Mobile broadband battle continues
This time both providers are fighting for the title of first to launch 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, a faster mobile broadband solution than what is currently available.
First to strike
MTN SA, in a pre-emptive strike, announced on Friday that they have already gone live with their 3.6 Mbps HSDPA service in selected sites in Gauteng and Cape Town, and that other existing HSDPA sites will be upgraded during 2008.
MTN further surprised many broadband enthusiasts by announcing that they will be rolling out 7.2 Mbps HSDPA in the major metropolitan areas and will also upgrade their full network to HSUPA – a technology which will significantly improve upload speeds.
This new service will be free for an initial promotional period of three months after which new tariffs will be released.
Only two days later Vodacom unleashed their new 3.6 Mbps HSDPA offering, but unlike MTN’s staged rollout approach Vodacom has launched their offering countrywide right from the start.
The Vodacom service upgrade from 1.8 Mbps to 3.6 Mbps will be free for the first three months, after which a charge of R 49.00 per month will apply for subscribers who want to continue using the service.
“With the widest 3G HSDPA coverage in the country, and now HSDPA 3.6 coverage, our customers have the opportunity to experience the fastest mobile broadband first hand,” Vodacom’s Dot Field said.
Good news for consumers is that most current HSDPA devices – both mobile phones and data cards – are already 3.6 Mbps enabled which means that users should have no problem experiencing the higher speeds.
Vodacom has long held the crown as the leading wireless broadband provider in the country, but MTN said that it has received enough support and resources to make a large investment in its South African operations. Large enough, according to MTN, to take the top spot in the local broadband market.
Vodacom meanwhile is preparing to launch both WiMax and WiFi services in the next few months. These initial tentative WiMax steps mark the beginning of a true ADSL replacement service from Vodacom. It also means that the Vodacom brand will be flying high in restaurants, hotels and airports through their WiFi Subsidiary Wireless G.
It is clear that the two cellular providers are in a tussle to the bitter end to ensure that each can take home the gold as SA’s broadband leader.
The dark horse
But the dark horse in the broadband race may be the ‘dormant’ Neotel.
The second national operator recently said that their ‘Fast Internet’ pilot service is progressing well and that they are still on track for a commercial launch in the next few weeks. While the company is touting a true converged service – a combination of voice and Internet services – pricing remains a closely guarded secret.
It is however quite clear that they will have to put something rather palatable on the table if they want to lure customers away from Telkom, Vodacom and MTN.
As we suggested in earlier columns, 2008 looks set to be a great year for broadband – and the battles have begun.
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