Vodacom has launched a promotional prepaid price plan of 79c per minute - a move anticipated by industry observers following arch rival MTN's introduction of a 79c per minute prepaid rate last week.
Unlike MTN, however, Vodacom's new prepaid rate is promotional - for now. The operator says it has not yet made a decision as to whether it will make the 79c call rate - set to run until 14 July - permanent.
Vodacom may want to assess the impact of the lower rate first, considering the industry does not know what will happen after October in terms of wholesale inter-network rates - currently being reviewed by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
The uncertainty comes after ICASA dropped mobile termination rates to 20c for Vodacom and MTN and 44c for smaller players, Cell C and Telkom Mobile - a move deemed invalid by the South Gauteng High Court. The communications regulator now has five months to produce new rates - leaving mobile operators' hands to an extent tied in terms of product and pricing plans.
Unlike the fanfare surrounding MTN's new prepaid rate - which started out as a promotion - Vodacom's 79c promotion was not trumpeted to media. The new rate was first quietly published on its Web site, with a terse product update sent out this morning.
The promotion, which kicked in yesterday, offers prepaid calls at a rate of 79c per minute to any network at any time per-second billing. It is available to new and existing prepaid customers.
Existing prepaid customers can change to the new price plan by dialling 082 1181 or *111*01#, or by visiting the company's Web site. Customers will be migrated back to the price plan they were last on when the promotion expires.
MTN's 79c all-net prepaid rate, first introduced in mid-April, becomes a permanent tariff on 7 May.
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