New Openserve fibre prices – How much cheaper it is than Vumatel

Openserve recently announced free fibre speed upgrades for wholesale customers, as well as price cuts across a number of products.

A number of local ISPs have confirmed that these speed upgrades and price cuts will be passed on to customers, which means many Openserve customers may find themselves paying less or the same for a connection that is double the speed of their current package.

This is despite the additional bandwidth usage that will have to be absorbed by ISPs.

Vox previously told MyBroadband that the changes will cost ISPs more money, not less, due to an increase in bandwidth consumption and the subsequent need to buy more wholesale bandwidth from Openserve.

This is great news for consumers, however, as they can now access fibre at all-time-low prices.

Openserve turns the tables

Vumatel has rapidly expanded its fibre footprint across South Africa and has become a favourite among many consumers.

This was especially true when it offered lower prices for the same connection speeds as equivalent packages on Openserve.

The tables have now turned significantly in Openserve’s favour, however, as while Vumatel has continued to increase prices, the Telkom-owned fibre network has slashed its wholesale rates.

This means that Openserve is now much cheaper than Vumatel across the board, making it an attractive option for South Africans looking to save on their monthly fibre bill.

Openserve and Vumatel are the two big FTTH players in South Africa, and their networks extend across the country.

Many South Africans are presented with the choice between these two operators, and Openserve’s new pricing makes it an attractive option over Vumatel for consumers.

Uncapped fibre price comparison

The table below compares the uncapped fibre accounts available on Openserve and Vumatel from a number of prominent local ISPs.

We compared equivalent fibre packages with download speeds of 20/25Mbps, 50Mbps, 100Mbps, and 200Mbps. Upload speeds are also shown, as these differ according to package choice and network operator.

What is immediately apparent from this comparison is that Openserve now offers much lower prices than Vumatel for the same fibre packages.

In a few cases, the price of an Openserve package is up to 36% lower than Vumatel from the same ISP despite having a higher line speed, making the former the obvious choice for budget-conscious users.

This pricing difference is shown in the table below.

Now read: Fibre price war in South Africa after wholesale changes