MetroFibre Networx, a fibre broadband infrastructure operator, has announced massive speed upgrades for its clients along with big price cuts on high-end packages.

The move comes as Openserve, Telkom’s wholesale subsidiary, pushes through price increases to its Internet service provider partners on the back of speed improvements of its own.

MetroFibre said the changes to its fibre-to-the-home portfolio, which sees line speeds increase by up to fivefold, are “unprecedented in the market”. Those with 50Mbit/s and 100Mbit/s connections will see their lines speeds increased by 5x at no additional cost, while customers on the company’s 1Gbit/s plan will see a big price reduction.

MetroFibre will roll out the new line speeds to existing customers first, with a further announcement for new customers later this month, it said.

The price reductions and line-speed upgrades apply to customers to buy their Internet services directly from MetroFibre as well as those who work through third-party ISPs and resellers.

MetroFibre also plans to expand its time-based pay-as-you-go 20Mbit/s home broadband offering, with plans to roll this out nationally in underserved areas.

MetroFibre’s line speed overhaul looks like this:

For existing MetroFibre Direct customers

20Mbit/s: No change
50Mbit/s: Upgraded to 250Mbit/s at no extra charge (effective 1 March)
100Mbit/s: Upgraded to 500Mbit/s at no extra charge (effective 1 March)
200Mbit/s: Already upgraded to 1Gbit/s with a new router at no extra charge (effective 1 February)
500Mbit/s: Already upgraded to 1Gbit/s with a new router at no extra charge, and the monthly subscription fee reduced to R1 240, a saving of R410 (effective 1 February)
1Gbit/s/250Mbit/s: Already upgraded to 1Gbit/s/500Mbit/s with a new router at no extra charge, and the monthly subscription fee reduced to R1 240, a saving of R710 (effective 1 February)

For ISP customers

All 200Mbit/s ISP customers were upgraded to 400Mbit/s at the current price (effective 1 February). The 200Mbit/s product has been discontinued as of 1 February.
ISPs have the option to upgrade their 50Mbit/s and 100Mbit/s customers to 400Mbit/s at their current subscription price, which is valid until 31 May.
1Gbit/s pricing will decrease “dramatically”, with effect 1 March.

For Reseller customers

Pricing on the 1Gbit/s and 500Mbit/s packages will be reduced, with effect from 1 March.
50Mbit/s, 100Mbit/s and 200Mbit/s customers will enjoy a 500Mbit/s “burst” package at their current subscription price for two months for them to “experience real fibre speed”, until 30 April. “From 1 May, we will have a compelling offer for these customers still to be announced.”

MetroFibre, which was launched in 2010, has built a national home fibre network and now passes more than 440 000 homes, with 126 000 homes connected in five provinces.