8ta versus Telkom Do 3G: Pricing comparison
Telkom’s mobile operator 8ta was launched in October this year, promising to disrupt the local cellular market with aggressively priced and easy to understand product offerings.
At launch 8ta offered only prepaid data and voice services, but the company launched its first contract offerings in November.
On the data side 8ta announced three Internet packages which the new operator said ‘will provide an overall superior user experience in terms of pricing and provide real-time usage information’.
The new data packages are as follows:
- Internet 1 – 650MB for R195 p/m
- Internet 2 – 1.5G for R280 p/m
- Internet 3 – 3.2G for R500 p/m
These contract offerings compliment 8ta’s existing once-off Internet bundles priced as follows:
- Once-Off Internet 100MB: R50.00
- Once-Off Internet 250MB: R100.00
- Once-Off Internet 500MB: R150.00
- Once-Off Internet 1GB: R250.00
What many people may forget is that Telkom has its own mobile data offering called Do 3G on the move. Do 3G on the move offers subscribers postpaid data in bundle sizes of between 500 MB and 10 GB.
This begs the question as to how 8ta’s postpaid data offerings compare to that of Telkom. The following table provides a pricing comparison between 8ta and Do 3G on the move.
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8ta versus Telkom Do 3G on the move
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| Service | Bundle Size | Modem Included | In-Bundle Rate | OOB Rate | Total Monthly Price |
| Do on the move 500MB | 500MB | No modem | 30c | 30c | R149 |
| 8ta Internet1 | 650MB | Free E153 modem | 30c | 30c | R195 |
| Do on the move 1GB | 1GB | No Modem | 21c | 30c | R219 |
| 8ta Internet2 | 1.5GB | Free E173 modem | 19c | 30c | R280 |
| Do on the move 2GB | 2GB | No Modem | 17c | 30c | R349 |
| Do on the move 3GB | 3GB | No Modem | 16c | 30c | R489 |
| 8ta Internet3 | 3.2GB | Free E1820 modem | 16c | 30c | R500 |
From the table above it is clear that 8ta’s postpaid pricing is in line with Telkom’s Do 3G on the move prices, with the added advantage of getting a modem free of charge on a 24 month contract.
It is further interesting to note that Telkom used to offer modems on its Do 3G on the move service, but this seems to have fallen away after 8ta was launched.
Modems are no longer listed on the Do 3G on the move website, and the company’s helpdesk further said that they could not assist with modems related to the service giving a strong indication that Telkom does not want to have competition between their internal brands.
Telkom versus 8ta << Comments and views
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