Speaking at the recent Broadband Conference at Vodaworld Neotel’s executive head of strategy Angus Hay gave details about the company’s current consumer trial and its future plans in the consumer space. <\/p>\n
Hay made it clear that Neotel’s current CDMA2000 based voice and Internet service is not a trial, but a full pilot which involves actual users on the network and a fully functional support channel.<\/p>\n
Neotel currently has 150 pilot customers on their network and is taking on more as their coverage expands.<\/p>\n
Initial Consumer Offerings<\/strong><\/p>\n Hay further said that the company’s double-play service will be made available to the market in the first quarter of 2008 in two flavors – High Speed Internet Access, Voice and SMS and a Basic Internet Access, Voice and SMS service.<\/p>\n The High Speed Internet Access, Voice and SMS offering promises average download speeds of between 300 and 700 Kbps with peak speeds of 2.4 Mbps or 3.1 Mbps – depending on the end user device.<\/p>\n The Basic Internet Access, Voice and SMS service will be a dial-up replacement package with peak speeds of 156 Kbps and an average throughput of 100 Kbps.<\/p>\n Both these services will be converged offerings with Internet access, voice & SMS and value added services like e-Mail, basic content and enhanced voice services.<\/p>\n For its converged offerings Neotel has developed the world’s first EV-DO deskphone. The company said that the prototype was very well received by their pilot customers and that the final device is set to be delivered to them on 5 December.<\/p>\n Neotel’s CDMA2000 network currently covers large parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the company is aggressively expanding coverage in other metros.<\/p>\n More services coming in early 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n Neotel recently launched their enterprise voice, data and Internet services, following their international wholesale services which became available in August 2006 and the launch of their national data connectivity in July 2007.<\/p>\n The company’s enterprise data centre and hosting services will be launched in early 2008 while Neotel’s broadband wireless and metro-ethernet offerings are also set to become available during the same period.<\/p>\n Consumers can look forward to wireline broadband offerings in late 2008.<\/p>\n