BlackDot IT Solutions is experiencing a large-scale move towards ADSL connectivity among local business and home users.
The Internet service provider recently acquired the Internet connectivity users of Afrihost.com, a South African Web-hosting company.
"With the recent Telkom announcement of reducing the cost of ADSL connections, we see a market opportunity to convert dial-up to ADSL at home and at the office and offer our customer-base a range of cost-effective packages," says BlackDot operations director Steve Smith.
Afrihost`s connectivity user-base comprises both dial-up (analogue and IDSN) and ADSL users, which will augment BlackDot`s current customer base by over 30%, he points out.
"With ADSL costs constantly dropping, it is becoming more and more viable for users to be connected 24x7. Additionally, service costs and the total cost of ownership are lower for ADSL services compared to dial-up and users are beginning to realise this," says Smith.
However, Smith believes dial-up connectivity is still expected to receive some support, mainly among users who want Internet connectivity purely for services such as e-mail.
But, he says, ADSL prices are expected to fall even further in the near future and more users are expected to turn away from dial-up connectivity. At the moment, some 30% of BlackDot`s client-base has turned to ADSL or some other form of broadband offering.
"We`ve dropped our prices three times in the past one-and-a-half months," says Smith, adding that SA`s ADSL client base of more than 100 000 is proof that always-on Internet connectivity is becoming increasingly viable.
"There is an ADSL surge among both home and business users, as many dial-up clients are seeing that it does not take much time to rack up a big account."
But price is not the only driver of ADSL. An increased awareness of broadband services has had a large impact on the market, and Smith says, "ADSL is the latest buzz word".
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