Neotel press statement
The local telecoms market is rapidly shifting as consumer and small business fixed line (copper cable) voice communications continues to reduce whilst over R250 million is being invested in fixed wireless installations and technology across the country.
The winds of change are definitely blowing in the local telecoms market as Neotel alone has committed to invest a quarter of a billion rand in the next few months into the deployment of fixed wireless technology.
According to Dr Angus Hay, Executive Head of Technology at Neotel, there is rapid uptake of fixed wireless, and the company is experiencing a 5 percent increase in sales month on month. Neotel’s wireless network is similar to a cell phone network but offers fixed line numbers that operate within a particular dialling code area (e.g. 011), and are priced at very competitive fixed line rates.
This fixed wireless market growth is in sharp contrast to the continued shrinkage being experienced in copper-based fixed line voice connections. Fuelled by affordability, convenience and mobility the small business and consumer markets are aggressively adopting fixed wireless whilst abandoning fixed line. Neotel aims to be market-led, and responsive to customer needs, as witnessed by its ability to deliver a telephone rapidly, anywhere in its coverage area, without the delays associated with copper cable installations. In some metropolitan areas that have experienced chronic cable problems, including cable theft, Neotel’s fixed wireless service is saving small businesses.
The current recessionary climate also means that it is more vital than ever for local businesses and consumers to opt for the most affordable telecoms option without the hidden costs traditionally associated with incumbent fixed line providers.
A close look at competitive offerings reveals that Neotel’s per second billing model can offer a significant reduction in the cost of voice services, compared to what is offered in the market today. This is typically no small amount, when every second adds up, especially at a time when everyone is looking to reduce costs.
According to Hay, people in our current economic climate are more impatient than ever with hidden costs. This includes being charged for the installation of fixed lines and also being billed for per minute, even for dropped calls. Neotel provides ‘true per second billing’ on all its voice services – no minimum charge is incurred, in contrast to the per minute approach of other operators. “For example – a telecoms operator which uses the minimum call rate model for the first minute of a call and then switches to per second billing, charges the full initial rate of R1,89 for a call to a mobile phone even if it only lasts for one second. Neotel on the other hand charges 3 cents for the same elapsed time because it only charges per second for the actual time that has elapsed without adding on costs for time that is not actually used”, says Hay.
There has been much public debate recently about the cost of interconnection – the rates charged by one network operator to another. Whilst Neotel already offers the best standard call rates in the market for calls to any network, it has committed to passing on to its customers the savings that will result should mobile interconnection rates be reduced.
Neotel offers the NeoConnect Lite Home Phone – a phone at R99 per month, with excellent call rates – but which also provides basic Internet access, with no additional modem required, and charged at 8 cents per Megabyte. In addition, the company does not charge a contractual penalty fee on the service to ‘lock in’ users should they choose to migrate to another network. This lack of a penalty fee healthily encourages competition in the market and a wider choice for consumers. The Home Phone is the simplest of a range of voice and Internet offerings, including the NeoConnect and NeoFlex home and small business services, and the NeoGo datacard, which provides the best-priced wireless Internet in the market.
As part of its multimillion rand investment in fixed wireless and continued drive to provide affordable telephony and Internet access, Neotel is currently providing services to households in the major cities of South Africa, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town. The company continues the rapid rollout of its network, with more than six million people now within its coverage area, with access to a fixed wireless alternative to copper cables. Faced with the option of renewing a contract on a copper line service that is expensive and unreliable, or moving to fixed wireless, the choice is clear.
We need another fixed line service provider, not another wireless provider. Where is the competition government promised us?
