The number of ADSL subscribers in South Africa recently surpassed the 500 000 mark and is expected to continue its steady growth during 2009. <\/p>\n
One of the aspects making ADSL an attractive broadband service to consumers is the multitude of ADSL ISP offerings in the market – ranging from uncapped to high-usage local-only and prepaid bandwidth accounts.<\/p>\n
The consumer ADSL ISP space is still dominated by Telkom Internet and MWEB. Despite the fact that these two ISPs don’t want to release subscriber number figures it can be assumed that they have a significant slice of the ADSL ISP pie.<\/p>\n
Internet Solutions continues to dominate the business ADSL arena, but is also starting to make inroads into the consumer market. The company has in excess of 60 000 ADSL users, with a large portion using IS’s Business ADSL solutions.<\/p>\n
Vox Telecom, through its subsidiaries @lantic and DataPro, currently has 34 863 subscribers making it one of the largest players in both the business and consumer ADSL markets. <\/p>\n
Smaller ISPs are however starting to eat into the market share of the bigger and more established players. Nashua Mobile has, through aggressive pricing and strong marketing, grown its broadband customer base to over 90 000. While the company did not want to divulge exact figures, it said that a growing proportion of these customers were ADSL subscribers.<\/p>\n
Web Africa with 32 000 ADSL subscribers has grown into a strong player in the consumer ADSL market. Its innovative offerings and easy-to-use systems have attracted many loyal subscribers over the last few years, and with its own network – something which Web Africa announced recently – it is likely to continue its strong grown in future.<\/p>\n
Axxess, which was recently voted ISP of the year by ADSL consumers, has grown its user base to over 30 000. This is partly due to its easily accessible prepaid vouchers available from outlets like Engen and Pick n Pay.<\/p>\n
Cybersmart, well known for its affordable DSL384 offerings, also has over 20 000 subscribers. Company MD Laurie Fialkov expects continued strong growth with new offerings in the pipeline.<\/p>\n