Fibre22.07.2020

Big changes to Octotel fibre prices and line speeds

Octotel logo

Octotel is completely overhauling its wholesale fibre line speed offering, which means that South African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will need to change their network deals and pricing structure.

A number of ISPs have told their customers who are on the Octotel network that these changes will take place from 1 September.

The changes to Octotel’s fibre offering are summarised below:

  • All lines except the 1Gbps fibre line will become symmetrical, meaning their download and upload speeds will be equal.
  • Entry-level fibre lines will change from 10/5Mbps to 15/15Mbps.
  • The 20/5Mbps and 20/20Mbps lines will change to 30/30Mbps.

Octotel told MyBroadband that it was the last fibre network in South Africa to implement this change to its packages in the 2020 cycle.

“We have also chosen to give more value to customers through speed increases on the low-end packages and are adjusting them to all be symmetrical (barring our 1Gbps package that will remain asymmetrical),” Octotel said.

Octotel said it does not believe a 10/5Mbps service gives an adequate fibre experience today, with many South Africans working from home and a number of streaming services requiring more than 10Mbps for a good viewing experience.

“It is with this in mind that we are giving customers more bang for their buck on a permanent basis through these additional speed increases,” Octotel said.

It is important to note that new pricing for Octotel products will differ among local ISPs.

This is also true for how customers are migrated from the now-unsupported line speeds.

Atomic Access pricing

South African ISP Atomic Access has published a detailed breakdown of how its Octotel customers will be affected by these speed changes.

Atomic Access said it would automatically migrate customers to the new line speeds, after which they will be charged according to the new pricing.

“If you are on the 10/5Mbps line or 10/10Mbps line you will automatically be moved up to the new entry-level tier of 15/15Mbps,” the ISP said.

“If you are on the 20/5 or 20/20 you’ll be moved up to the 30/30. If you don’t want that to happen, then please get in touch with us.”

Atomic Access customers who are on a discount tier will receive the same percentage discount as they had previously, but calculated from the new list price.

These Octotel price changes will take effect from 1 September and are detailed below.

Old Speed Old Price pm New Speed New Price pm Change
1Gbps/100Mbps R1,699 1Gbps/100Mbps R1,749 +R50 (+3%)
200/200Mbps R1,499 200/200Mbps R1,399 -R100 (-7%)
200/25Mbps R1,359 200/200Mbps R1,399 +R40 (+3%)
100/100Mbps R1,199 100/100Mbps R1,099 -R100 (-8%)
100/25Mbps R989 100/100Mbps R1,099 +R110 (+11%)
20/20Mbps R899 30/30Mbps R929 +R30 (+3%)
20/5Mbps R799 30/30Mbps R929 +R130 (+16%)
10/10Mbps R749 15/15Mbps R749
10/5Mbps R669 15/15Mbps R749 +R80 (+12%)

Now read: Lightspeed Leisure – From R199 per month for a 500Mbps connection

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