Neotel versus Telkom
Neotel recently launched its Home Phone service, competing directly against Telkom’s traditional fixed line telephony service.
Neotel’s Home Phone service comes in two packages: In the first, consumers purchase the phone up front for R599 with a monthly service fee of R99. There is no contract associated with this service. A usage discount of up to R25 will also be given to users of this service.
The second package does not require up front payment for the phone and is charged at R199 a month. This offering also gives users 1 000 free Neotel-to-Neotel minutes and 200 free SMSes within Neotel’s coverage area. Both these packages operate on true per-second billing from the first second onwards.
Neotel’s Home Phone service, which promises to be delivered and ready to use within 48 hours, also provides Internet access at a speed of 156Kbps at 8c per MB.
The new Neotel service is mainly targeted at the lower end of the market with the need for an affordable voice service and the need for very basic Internet access.
Telkom’s voice service
Telkom’s standard fixed line service, in comparison, may take significantly longer than 48 hours to be installed and carries an installation charge of R425.50.
Standard telephones are much cheaper than Neotel’s R599 but Internet access is not bundled into the price and dial-up access carries a local call cost of 39c or 19c per minute depending on whether the user connects during peak or off-peak times.
It should, however, be noted that Telkom has various innovative offerings, like its Closer calling plans and its PrepaidFone Waya-Waya which provides better value for money than its standard telephone line services.
Detailed Comparison
The following tables provide a comparison between Telkom’s Standard voice service and Neotel’s Home Phone offering.
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Basic Charges
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| Neotel Home Phone | Telkom | |
| Installation | Free | R 425.50 |
| Device Cost | R 599.00 | R 100.00 |
| Monthly Service Cost | R 99.00 | R 124.20 |
| Internet Access Monthly Cost | Free | R 79.00 |
| Internet Access Speed | 156 Kbps | 56 Kbps |
| Additional Costs | 8c per MB | 39c/19c per minute |
| True Per Second Billing | Yes | No |
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Neotel
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Telkom
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| Call Type | Period | To Neotel | To Telkom | To Neotel | To Telkom |
| Per Second Billing | Per Second Billing | Minimum Call Charges Apply | Minimum Call Charges Apply | ||
| Local Calls | Peak | 0.17 | 0.34 | 0.65 | 0.39 |
| Off-Peak | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.65 | 0.19 | |
| Regional Calls | Peak | 0.33 | 0.46 | 0.65 | 0.65 |
| Off-Peak | 0.33 | 0.29 | 0.65 | 0.33 | |
| National Calls | Peak | 0.43 | 0.57 | 0.65 | 0.65 |
| Off-Peak | 0.43 | 0.33 | 0.65 | 0.33 | |
| To any mobile | To any mobile | ||||
| Mobile Calls | Peak | 1.76 | 1.89 | ||
| Off-Peak | 1.09 | 1.17 | |||
Neotel versus Telkom discussion
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