Bucknet, a division of Atreyu Enterprises, has launched a bundled Internet access and on-site technical support package for residential PC users in the Cape Town area.
The pilot project, launched a week after the company released a budget Internet access offering, makes Internet access, on-site technical support and hardware available to users for a subscription fee of R119 per month.
Bucknet chief executive Ralf Muller says the new HomeCall pilot project may be the first of its kind, offering Internet access, e-mail, telephonic technical support, free firewall software, weekly anti-virus updates and on-site technical support at the rate of R75 an hour.
"Atreyu Enterprises has been offering corporate and residential technical support for some years. We decided to draw on our existing resources and experience to make a bundled offering available to residential users at discount rates."
Muller says many home users felt that the high costs of Internet access and technical support stood in the way of their going online. "The HomeCall package was designed to make full Internet access and technical support available to home users at a substantially lower cost," he says.
Bucknet will also secure discount rates on hardware, software and consumables for its subscribers, and is looking into launching a low-cost start-up package including hardware, software, Internet access and technical support for new users.
Muller says Bucknet`s new low-cost initiatives have been well received by home users. At least 500 people subscribed to the new low-cost Internet access offering within five days of its launch, while the company`s Web site hosting service is reported to be growing fast. Muller says the HomeCall pilot is expected to attract hundreds of subscribers within the first few months.
"Depending on the take-up, we plan to expand the service to Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth next."
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