Internet Solutions-owned Wi-Fi hotspot provider AlwaysOn has taken an axe to its prices, albeit on a promotional basis, cutting the price of access to just R29/month for 10GB of data.

Though the promotion ends on 31 January 2015, anyone signing up for the promotional deal will get the low price for a year. Consumers on a monthly debit order option will be able to cancel at any time with no penalties, while PayPal and credit card users will pay an upfront R348 for 12 months’ access.

The 10GB/month of data is split evenly, with 5GB for access in South Africa and the additional 5GB for access outside the country through AlwaysOn’s roaming partners, which operate more than a million hotspots in 110 countries.

AlwaysOn has 1 500 hotspots in South Africa, covering locations such as coffee shops, shopping centres and airports.

“Wi-Fi access is activated immediately”, says Internet Solutions business unit manager for enterprise mobility Hayden Lamberti. There is no bandwidth rollover from month to month and those who use all the allotted data will be hard capped until the next month. Only one concurrent connection is allowed per subscription.

Once someone has signed up, they can increase their data limit by referring a family member, friend or colleague via Facebook or Twitter with a unique link that gets generated once they sign up. Once their referral signs up, an additional 1GB will be added to their account, up to a maximum of 3GB.

In May, Internet Solutions announced it had increased its shareholding in AlwaysOn from 51% to 100% for an undisclosed sum. The Internet service provider acquired its original 51% stake in AlwaysOn in 2009. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media