Free ADSL data bundles: can ISPs compete?

[Boksie]

Just a note, they say "up to 5gb". Previously their private checque account holders got 4gb of data per month. So the jump from 4gb to 5gb is not that impressive to be honest. Platinum got 2gb, Gold and Encore 1gb and Smart only 500mb. I'd be interested to see how much these lower accounts would now qualify for.

Link to the old rewards, https://www.fnbconnect.co.za/adsl-rewards.shtml

I'm a FNB client and have been using the 2GB I got each month just for the hell of it, one or two decent downloads and it's gone, but still not letting it go to waste.

 

[Bosvark@]

I find it extremely interesting that so many ISP's consider uncapped their core business... 2 years ago it was considered unsustainable, and a non-starter, and today its their main focus

Hahaha. So true. They were all up in arms when mweb launched their uncapped services. Took all the cream off their margains.

 

[BANG_Mutha]

I have and currently use quite a few ISPs which include Afrihost, Web Africa, Telkom, SAOL and FNB. I can confidently say that the speeds/latency I've got from my free 2 gigs from FNB have been the best from them all. I don't really need the 2 gigs as I have a considerable amount of bandwidth from other ISPs but I end up using it anyway. Free youtube streaming between certain times when you have an Internet connected TV is brilliant and none of the other ISPs can claim to have that.

Big ups to FNB!

 

[ViperGTI]

My parents use 1Gb a month (have no idea how, but they do) so I recommended to them to stop paying Telkom and get it for free on their Gold FNB account.
The thing about these FNB packages is that although you get a little bit free, you can easily top up on those packages for R25 per gb (perhaps less now once the new prices kick in) which can easily make this a complete solution for someone using 6 or 7 gb per month (if they currently only get 1Gb free per month). Once the new prices reflect on their site, this might even become a solution for someone using bandwidth in the 8-15gb range... will have to wait and see.

So how does one, as an FNB cusotmer, get in on this? What are the requirements?

I can't remember but as far as I know there is a link somewhere from your Internet Banking page under one of the tabs after you've logged in. If not there, it should be at fnbconnect.co.za, but either way, it is done completely online.

I also moved over to FNB recently and got my free interwebz. Pity I can't get full speed on the account, overall pretty disappointed by the quality of the bandwidth, but hey it is free.

Not sure why that is. Their bandwidth is unshaped and their speeds are pretty much the same as (or even better than) Afrihost and Openweb on my 4Gb line.

Just a note, they say "up to 5gb". Previously their private checque account holders got 4gb of data per month. So the jump from 4gb to 5gb is not that impressive to be honest. Platinum got 2gb, Gold and Encore 1gb and Smart only 500mb. I'd be interested to see how much these lower accounts would now qualify for.

Link to the old rewards, https://www.fnbconnect.co.za/adsl-rewards.shtml

I'm a FNB client and have been using the 2GB I got each month just for the hell of it, one or two decent downloads and it's gone, but still not letting it go to waste.

I've been wasting mine a bit but I mostly use it as a backup. My primary line is uncapped so I switch to a FNB connection if the uncapped is unstable / slow.
It would however be interesting to see what the increases are. If the 5Gb a month is for platinum account holders, gold might be upped to 2.5Gb perhaps. My parents won't have a clue what to do with all that bandwidth

 

[Flowerhat]

hello,

this doesn't seem like free data since you have to fall into their specific product brackets and do insane deposits like 1700 for a measily 1gig free cap.

I get 12rand interest with 2000rand in my capitech global one cheque account compared to zero interest on my fnb cheques account..

If i had 16700 in my bank with capitech it would have earned me 135rand pm which could buy me 8gigs with afrihost after 15th of the month!

Tldr: Fnb offering lame service to save clients

 

[ViperGTI]

hello,

this doesn't seem like free data since you have to fall into their specific product brackets and do insane deposits like 1700 for a measily 1gig free cap.

I get 12rand interest with 2000rand in my capitech global one cheque account compared to zero interest on my fnb cheques account..

If i had 16700 in my bank with capitech it would have earned me 135rand pm which could buy me 8gigs with afrihost after 15th of the month!

Tldr: Fnb offering lame service to save clients

That's not really accurate.

First off, if your salary is over R9000 which gets deposited into your account, you will get 1Gb free (perhaps more once the new service kicks in). Sure, it is linked to your banking status, but since you don't have to do anything extra to get it, it is still free. For some people (especially older generations), that bandwidth is enough.

Secondly, someone who banks R16700 a month, doesn't keep R16700 in his bank account for the whole month. Most people who earn that kind of money usually have medical aid, insurance, debt, vehicle debt & expenses, etc... probably 70% of that amount is gone in debit orders, a couple of days after the salary was deposited. That leaves them with less than R5000 which gets reduced daily with living expenses which change the amount of interest earned quite a bit.

Lastly, they are not offering a "lame service to save clients". The free cap is a bonus for their clients. 99% or more of their clients would still be clients regardless of this free cap.

 

[Bern]

hello,

this doesn't seem like free data since you have to fall into their specific product brackets and do insane deposits like 1700 for a measily 1gig free cap.

I get 12rand interest with 2000rand in my capitech global one cheque account compared to zero interest on my fnb cheques account..

If i had 16700 in my bank with capitech it would have earned me 135rand pm which could buy me 8gigs with afrihost after 15th of the month!

Tldr: Fnb offering lame service to save clients

I don't think you understand the idea of a value add service. You don't bank with FNB for the ADSL, that would be stupid, but you can appreciate that they provide you with a number of services for your monthly fee. If you make a lot of calls the FNBConnect will save you a HUGE amount of money for example (can be used from your smartphone as well). Then with things like the fuel rewards etc the R92 actually becomes a lot less, in fact it can go positive, plus no costs for transactions as they are included in the R92. FNB are leveraging the money they have to spend on things like internet access to cleverly then give you access when they are quiet. If you have a 10Mbps ADSL line and watch some 1080p Youtube during the free period do you have any idea how much bandwidth you could burn for free (well without paying any extra)?

 

[Flowerhat]

ya i can see where you are going. But fact remains the big banks like absa std and fnb still ripping my pocket with insanely high bank charges compared to first world (capitech) standards.

Prices starting to drop only after they saw customers flocking to capitech.

capitech is making the big boys sweat and i like it

 

[Boksie]

ya i can see where you are going. But fact remains the big banks like absa std and fnb still ripping my pocket with insanely high bank charges compared to first world (capitech) standards.

Prices starting to drop only after they saw customers flocking to capitech.

capitech is making the big boys sweat and i like it

Bud, you need to go and check what "first world" banking is like. We have it very good here in SA, other "first world" countries pay extreme banking charges and get service worse than our government can offer.

I pay R92 banking fees per month, nothing more and I have a Platinum cheque account. For that I get ebucks to the tune of R200 per month(granted I can only spend them in certain shops), fuel rewards of around R110 per month, currently 2gb free data per month and my bank can actually finance my house and offer me a cheque account. It charges me nothing if I withdraw from their ATM's, a minor inconvenience when you take into consideration I hate using cash, and nothing if I withdraw from a Checkers or P'nP(Capitec charges R1 for this privilege).

So seriously, I'm a little more than fed up with people who think Capitec is the best thing since sliced bread. When they become a real bank and can offer the kind of services and value add FNB does at the same banking costs, then I'll have another look at them.