Uncapped ADSL price comparison
There are numerous “uncapped” ADSL offerings on the market, some with inventive methods of delivering the uncapped service. Full 24/7 uncapped connections, “after hours” uncapped, peak usage throttling, and rolling thresholds all make an appearance.
Let’s take a look at some of the offerings and price points available from a selection of ISPs. The prices listed are only the monthly cost, and don’t include any set-up fees, line rental or access charges.
The table below compares 24/7 uncapped offerings.
| Web Africa | MWeb | Open Web | ||||
| Speed | UC IS | Unc Ex (TH) | Starter (TH) | StatIP | StatIP Fibre | 24/7 |
| 384Kbps | N/A | R1 069 (15GB) | R1 071 (23GB) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 512Kbps | R1 659 | R1 469 (30GB) | R1 470 (30GB) | R1 653 | R2 131 | R1 599 |
| 1024Kbps | R3 299 | R2 689 (60GB) | R2 815 (60GB) | R3 306 | R3 921 | R2 899 |
| 4096Kbps | N/A | N/A | N/A | R5 506 | N/A | R2 899 |
Web Africa and MWeb both have rolling threshold accounts on offer. Once the indicated threshold is reached within a 10 day period, line speed is throttled to half, and a new threshold is implemented (typically 1/3 of the original threshold). If the second threshold is not exceeded within 10 days of implementation, full line speed is restored.
MWeb includes a clause in their Terms and Conditions which indicates they have the right to suspend an Uncapped Starter user’s account if they continue to exceed the 10 day rolling threshold, which brings into question the “uncapped” claim.
MWeb’s 4Mb/s uncapped is no longer on offer, although it is still listed on the site. The sales team hinted that there would be a new 4Mb/s uncapped offering within the next few weeks.
The table below compares after hours uncapped offerings.
| Line Speed | SAOL | Open Web | Axxess | ||
| Night Stalker (6pm to 6am) | Day Trader (8am to 5pm) | Uncapped Express | Express+ (rolling threshold) | Express (rolling threshold) | |
| 384Kbps | R999 | R799 | R1 299 | R999 (5GB) | R899 (5GB) |
| 512Kbps | R1 499 | R1 099 | R1 299 | R1 499 (10GB) | R1 299 (10GB) |
| 1024Kbps | N/A | N/A | R1 299 | R2 699 (20GB) | R2 399 (20GB) |
| 4096Kbps | N/A | N/A | R1 299 | N/A | N/A |
Both Night Stalker and Day Trader from SAOL include ADSL line rental, so this can be knocked offset against the Telkom costs. This could prove annoying to those who want to maintain a 4Mb/s line so they can mix and match their connectivity packages as they go along.
The OpenWeb uncapped special offers full 4Mb/s international and local traffic from 8pm to 8am on weekdays, and over the weekend. At peak times the line speed is reduced to 256Kb/s. OpenWeb claims the account is friendly toward P2P and torrent downloads.
The Axxess offerings employ 10 day rolling thresholds which will see the line being limited during peak hours (8am to 8pm). After this period full 4Mb/s speeds will be available on any account package. Express+ uses SAT3 for international connectivity, whereas Express uses an IS satellite connection.
Uncapped ADSL pricing – discussion
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