New iBurst
packages
ADSL
South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 27 March
2007
iBurst will soon launch new
broadband packages. Month-to-month subscribers will also have
something to smile about. There is a catch however…
Can you give us a break down of the new
packages?
Sure.
i
Burst’s new packages can be listed as
follow:
-
200 MB package (Play
Intro) – R149 per month. ‘The
price inclusive of a USB or laptop modem takes the
monthly subscription to R179 per month’ (iBurst to
launch new broadband packages, MyADSL, 23 March
2007).
In other words, the
launching of Play Intro will effectively lower the
barrier to entry, making it possible for more
people to make use of iBurst’s broadband
service.
Will there
be other differences between ‘Play’ and ‘Pro’ packages,
beside the amount of bandwidth initially allocated
with each package?
Yes. Users of ‘Play’ packages
‘…will be hard capped when reaching their usage limit,’ while
users of ‘Pro’ packages will only be ‘…throttled after reaching
their usage limits’ (iBurst to launch new broadband packages,
MyADSL, 23 March 2007).
In other words, ‘Play’ packages
will be hard capped while users of ‘Pro’ packages will be
switched to a slower or throttled service when they exceed
their usage limits.
What’s the good news for month-to-month
subscribers?
From the 1st of April iBurst’s
Data Bonus initiative will also be extended to all
month-to-month subscribers.
‘This means all new and existing
customers will receive an additional 500meg on ‘Play’ packages
and 200meg for ‘Pro’ packages, at no additional cost’ (iBurst
to launch new broadband packages, MyADSL, 23 March
2007).
In other words, month-to-month
subscribers will not be left out in the next round.
Will there be any restrictions on VoIP usage
on iBurst’s network?
No. Unlike MTN and others, iBurst
has no intention to restrict VoIP usage on their
network.
What’s the catch?
In their initial press release in
regard to the planned new packages, iBurst conveniently failed
to mention that ‘…their add-on bundle prices may increase from
the beginning of April’ (iBurst plans to increase add-on data
bundle prices by up to 600%, MyADSL, 27 March 2007).
‘According to correspondence
received by MyADSL, iBurst will be increasing its add-on bundle
rates, now called ‘Booster Bandwidth’, by up to 614%’ (iBurst
plans to increase add-on data bundle prices by up to 600%,
MyADSL, 27 March 2007).
In other words, although iBurst
was not keen to tell you, expect to pay way more for that extra
bandwidth you may need.
ADSL South Africa
(Broadband South Africa) welcomes iBurst’s efforts to bring
more choices and better value to the table. This will help to
introduce even more South Africans to the fast world of
broadband Internet. We however despise the way they have been
trying to fool us by holding the bad news back for
later.
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