Neotel has officially announced the launch of their consumer offerings, NeoConnect.<\/p>\n
“For years South African consumers have been calling for services that meet their requirements and we believe that we are now making that a reality,” says Ajay Pandey, MD and CEO of Neotel. <\/p>\n
“The NeoConnect service has been custom designed for Neotel in order to address consumers’ latent and expressed needs.” Regular testing and focus group discussions have allowed Neotel to continuously refine the service to what it is today – giving consumers in South Africa everything they need and more.” <\/p>\n
NeoConnect Prime is the converged high speed internet offering with 2.4 Mbps peak speeds and average speeds of 300-700kbps, coupled with voice and SMS. There are 5 different package options available ranging from an entry level offering of 2.5GB data service all the way up to an unlimited internet access offering. <\/p>\n
The availability of 2.5GB data capacity at an entry level is a significant shift in the telecoms market in South Africa, since consumers thus far have been used to smaller data capacities. <\/p>\n
The pricing for the NeoConnect Prime bundles range from R399 per month for the 2.5GB offering to R999 for the unlimited internet access package. Neotel is also making available to the market NeoConnect Lite, a basic speed internet access offering with voice and sms.<\/p>\n
According to Pandey there were two critical areas that Neotel wanted to address when entering the market the low data caps that were currently prevalent and convenience in obtaining and using the services. “Obtaining the product is simple and easy and data caps that were formerly perceived as high-end bundles are similar to those which Neotel is introducing as its mid-range offering,” says Pandey.<\/p>\n
While the rollout of services is being done in a phased approach, Pandey believes it is time to let the market know what is coming. “Our first phase of rollout is in Johannesburg, Pretoria and parts of Ekhuruleni,” he says. <\/p>\n
“We are however expanding our network at a rapid pace and will be able to roll out services in Cape Town and Durban, shortly.” The objective is to aggressively continue growing the network to allow more customers to experience the Neotel offering. <\/p>\n
According to Brian Neilson from BMI-Tecknowledge research has shown that at least 50% of consumers are looking for an alternative to the incumbent for a variety of reasons. “Some people are looking for simplicity, others want freedom of choice and want to experience best of breed services,” he says. “South Africans are looking for something that is well tried and tested globally that will add value in their lives rather than complexity.”<\/p>\n
“The NeoConnect offering we are introducing to the market brings the best of mobile and fixed communications together in a product that allows for high-speed internet, carrier-grade voice calls and SMS through one product,” says Mukul Sharma, Executive Head of Neotel’s Consumer Business Unit. <\/p>\n
“We have incorporated global best practices into the design of this product, ensuring that while it remains relevant to the market, it is based on a first-in-world device – a unique solution that addresses the key pain points South African users have been highlighting for years.” <\/p>\n
The NeoConnect product is built on CDMA technology – a telecommunications technology which is growing rapidly in popularity across the African continent.<\/p>\n
“We believe we are providing unprecedented value to the consumer by giving customers one service for multiple uses – with the convenience of one bill,” he says. The NeoConnect range is specifically targeted at meeting consumer needs – both current and potential future needs. <\/p>\n
“We believe that this is going to change the way in which consumers communicate significantly – we have listened to what the consumers wanted and provided them that and more,” he says. “This is only the beginning though – we know that the South African consumer wants true broadband and that is precisely where we are heading,” Sharma concludes.<\/p>\n
NeoConnect Prime can be obtained via the Neotel call centre (0800 333 636), via www.neotel.co.za<\/a> and through select channel partners.<\/p>\n