in. This helps Cell C as well, seeing as they can get early payment and thus pay off their investments in new supporting data infrastructure.

Cell C is currently in some trouble because they called their service “4G” up to now – which is technically speaking not true, despite being significantly faster than any other 3G offering locally. The CEO of Cell C made a public apology recently regarding this, but not without driving home the fact that Cell C is faster than even 4G networks in the US…. My opinion is that if the product works, I dont mind the name…

Currently Cell C has 2 offers using this payment model:

2GB a month for 12 months, using the included 7.2 mbps modem, for R1499.

5GB a month for 12 months, using the included 21.6 mbps modem, for R2999.

You can also buy it without the modem for somewhat less. My advice – get the modem, because there are not a lot of modems available locally which can access the applicable frequencies that Cell C uses.

Compare this to Vodacom’s current deal which charges R945 pm for 5GB, and you immediately see why this is such a good deal. Vodacom also released their Internet Starter Pack using a similar payment model, but it clearly doesn’t cater to the same higher end market as Cell C.

Included in the bundle is a modem – I used the faster 21.6 mbps one, and it’s a pretty simple looking device. Understated in black and dark brown, it looks good. The setup was easy – insert the SIM card included in the box, push out the USB plug using the slider, and plug it into your machine, be it PC or Mac. Both versions of Cell C’s software is included on the stick. Just a tip Cell C – you might want to make it available on your site, I only see the updated Windows drivers there. It tried it on both platforms.

Now Cell C has a much better deal money wise – but what are the trade offs? Up until now the high speed 3G was only available in certain urban centres, but they have clearly made a big effort to improve their data coverage. For example, I live in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, and in a low lying area that has always had pretty horrific cellular coverage. In fact my Vodacom phone still only gets Edge signal. The Cell C modem gets a full signal and very respectable performance. I also used it in Cape Town and in Bellville, and in all cases I got a full HSPA signal. So lets see how the Cell C network does.

My Speedtest results are as follows:

Local Connections: Cape Town and Johannesburg

International: UK and US

I did these tests with my unshaped 4Mbps ADSL connection as well afterwards, and the speeds were never the same, only reaching 3.5 Mbps maximum of course, but with ever so slightly faster ping times.

The tests were done over the weekend, so your speeds during business hours might differ. I will add them to this post soon. Of course the major concern is whether these speeds will be sustained once more people start using the network – and it is a valid concern. After all, Neotel also had very respectable wireless speeds when they first launched, but quickly that speed disappeared.

So here is what we will do – for the next 12 months I will occasionally post my speed results using the Cell C network, and in a variety of uses. (Update: You can find my first batch Cell C Speedtest results here) Only time will tell whether Cell C can deliver on their promise.

One has to applaud Cell C for the way they are heating up the mobile broadband market – finally some clear competition has arrived after years of very slow price decreases. With all the additional fibre running into SA recently, we have all been promised more affordable internet, and it seems we are inching closer and closer towards that. Cell C is also involved with this fibre rollout with Fibreco. Maybe this means that Cell C will become a dominant player in SA Broadband…

Keep it up Cell C.

Vodacom is aiming at the lower end of the market – users will pay only R400 once off, which includes a 3G modem and 100 meg per month for 12 months. While 100 meg might sound like much, this is ideal for very light users of the internet. Users can of course add bundles if the 100 meg runs out. This aimed at either people for whom computing is not a major concern, or people who already have wifi access at home and work, and need something for those times when you are on the road. What I am wondering about as well – does the 100MB included carry over if not used?

What puzzles me as well is that Vodacom can offer this great pricing, yet still asks R88 for 110 MB data bundles? Also – how about more options? 100MB is a bit light in my opinion, and I want to see how Vodacom can compete with Cell C, which is still the best offering for users who want to actually use their computers a bit more on the road.

Source: Mybroadband

While this is great news, I expected a bit more from Telkom. True, our infrastructure might not support much faster lines yet, but I at least expect Telkom to increase the speeds of its lower end offerings. At present, its lower end 348kbps and 512kbps lines can hardly be considered “broadband” (click here to see how SA stacks up against the rest of the world in terms of internet speed). Despite Telkom’s misleading advertising, SA is still firmly in the stoneage of internet connectivity, with users paying ridiculous prices for slow internet. At present ADSL clients have a choice of 348kbps, 512 kpbs or 4Mbps lines, with the 4Mbps lines getting upgraded to 10Mbps lines eventually. My opinion is that this should at least be 1Mbps, 2Mbps and then finally the 4-10Mbps offering.

At least in the past year things improved with uncapped internet becoming more affordable, and many people have moved to this method of how the internet is supposed to be used. The whole idea of thinking about how much money this youtube video will cost you in bandwidth is a very antiquated idea by world standards. The problem is now that people who  might have 10Mbps capable lines will need to pay more to their ISP if they want to stick with uncapped.

At present Mweb has made public that they are working towards a 10Mbps uncapped offering, but pricing is still unavailable.

Now if Telkom can just increase the speeds of their lower end ADSL offerings…

As a commenter on IOL said, it seems its “To hell with peasants with slower lines”.