Students take on ISP heavies

By Bronwen Kausch, Media strategist, Innovative Media Productions

Johannesburg, 25 Feb 2002

Local student portal, Get a Life (gAL.co.za), has launched a pay-as-you-surf Internet service provider, where consumers can pay R39 per month, paying per hour after the first four hours. Surfers can also buy unlimited access for R75 per month.

"The costs of using the Internet and e-mail are very high - way too high for most South Africans. Two years ago, it was R99 a month. Last year it went up to R119 a month. Now it`s about R130. That`s over R1 500 a year. Not only is the cost too high, but it`s rising much faster than inflation," says Get a Life founder, John Kuhn.

"Internet access is essential for every South African today or we`ll never bridge the digital divide. So we took a careful look at the market, and at where Absa went wrong. We found that Absa couldn`t sustain their offer because it was free. An Internet service provider has to be a solid business otherwise it won`t last," Kuhn explains.

The 23-year-old founder of one of SA`s most controversial student Web sites says the service may be cheap, but it is here to stay.

"We are not burdened with top-heavy management drawing huge salaries. We are also not trying to make money to cover the losses we`ve made in years past. We`ve done the sums and we will be making money out of this venture, just not as much on every client as our competitors."

Internet Solutions will provide the bandwidth and 24-hour e-commerce backup will come from another young company - Cyberpro.

Get a Life previously worked with Cyberpro last year to compete head-on with Naspers when it launched its online bookstore for students.

Kuhn explains the pay-as-you surf option costs R39 per month, and includes four hours Internet use. Every hour after that will cost R3.50 per hour. For serious surfers, the unlimited access package will cost R75 per month.

Kuhn believes four hours is more than enough time to cover average home needs, including any e-commerce transactions and checking e-mail as well as some additional surfing.

However, he says if Get a Life can reach 10 000 subscribers it will increase the hours available on the R39-per-month package to seven.

"At gAL.co.za, we know that nothing`s for mahala (free)- unless you`re a government minister," says Kuhn.

"But it really isn`t necessary to pay R130 per month for Internet access. If South Africans keep doing that, they`re supporting monopolisation and exploitation. At gAL we still believe that Monopoly is a board game."