Telkom’s mobile arm, 8ta, has introduced unlimited voice calls for a fixed monthly price starting at R1 199/month in an effort to tap the top-end of the contract market where users spend thousands of rand a month on their telecommunications needs.

The unlimited calls are applicable to all national networks in SA, including 8ta, Telkom, Neotel, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C.

The new offer, which is available only on a 24-month contract, offers a Sim-only unlimited option for R1 199/month and a Sim and phone offer for R1 499/month, which includes a Samsung Galaxy S3 in the price. Other handsets may be added at a later date.

The offer is available for a limited period, though 8ta won’t say when it plans to end the promotion. Anyone who signs up for the package will enjoy it for the full 24-month period, even if the offer is withdrawn from the market.

Although no fair-use policy applies to the new product, 8ta senior managing executive Amith Maharaj warns that it may not be used in least-cost routers or payphones. “Guys will abuse this in ways we don’t expect them to, so we had to ensure our billing systems could detect fraudulent use,” he says. “At the onset, we had a real-time billing system for prepaid and post-paid data.”

The unlimited package is available not only on 8ta’s own network but also on the network of its roaming partner, MTN, meaning national coverage is available, Maharaj says, adding he expects small business users who spend thousands of rand a month on their phone bills to be enticed by the offering.