Cheap 40Mbps home fibre broadband deal details

An Internet service provider (ISP) operating in the Maboneng precinct in the heart of Johannesburg offers fibre-based broadband services promising “burstable” speeds of up to 40Mbps, with a monthly subscription starting at R329 for 20GB of data.

The ISP operates from the Maboneng Broadband website, offering Neotel fibre services at what appears to be heavily discounted rates.

ATEC Systems and Technologies first unveiled the Maboneng fibre network in May 2012.

New ATEC CEO Louis Parker told MyBroadband that they sold the network to the Maboneng Broadband ISP, which provides the last-mile and other customer services.

General manager of markets and competition at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, Pieter Grootes, recently highlighted Maboneng as an example of “what we all want” to the rest of the telecommunications industry.

Pieter Grootes

As with any broadband service, however, the monthly subscription is only part of the costs involved. In the case of Maboneng Broadband, it is also only one of the services offered.

According to the ISP’s website, it offers the so-called “triple-play” of services: broadband, telephony, and pay-TV services.

Maboneng Broadband

Starting with its broadband offering, Maboneng breaks down the initial costs as follows:

• R999 refundable deposit on modem paid to Maboneng Broadband.
• R500 connection fee to Neotel.
• R299 Installation fee to Maboneng Broadband.
• R258 for 2 fibre patch leads to Maboneng Broadband.
• If you need Wi-Fi access to the GPON modem you will need to supply or buy an access point. Cost (depending on make and model) is ±R750.

Excluding the Wi-Fi AP, this comes to an up-front cost of R2,056 to get access to the service.

According to Maboneng Broadband, subscribers sign a month-to-month contract with Neotel.

An employee at the company explained that even though the website says the refundable deposit on the modem is paid to Maboneng Broadband, Neotel provides all warranties and service on the device.

Fibre endpoints are available within phase 3 of Maboneng: Mainchange, Revolution House, and Fox Street Studios at no cost, and at centralised points in Mainstreet Life and Arts on Main at a once-off connection cost, the site says.

The data deals available from the ISP are summarised in the table below. All of them are said to offer up to 40Mbps download and 10Mbps upload “burstable” speeds.

Out of bundle purchases at R20 per GB will be added to your Neotel account, Maboneng Broadband warns.

The ISP also offers Wi-Fi coverage at Main Street Life, and on the 1st and 2nd floors of Mainchange at R50 for 1GB, or R300 for 10GB.

Telephony

Maboneng Broadband also advertises the following prices on voice services for businesses:

For single line voice services, Maboneng Broadband lists Neotel’s CDMA-based NeoConnect Lite on its site.

DStv

Maboneng also advertises DStv services over its fibre on its website, which attracts the following initial costs:

• R2,500 for a fibre to RF converter; and
• R500 installation fee.

Users may then connect a DStv decoder of their choice, according to Maboneng.

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