MWeb has increased its monthly data cap on consumer ADSL lines. Analysts say this is the result of increased competition in the market.
As of the beginning of the month, MWeb will increase the bandwidth available to SME and consumer customers by between 1GB and 1.5GB, at no extra cost.
Carolyn Holgate, GM of MWeb Connect, says South Africans have been waiting for the positive effect of additional international bandwidth to be felt. “MWeb is already taking real action to make broadband more affordable by increasing the amount of data that subscribers could use in a month.”
MWeb's decision to increase available monthly bandwidth follows a similar move by Telkom. The fixed-line business released its new broadband options to consumers at the end of June, with additional bandwidth coming in at between 1GB and 2GB extra.
Following the commercial activation of the Seacom cable in July, the industry has been holding its breath to see whether companies would start increasing value to customers with Internet connections.
Frost & Sullivan senior ICT industry analyst Lindsey Mc Donald says the price drops by both Telkom and MWeb are the first ripples in what is promising to become a competitive market in SA.
She says, while ADSL connections through Telkom are not related to Seacom, the move is still linked to the increased competition the undersea cable represents. “They have finally woken up to the fact that competition is here. We were always expecting a move like this in the consumer space,” she adds.
Telkom's primary cable is SAT3/SAFE, which is undergoing a major overhaul and will light up additional international capacity soon.
Please click here to view tables breaking down MWeb's ADSL prices.
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