Telkom prepaid HSDPA here soon
MTN recently announced the launch of a new range of bundled data services, and Vodacom is expected to follow suit in the next few weeks. The battle between Vodacom and MTN is stealing the headlines, often overshadowing the fact that Telkom is aggressively rolling out its own HSDPA network and providing mobile broadband services.
Telkom officially launched its 3G/HSDPA offerings last year, undercutting Vodacom and MTN on bundled data pricing and ‘reducing’ the rate of out-of-bundle bandwidth to 30c per MB. This price reduction was welcomed by consumers, but the lack of coverage and the tediousness of purchasing the Telkom Do 3G service meant that it did not gain significant traction in the mobile broadband market as yet.
This is however set to change. Telkom is aggressively increasing its HSDPA coverage, and currently has 73 towers in the Gauteng area. Last year Telkom said that it plans to have in excess of 200 base stations by March 2009, primarily focusing on the Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban metropolitan areas. While this target was not met, Telkom seems determined to continue its rollout and extend its coverage.
Telkom CEO Reuben September said today that their wireless rollout is strategically planned to cover areas of high cable theft, and Telkom subscribers affected by cable theft are already being supplied with desktop phones that use the W-CDMA network.
Prepaid on its way
The company will launch a prepaid HSDPA offering ‘in the very near future’, making it easier for prospective Telkom Do 3G clients to access the service. This is a valuable addition to the Telkom product basket if it wants to compete effectively against the likes of Vodacom and MTN which have an extensive distribution chain and easy-to-use data offerings.
Telkom is also planning to launch a ‘nomadic’ voice service using its W-CDMA network. While the company did not want to divulge prices, they did say that users should expect something similar to the data space where they undercut the cellular providers.
Since Telkom is only rolling out a mobile network in areas which make financial sense the company will most likely sign a roaming agreement with MTN or Vodacom to provide their clients with countrywide coverage.
September said that users can expect a mobile voice service from Telkom in the last quarter of 2009.
Telkom prepaid HSDPA – give your views
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