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MTN slashed its broadband costs
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Gooku
Senior Member
Competition is starting ......
(Article omited Virgin's 50c /MB package , it may have led to this price reduction.......)
(Article omited Virgin's 50c /MB package , it may have led to this price reduction.......)
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DragonLogos
Expert Member
AT&T must be shaking in their boots
Highflyer_GP
Honorary Master
It is an excellent move on MTN's part, however I'm not optimistic about Vodacom bettering this price. I think the best we can hope for is that they match this price, reason being that they will be relying on their existing customers not switching to MTN due to inconvenience, instead of trying to attract new customers away from MTN. That would actually mean competition, and would be too much of an effort for both companies to deal with. My guess is that there were alot of meetings between MTN and Vodacom behind closed doors. By maintaining their existing customers means that both companies don't really have much work to do in terms of customers switching back and forth. Somehow I see this reduction as a mutual agreement, just to silence a few critics by saying well there is competition in the market. It is indeed a sad state of affairs when customers start becoming skeptical about a price reduction. I'd rather wait to see Vodacom's reaction and then decide whether there is indeed true competition.
Gatecrasher
Executive Member
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It sounds like everything is the same... but if you buy a Gig, you get one free.
Which is nice if you use that much mobile data, but not so nice if you use your 3G phone casually on the out-of-bundle rate like me.
Which is nice if you use that much mobile data, but not so nice if you use your 3G phone casually on the out-of-bundle rate like me.
Yeah I was hoping the other bundles would also be similarly reduced in price.
Nice too see the prices coming down but they're still way more expensive than the typical ADSL offering and they don't even have the expense of laying any cables to customers.
Mobile broadband is still a ripoff in SA.
Mobile broadband is still a ripoff in SA.
Highflyer_GP
Honorary Master
The problem isn't cables, it's bandwidth costs. For that you blame Telkom. Our mobile data costs are actually very reasonable compared to the rest of the world, this is perhaps the only country where mobile broadband is seen as a competitor to fixed line broadband.
Dear Mr. Molotsane.
Please take note of MTN's price reductions. That's how you get more customers and keep your existing customers happy. Not by adding a bigger pot of vaseline for the shafting you give them
With All my love (yeah so i can lie as good you..)
Gru
Please take note of MTN's price reductions. That's how you get more customers and keep your existing customers happy. Not by adding a bigger pot of vaseline for the shafting you give them
With All my love (yeah so i can lie as good you..)
Gru
Telkom wholesale prices for international bandwidth :
R 52.91 per GB for less than 200 TB (R105.82 for 2 GB)
MTN are charging R399 for 2GB but Telkom are only charging R105.82 for those 2 GB.
I'm getting sick of this "it's all Telkom's fault" attitude - the cellphone providers are shafting us far worse than Telkom are.
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redarrow
Expert Member
Well well, this is not a bad reduction... 
I just wish they'd apply it to all their bundles... I've never bought a 1 gig bundle before - however now with the chance of getting 2 gigs I might just...
I just wish they'd apply it to all their bundles... I've never bought a 1 gig bundle before - however now with the chance of getting 2 gigs I might just...
vodacom3g
Vodacom Representative
Do you assume the mobile network should come for free?
Building and operating a mobile radio networks is substantially more complex, and much, much more expensive than a copper-based, terrestrial one.
Assuming your numbers, you are indicating that the mobile operator must give more than 25% of his topline income just for the international component. This leave 75% to build, maintain and operate the radio & local transmission network and relevant systems and services.
thats mad!! someday you will get nice broadband..
Do you assume the mobile network should come for free?
No I don't expect it for free - I'm just highlighting the fact that MTN are making a nearly 300% markup.
I thought it was cheaper. Why is it more expensive when :
1. You don't have to dig trenches through all the suburbs to lay copper.
2. You don't have to build exchanges in every suburb or stick DSLAM boxes on every second block.
3. You have nearly no copper theft problems to worry about.
4. No maintenance costs of millions of pieces of copper scattered around the country side that get struck by lightning, eaten by rats, broken by wind and shorted out with rain.
I thought the whole point of wireless network was that it was much cheaper to connect and expand than a wired network.
Have you priced mobile broadband in any other countries?
In the UK, Virgin Mobile charges 0.5p per KB, that works out to about R70 per MB. In South Africa, Virgin Mobile charge R0.50 per MB.
MTN's 2GB for R399 will cost you nearly R150000 from Virgin Mobile in the UK.
HvRooyen
Senior Member
Amen.
I thought data roaming from SA was a ripoff at R17.50/MB, until I saw the mobile data costs elsewhere. See http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/tariffs/datatariffs for another example.