Fibre price war — Cheapest network operators in South Africa

A fibre-to-the-home price analysis revealed that Openserve and Frogfoot are the most affordable fibre network operators, while Metrofibre is the most expensive.

This analysis followed price cuts by two of South Africa’s largest fibre network providers – Vumatel and Octotel.

In June, Vumatel reviewed and adjusted its products to simplify its product offerings in line with ISP feedback.

As part of this adjustment, Vumatel increased the speeds of all its services and replaced its entry-level 10Mbps product with a 20Mbps service.

What this means, in simple terms, is that Vumatel subscribers now pay less for faster fibre access.

Octotel also announced it would adjust its 15/15Mbps entry-level package to 35/25Mbps, and the 30/30Mbps service will move up to 50/50Mbps.

Octotel COO Scott Cunningham said these product changes were in response to the market’s demand for fast and stable fibre services.

The product enhancements by Vumatel and Octotel followed improved value propositions from Openserve, Frogfoot, and Metrofibre.

Openserve started the South African fibre price war in March when it upgraded speeds and cut prices on its fibre products.

Frogfoot responded by permanently increasing the speeds of fibre packages of 50Mbps and below. It also increased the speed of its 5Mbps and 10Mbps packages to 30Mbps.

On 1 June, MetroFibre increased the speed of its fibre products and introduced a new 300Mbps service. It also discontinued its entry-level 10Mbps service and replaced it with a 25Mbps product.

Internet service providers (ISPs) were quick to pass these wholesale savings to their consumers, who now enjoy faster speeds at lower prices.

MyBroadband compared the prices for uncapped 100Mbps products from Afrihost, Axxess, RSAWEB, and Home Connect to establish which fibre network operator offers the best value-for-money.

The research revealed that Openserve offers the best value with an average price of R906 per month for a 100Mbps connection.

Frogfoot ranked second with an average price of R925, followed by Vumatel on R996 and Octotel on R1,029.

Metrofibre is the most expensive large fibre network operator in South Africa, with an average price of R1,046 per month for a 100Mbps fibre connection.

The table below provides an overview of the monthly price of a symmetrical 100Mbps fibre service from prominent ISPs.

Now read: Big Vumatel price cuts