TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022

      Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

      30 June 2022

      Eskom is killing the rand

      30 June 2022

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»MTN unveils ‘uncapped’ 3G broadband

    MTN unveils ‘uncapped’ 3G broadband

    News By Editor18 May 2010
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Advertising hoarding outside MTN's head office in Johannesburg

    Mobile operator MTN SA will introduce what it describes as an “uncapped” 3G broadband product from 1 June. The service will be subject to a fair usage agreement, the company has said, and will only be available on a 24-month contract.

    The uncapped contract is available for R749/month. However, strict fair-usage rules apply to the service. Once subscribers have used 3GB of data, the service will be restricted to a download speed of 128kbit/s. Before the threshold is reached, downloads are available at full speed, or up to a theoretical 14,4Mbit/s in 3G coverage areas.

    MTN has also announced an “uncapped” product for R1 999/month, which includes 10GB of data at full speed, which will then be throttled down to 128kbit/s once that threshold has been reached.

    In a recent interview with TechCentral, Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys suggested that providing uncapped broadband was not feasible for the operator. He said Vodacom had no plans to follow fixed-line broadband providers by offering uncapped products.

    Uys said Vodacom would only be able to consider this if it was given more radio frequency spectrum by industry regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA.

    MTN’s surprise announcement on Tuesday follows its recent decision to cut 3G data prices. It cut out-of-bundle data rates by as much as 84% and introduced an unlimited per-day bundle that could prove popular among foreign tourists visiting the country.

    It introduced a bundle, at R50/day, that gives mobile users unlimited access to MTN’s data network. That product is also subject to a fair-use policy — once a user consumes more than 150MB, the service is throttled to 128kbit/s.

    At the same time, MTN launched a 90-minute data bundle at R25. The speed is limited to 128kbit/s and is valid for 30 days, with an additional 30-day carryover for unused data.

    In a surprise move, MTN has also announced plans on Tuesday to roll out 3G services at 900MHz, the first operator in SA to do so. It is already running a trial, it says. The move follows Cell C’s recent announcement that it would build an evolved high-speed packet access, or 3G HSPA+, network at 900MHz.

    The lower frequency makes it easier to provide broadband services affordably in rural areas and makes 3G coverage better in urban areas.

    Until now, SA’s two 3G operators, Vodacom and MTN, have only offered wireless broadband at 2,1GHz. The higher frequency does not penetrate buildings as easily as 900MHz signals.

    MTN says SA will be the second country in Africa to provide 3G at 900MHz, after Ghana.  — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral

    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
    Cell C MTN Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleTopTV wobbles its way into the market
    Next Article Icasa reported to the Public Protector

    Related Posts

    Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

    30 June 2022

    Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

    30 June 2022

    Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

    30 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.