DStv kills fibre packages

MultiChoice has quietly killed its DStv Internet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) products, including bundled offers that combined Premium or Compact subscriptions with an entry-level home fibre package at a significant discount.

DStv Internet launched its FTTH products in October 2022, a year after it debuted with fixed-LTE products.

The company said the packages were the result of partnerships with South Africa’s biggest fibre network operators (FNOs), although it never named them.

Pricing started from R549 for a standalone 25/10Mbps FTTH package, which was in line with offerings from other Internet service providers (ISPs).

A MyBroadband comparison found the bundled offers provided good value for money, with a significant discount over buying a 25Mbps FTTH package and DStv Premium or Compact package separately.

DStv charged R999 per month on a 24-month contract for a DStv Streama box, Wi-Fi router, 25/10Mbps fibre connection, and DStv Premium streaming-only package.

We calculated the product effectively reduced the price of the DStv Premium streaming service from R699 to between R346 and R472, depending on which ISP the customer would have used for their standalone package instead.

From another perspective, customers would have seen an effective R251 monthly discount compared to buying a separate DStv streaming package, Streama, and FTTH package with the same speeds on Afrihost.

Another option bundled the same box and fibre connection with a Compact subscription at R699 per month, which also worked out to be around R200 cheaper than when buying the products separately.

Unfortunately, these options are no longer available — at least to new customers.

MyBroadband recently discovered that DStv no longer advertises any fibre products on its website.

Trying to open one of the web pages which previously contained details about the fibre now presents a blank page with a “page-not-found” description in the URL bar.

The DStv Internet web page also no longer contains mention of any fibre packages.

Fixed-LTE packages

MultiChoice told MyBroadband it had paused its fibre sales and focused efforts on its fixed-LTE products as these were what its customers found most suitable for their needs.

“We’ll continue to review the DStv Internet offerings as demands shift,” MultiChoice said.

In addition, the company is launching a new DStv Internet and Showmax bundle in October 2024, designed to give customers more bang for their buck.

“It’s all about giving our customers what they want — great content and a reliable connection — bundled into one convenient package and at an attractive price point,” the company said.  

DStv’s fixed-LTE offers are priced from R199 for 25GB anytime and 25GB night-time data with a ZTE router on a 24-month contract.

These fixed-LTE products have been available since September 2021.

The entry-level options generally don’t compete well with competing offers from other ISPs.

For example, Axxess sells a month-to-month 40GB anytime data fixed-LTE package with 40GB night-time data for the same R199 per month as DStv Internet’s entry-level product.

For R100 more, users can get a 20Mbps uncapped fixed-LTE package, which drops the speed to 2Mbps after 50GB of consumption.

However, the top-end DStv Internet package with 400GB of anytime data priced at R469 is significantly cheaper than Axxess’s 400GB capped option, which is priced at R769 per month.

The table below summarises the remaining DStv Internet packages available in September 2024.