Afrihost reducing mobile data bundles for Mobile 2 & 3 for July.

[Totempole]

Just received my invoice of R197 for July for the Mobile 3 Data package. It's been reduced from 3+4GB's to 3+3GB's. I can't understand why they would do that. I think the reduction in cap is just nitpicking. Loyal subscribers get a slap in the face simply for sticking around.

This is really lousy of them IMO. I thought existing clients would be able to keep their account until December, I read it wrong.

I guess we have to subsidize all the Zest T1 owners.

Not cool Afrihost. The least you could have done is allow us to keep our full bundles until the end of the year.

 

[DA-LION-619]

Did you not know that was gonna happen?

 

[kianm]

They announced it before. Mobile 2+3 also goes down to mobile 2+2. I think we should be glad, promos don't usually last this long. What like a year?

 

[pcdoc]

They announced it before. Mobile 2+3 also goes down to mobile 2+2. I think we should be glad, promos don't usually last this long. What like a year?

Afrihost are still offering better value on 3G data packages than anyone else. If you know of better offers for Data please let us all know

 

[HendrieV]

I knew that before I joined middle of last month.

 

[kianm]

Afrihost are still offering better value on 3G data packages than anyone else. If you know of better offers for Data please let us all know

Hmm I think you misread me. Read again and you'll see I appreciate what AH is doing

 

[JimM]

Have you been away for a while?

AH promised 3 + 4 GB until end February and gave this data until the end of June!
AH will also give 3 + 3 GB until the end of December for existing customers...

I'm guessing that after December, Afrihost will pull another rabbit out of the hat!

 

[Totempole]

Like I said before, I didn't read their newsletter properly because they're usually just a bunch of longwinded crap from Gian. That was my mistake. They should really have just summarized it.

Like I said, I have no doubt that we're just subsidizing the Zest owners in part (for the next six months).

I'm guessing that after December, Afrihost will pull another rabbit out of the hat!

Like offer the same package less another GB? Their strategy is usually to give you something with the promise they'll be taking it away completely, so that you'll be over the moon when they only take some of it away.

Forgive me for not being happy about this. I started with 5+5GB for R197, they took away 3GB's after 3 months later they take 3GB's away, leaving me with 7GB's at the same price. Now they take another GB away, and I'm supposed to be happy? I'm only getting 60% of what I originally signed up for.

These guys are using the same system as Cadbury. Keep shrinking the slab by a few grams, but charge the same amount. It would probably work for Afrihost, but I wish I wasn't a part of it.

 

[chickenbeef]

The extra GBs were promotional GBs and they made that quite clear.

Like you and many others, I'm also disappointed by their decision but it was expected.

 

[mike6870]

Afrihost still the best. Can't coplain when FREE gigs are reduced...

 

[Totempole]

The extra GBs were promotional GBs and they made that quite clear.

Like you and many others, I'm also disappointed by their decision but it was expected.

I know the extra data was promotional, but Gian should really keep the notifications straight and to the point instead of rambling on about the company etc. It wouldn't have come as such a surprise If he'd just sent out a simple notification.

Instead, he decides to ramble on like this:

Hi

The extra GBs we've been adding to our mobile data packages are set to fall away on June 30th.

...BUT not for you!

The good news is we've decided to keep giving you extra mobile data until the end of December 2014.

But this only applies to clients (like you!) who've signed up for one of our mobile packages before June the 30th.

We would LOVE to keep offering these Double Data mobile deals forever - But the truth is it will simply cost us too much money to keep it available for all new clients who sign up after July.

However, anyone who does get on the Afrihost Mobile train before June the 30th will get Double Data until the end of the year.

And you're already on it so you'll keep getting extra data!

The only package changes will be for the 2+3GB and 3+4GB as we are standardising all extended packages to be Double their Data from July.

This means that in July the 2+3GB deal will become 2+2GB and the 3+4GB package will become 3+3GB. All other mobile packages will stay the same.

(I realize this will disappoint some clients. The truth is we have to do this to continue to be able to offer these extra GBs. I would love to keep giving away more. But we simply can't. It's costing us too much. If these packages no longer match your needs then you can cancel easily in your ClientZone and still get the 2+3GB or 3+4GB till the end of June as we promised. I would obviously be gutted if you did cancel. And I still do sincerely believe that even at 'only' Double the Data this is still the best deal available - especially when you factor in everything else you get with it: No contract; No out of bundle fear; The cheapest out of bundle rates in the market by far; Using all your GBs anytime that suits you; Great support; Our industry leading ClientZone. But it is your decision of course!)

And remember: These extra GBs are NOT limited GBs that you can only use at specific times of the day or night. You can use them whenever you please, day or night.

So what will happen from July for you?

...You'll get double the GBs of the standard packages until December the 31st.

Why are we still doing this if it's costing us?

…It's our way of thanking you for joining us early in our mobile journey and for trusting us with your mobile data. We passionately believe in rewarding the loyalty of our clients. Of course our ulterior motive is that we are hoping you will 'reward' us by telling your family and friends about Afrihost!

What will happen from July 1 for all new mobile signups?

...The Double GBs will fall away for all NEW mobile packages signed up AFTER June 30th.

What about new signups before the 30th of June?

...Any new package signed up before end June will get Double Data locked in until the end of the year.

So if you know someone who's been sitting on the fence you need to let them know they need to sign up before July if they want to get double their data joy. And if you need more mobile data now's the time to get it.

When we launched Mobile data last September we originally promised the extra, subsidized GBs until the end of February 2014 - and we honestly thought even that was a stretch at the time! So we're delighted that we can extend it for you again and keep giving double your data till the end of 2014.

I hope you enjoy it!

Have a great weekend

Gian
CEO, Afrihost

Why should I have to read all this crap just to find out they'll be ending the promotion as of January 2015, but taking away 1GB as of July 2014.

 

[surfs-up]

I was also disappointed this afternoon to see my 2+3 now reduced to a 2+2....this is what got me searching the forum here to see what the reason was, and stumbled on this thread.

I knew that the promo was going to end in February, and that they had extended it....but I was under the impression that it had been extended indefinitely.

Perhaps I should rather buy a 3rd Telkom Mobile promo deal. The reason I wanted Afrihost, is just for insurance - if Telkom Mobile data goes down (my main provider), then I could switch to MTN (Afrihost) and not lose connectivity.

C'mon Gian, give us back our data, please extend it again...I would hate to leave Afrihost

 

[Totempole]

I was also disappointed this afternoon to see my 2+3 now reduced to a 2+2....this is what got me searching the forum here to see what the reason was, and stumbled on this thread.

I knew that the promo was going to end in February, and that they had extended it....but I was under the impression that it had been extended indefinitely.

Perhaps I should rather buy a 3rd Telkom Mobile promo deal. The reason I wanted Afrihost, is just for insurance - if Telkom Mobile data goes down (my main provider), then I could switch to MTN (Afrihost) and not lose connectivity.

C'mon Gian, give us back our data, please extend it again...I would hate to leave Afrihost

It was made pretty clear that the promo has only been extended until December 2014. But they only mention halfway down between all the rambling that they would be taking 1GB away from us.

If I didn't know any better I'd say these emails from Gian are made as long as they are specifically to keep us from reading them and staying informed.

What Gian did essentially equated to putting it in fineprint, by smothering the info in amongst BS.

 

[Totempole]

The extra GBs we've been adding to our mobile data packages are set to fall away on June 30th.

Turns out this was BS too. Not that I should complain. If they're still offering this deal, it's no doubt profitable to them. Hopefully they won't be taking away any more data from us. Otherwise they can take the account and shove it up their *MTN*.

 

[Totempole]

Another long-winded letter from Gian.

We're losing a fair whack of money every month on our Mobile Data offering.

However, there is a silver lining...

But before we get to that, please DON'T feel sorry for us or feel 'bad' about using your mobile data and start using less.

(In fact, as you will see below, now's the best time to upgrade your package to lock in even more!)

We want you to keep enjoying using your mobile GBs with complete freedom.

From the time of our mobile data launch last September we knew we would be losing money - And although our first plan was to only offer the Double Data for 6 months, we have since managed to extend it a few times.

Why would we 'plan' to lose money?

Quite simply we wanted to sell as many Mobile GBs as possible, as quickly as possible. We believed that the more mobile internet GBs we used overall, the more likely we could negotiate better price breaks.

Has our plan worked?

Yes and No.

We have got better prices but they haven't been quite big enough to turn these savings into break-even.

Which unfortunately means we have to stop offering the Double Mobile Data for all NEW clients from 1 August.

However, the silver lining is that we are EXTENDING all the Double Mobile GBs for all existing Mobile clients.

So if you have a Mobile data account by 31 July you will enjoy the double GBs until at least the 31st of December.

And maybe for longer.

And that brings me to something you can do to help:

If you know anyone (family, a friend, a colleague?) who you think would enjoy getting Double their mobile GBs locked in till the end of the year, and they are not yet Afrihost Mobile clients, then please let them know that they have till the 31st of July to grab an account that'll lock in double the value.

This may be the last chance to get Double Mobile Data for a while.

How will this help you?

As mentioned, the more clients we get, the more mobile data we'll move overall, the more chance we have of getting better price breaks and the more chance we have of being able to extend the double mobile GBs past December for you.

So you can really do your family and friends (and yourself!) a favour by letting them know about it.

Will we offer Double Data for our mobile packages for new clients in the future?

I certainly hope so!!!

But the truth is that right now I just don't know.

We would love to.

But in order to do this we need to get even more clients so we can can collectively use more data and get better pricing.

Thank you for your business and for taking the time to read this.

And thank you for referring your family and friends to us.

I sincerely appreciate it

Have a wonderful weekend!

Gian
CEO, Afrihost



P.S. Here's where you can tell your friends to go before the 31st of July to lock in Double Mobile Data till the end of December:

https://www.afrihost.com/site/product/mobile_data

Thanks!

They take away data from us to subsidize Zest T1 buyers, and they want me to refer people to them?

It's no big deal to me if they cancel the double data promo at the end of the year instead of losing a "fair whack of money", they'll lose a large "whack" of customers. Same difference.

Not my problem.

 

[Dion Disco]

This giving free stuff and oversubscription of Afrihost network lead to the present FIASCO for uncapped users

Gian should take some time off and write a letter to all his uncapped users and apologize - not looking for more subscribers on a buckling network

After the shocking service I get, I am doing completely the oposite to what he wants as far as recruiting new clients for Afrihost

 

[Napalm]

I agree, at the moment AH cannot cover all the bases... There simply is too much "demand" vs the amount of actual bandwith is available. (otherwise Uncapped users would not have been complaining...)