Telecoms laggard iBurst has unveiled several aggressively-priced packages as it seeks to reposition itself in the data market.
The company this morning announced it was cutting prices, in a bid to boost its market share and grow its 70 000-strong subscriber base by at least 20%. iBurst's new packages range in price from R49 a month to R879 a month.
Its new Playa 5+ package offers a total data bundle of 10GB, at R149, while the Pro 10+ package provides a bundle of 20GB, at R198. Its Max 25+ bundle is priced at R445 and gives users 50GB of data.
At the bottom end of the spectrum, iBurst offers its Starta+ package, with 1GB of data at R49. At the top end, iBurst offers two uncapped packages, priced at R599, which is limited to 1GB of data a day and is throttled at 256Kbps thereafter, while the R879 is limited to 3GB of use a day and is throttled at 384Kbps after that.
iBurst CEO Thami Mtshali says the company hopes to shake up the market with its new data offerings. “We've radically decreased prices in the hopes not only of getting South Africans to use the Internet more, but also of ensuring that we accommodate those potential consumers previously unable to use the Internet because of affordability.”
Playing catch-up
Executive head of commercial Malcolm Turnbull says iBurst had not been keeping “up with the times” and was left behind while other operators cut prices aggressively. He adds that the company aims to grow its business and will launch several more products in the next few months.
Turnbull adds that the products are not being offered for a limited time, which is often the case with aggressively-priced packages. “We're putting our money where our mouth is.”
iBurst will continue to roll out its network, notes Turnbull. However, he could not indicate how much market share the company has, or what its population coverage is, or the capital spend on its infrastructure.
Turnbull says the company is repositioning itself to add more value to consumers, which it had not previously done successfully. “iBurst is still around.”
The packages are available on a month-to-month and contract basis. Contract packages include a free modem.
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