Most Economically Efficient Way to get Fibre...

[Dipro]

I have been looking at different fibre options... and what struck me immediately is that different providers have different pricing for installation, data, etc ... so, I thought to ask the community on their opinion on what is the best, and cheapest way to get fibre on Openserve and the other big cable providers, as these contracts are "month to month", so there is nothing stopping you having it installed through the cheapest provider, and then moving on...

My questions are:

1 - who does cheapest installation cost for a month to month ? (without any "claw-back" contracts for termination)

2 - who has the cheapest month to month data ?

3 - how much is line-only rental with the infrastructure providers ? (Openserve, Frogfoot, Vumatel)

I am sure that a lot of you have already done this, hence the question to benefit anyone who is now thinking about having fibre installed

 

[PBCool]

Well this depends on your area, as generally only one of the operators would service your area.

So it's not really a choice most of the time.

 

[Dipro]

Well this depends on your area, as generally only one of the operators would service your area.

So it's not really a choice most of the time.

This is true, but for example: I live in an Openserve new install area.. (Frogfoot are on their way into this area too), and when I check ISPs, they all have varying install rates... some say R2850... some say R1700, etc....

Some offer "Data only".... so it made me think that there would be a "cheapest solution"... get the cheapest installer, then get the best deal on the line rental, followed by the best deal on uncapped data... like we all used to do with ADSL... there was always a "cheapest option"...

I will investigate this further... and see how actually does the "best offer"... some of us like the convenience of "pay and forget"... but to me the fun is in seeing how much I can "beat the system" at their own game...

My plan is to get one ISP to install at the cheapest cost (but not one with any "claw-back" in place).... then see if I can get the line cheaper directly with the provider (or not), and then source the cheapest uncapped data month to month package....

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have time on my hands... as I currently have uncapped LTE (speeds of 50mb down and 10mb up - consistent) at R810 a month... which preforms extremely well... but as Openserve is my only currently option until Frogfoot installs, my only fastest option is for 100mb down and 50mb up... and at huge cost to myself. For example: Cool Ideas 100mb/50mb on Frogfoot is R999, but on Openserve it's R1899 ... shocking difference in pricing... so owing to my LTE, I have the luxury to wait for Frogfoot to complete their planned installation of Fibre into my road... and as they also offer much higher speeds than Openserve at a fraction of the costs, which is also very appealing.

Well, I will dig further, but there must be method to my logic of playing the providers against each other, and then getting the cheapest installation, cheapest line and cheapest uncapped data options out there...

 

[savage]

If you happen to get anywhere (esp on the OpenServe area for line only options), please let me know

For example: Cool Ideas 100mb/50mb on Frogfoot is R999, but on Openserve it's R1899

Whilst that difference is a bit high, it does cost more to provision high speed connections on OpenServe vs. Frogfoot (and make no mistake, Vuma's not cheap either). It's all got to do with how the ISPs are charged for the capacity / connection to you (be it the actual line, or the bandwidth or capacity on that line). You'll be even more surprised at how the prices differ when you start looking at 1Gbps connections - so much so that many do not even offer it.

Due to the (wholesale) pricing models, it is not economically feasible to offer capped services on most FTTH networks. OpenServe's an exception due to way how they charge but I think that's also about the only exception. There's not a lot of flexibility and room to play with cost either (especially not Vuma). It all basically boils down to freebies, and value added services.

Not wanting to step onto toes, but as someone whom is currently looking at prices and structures currently for FTTH products... Your 'claw back' comments basically just made me re think quite a lot of what I was planing to offer initially. Whilst I understand it's a lot of money and expensive, milking the ISP for your benefit isn't fair either

Guess I'll too, offer free installs only on a contract basis then... No use risking R2.5k+ (when you take into account the cost of install, the cost of CPE equipment, etc.), only to have the customer walk because someone else is R10 cheaper per month.

 

[Dipro]

If you happen to get anywhere (esp on the OpenServe area for line only options), please let me know

I will do !

It's not about "screwing the system" or people trying to make a living, it's about finding the most economical way to have fibre installed.

Sadly, we are all, including myself, mostly like sheep and just go with the easiest route.... but we are also more money-savvy nowadays, like we evolved and did with ADSL... the chaps and ladies out there always eventually went out of their way to get the best deal possible.... but people seem to lose this strategy when it's a new service... All I am trying to do is to find a way to get the best service and installation for the cheapest possible way, and in a way that works for me.

Trust me, it's not about the cost for me, it's the "fun" I have in researching the best way to do things... and in this case, eventually have a quality installation, and a top quality service... for the best price out there