Affordable broadband from Neotel?
In a recent Moneyweb interview Pandey pointed out that many local telecoms services remain overpriced.
“The pricing of some of the telecom options in South Africa is very high. I still believe, still feel and still maintain the fact that they can be at least be one-third of what they are today,” Pandey said.
He did not want to give details regarding service offerings or pricing plans, but he made it clear that the telecoms prices we see in South Africa can be dropped significantly. “Prices could be at least one-third or one-fourth of what they are today,” Pandey said.
Neotel’s Broadband Plans
Pandey did not want to divulge too much regarding Neotel’s broadband plans, but he did say that “… if you bring in a good product which has some innovative elements, either in terms of speed, in terms of pricing, some bit of creativity, then, irrespective of the time of the launch, if the product is right enough for the right market at the right price, it always finds its place.”
Neotel’s MD further gave some hope to those looking for true broadband: “… the common man will be able to see access to a higher speed of internet in the quarter two of 2007,” Pandey said.
It is not clear whether Pandey directly referred to broadband offerings as being overpriced, but as he comes from India where entry level broadband offerings are priced below R 50-00 per month, he may just have aggressive broadband plans in store for the second national operator.
Many consumers are eagerly awaiting services from Neotel, and some businesses may not have to wait too much longer. From early next year point-to-point leased lines will be available from Neotel in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Residential consumers will however have to wait until the second quarter of next year before they will see services that will compete with Telkom’s residential offerings.
Loading ...