Best broadband deals

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 14 March 2007

Aggressive price cuts by broadband  market players such as MTN, Sentech and Vodacom have really stirred a lot of value for money to the surface.

Here’s your guide to the best broadband deals currently in South Africa:

(See article titled: ‘Broadband: Who gives you the best value for money,’ published by MyADSL on the 12th of February 2007)

[The offerings are listed from the best to the worst for your convenience]

The broadband market can be divided into a  low usage segment, standard usage segment and a high usage segment.

1. Low usage market segment (< 1 GB usage per month) –

* Characteristics of the low usage market segment:

• Averagely crowded or average number of subscribers. 

• Fighting heated in terms of competition. 

• ADSL broadband vs. Wireless broadband: Wireless broadband is the winner.   It’s evident from the table above that the wireless broadbandproviders    (Vodacom, Sentech, MTN and iBurst) are currentlydominating this market   segment. Recent aggressive price cuts bythese providers is a sure sign   that they’re all fighting for a biggerslice of the cake. 

* Overall winners in the low usage market segment:

  Vodacom , Sentech  and  MTN .

* Best value for money in low usage market segment:

• Vodacom’s  R189 for 500 MB. 

• Reasons  : Great price and extensive coverage. 

* Second best in low usage market segment:

‘Sentech’s R 99-00 per month for 150 MB of data is an attractive alternative for some dial-up users while their 500 MB package for R 199-00 competesfavourably against other offerings in the market’ (Broadband: Who gives you the best value for money?, MyADSL, 12 March 2007).

2. Standard usage market segment (1 GB – 3 GB usage per month) –

* Characteristics of the standard usage market segment:

• Most crowded or most subscribers. 

• Fighting most heated in terms of competition. 

• ADSL broadband vs. Wireless broadband: Wireless broadband is the winner. 

* Overall winners in the standard usage market segment:

Vodacom , Telkom  and  MTN .

* Best value for money in standard usage market segment:

  - Vodacom’s R389 for 2 GB.

  - Reasons : Great price, extensive coverage and high speed.

* Second best in standard usage market segment:

‘The Vodacom and MTN 2 GB HSDPA offerings are also the best value for money when taking speed into account as both these services have a maximum speed of 1.8 Mbps, faster than all their competitors’ (Broadband: Who gives you the best value for money?, MyADSL, 12 March 2007).

3. High usage market segment (> 3 GB usage per month) –

* Characteristics of the high usage market segment:

• Least crowded or the least subscribers. 

• Fighting least heated in terms of competition. 

• ADSL broadband vs. Wireless broadband: Wireless broadband is the winner.    

* Overall winners in the high usage market segment:

  Sentech , Telkom  and  iBurst .

* Best value for money in high usage market segment:

• Sentech’s  R999 for 10 GB. 

• Reasons  : Great price and high speed. 

• For those looking for a truly uncapped service one of the ADSL flavours   with an uncapped Internet Solutions ISP account is most likely the best   route to go. Here Internet Solution’s uncapped DSL512 service will give   the best value for money’ (Broadband: Who gives you the best value for   money?, MyADSL, 12 March 2007). 

* Second best in high usage market segment:

‘Telkom’s 4 Mbps ADSL service, with a 10 GB ISP account from a provider like Axxess or WebAfrica, is a good option for people looking for a fast connection. It is competitive when compared with the other providers’ services, but definitely not the best value for money’ (Broadband: Who gives you the best value for money?, MyADSL, 12 March 2007).

Summary

• Wireless broadband providers currently offer better value for money than ADSL broadband providers. 

• Vodacom offers the best value for money in the low  and standard usage  market segments . 

• Sentech offers the best value for money in the high usage market  segment . 

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) is certain that the above table and information will help you to find the best broadband deal suitable for you.