‘Aggressive broadband price reductions’ on the cards
Strong ADSL Growth
Telkom’s CEO Reuben September today announced that the number of ADSL connections increased by 78.1% from 143 509 to 255 633 for the year up to March 31 2007.
Telkom further announced that 82% of their network is now covered by either ADSL or WiMax, and that 60% of the local loop is under 2.5 km. A shorter local loop is vital in the roll-out of ADSL 2+ which is needed for bandwidth intensive services like IPTV.
Telkom said that their ADSL subscriber growth is targeted to reach 420 000 for the year ending March 31, 2008, aiming to achieve an ADSL penetration of 15%-20% of fixed access lines by 2010/2011.
“The introduction of new service offerings and increased volumes through aggressive price reductions will be the main vehicle to achieve this target in an increasingly competitive environment,” Telkom said.
Lower Broadband Prices
Telkom said that their pricing strategy is founded on increasing volume, penetration and customer loyalty. This includes improving the value offered by Telkom’s Calling Plans and bundles, especially on entry-level packages.
“Broadband price reductions, in particular, will enable Telkom to remain competitive by driving up volumes – thereby enabling the Company to reduce prices by leveraging its growing economies of scale,” Telkom said.
“The Company’s pricing on data services will also decrease, largely to consolidate its strong data growth.”
Telkom also announced an average ADSL price reduction of 18.2% and an entry level – up to 384 Kbps Access – price cut of 38%, planned for August 1 this year.
Their new broadband offering – the entry level Do Broadband – which combines DSL 384 Kbps access and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) portion – has also been cut and will cost R199 per month, including VAT (a 29% reduction).
Shorter Average-Time-To-Install
According to Telkom their ADSL Self-Install Option has improved the Average-Time-To-Install.
“This has come down from 31 days to 23 days on average where infrastructure is available. The Self-Install option has been utilised by 28 779 customers as at March 31, 2007,” Telkom said.
Telkom said that the pre-provisioning of the network will further shorten installation times.
“A Broadband Demand Register will capture and identify areas of growth for future build. Port automation is also designed to improve Telkom’s ability to deliver ADSL services faster,” Telkom concluded.
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