MWeb, part of media group Naspers, has thrown down the gauntlet to its rivals in the Internet service provider market, slashing the price of fixed-line broadband, in some cases to as much as 40% below its rivals.

The company will offer uncapped ADSL data starting at R219/month for a shaped, 384Kbit/s service; a shaped 4Mbit/s uncapped service will cost R539/month.

In all, the company is introducing six data-only ADSL packages for consumers and businesses, it says, including options where Telkom broadband line rental is included, ranging in price from R349/month to R899/month.

It’s business data-only offerings cost R499/month for a 384Kbit/s line, R699 for a 512Kbit/s and R1 999 on 4Mbit/s. All-inclusive packages on the business offerings cost R629, R999 and R2 259 respectively. All business products are unshaped, come with fixed Internet Protocol addresses, and are designed for “throughput of business applications not usually associated with consumer products”.

MWeb says it will consolidate its ADSL offerings into a simpler product portfolio and is also cutting the price of its capped products. For example, a 1GB “no-frills” service has been reduced to R69 from R89 previously.

MWeb says it has been able to introduce the new packages as it has recently achieved so-called “tier-one” status, enabling it to reduce its reliance on bandwidth from other service providers.

“We will be using bandwidth on both the Sat-3 and Seacom international cable systems in order to have full redundancy on our international bandwidth,” says MWeb CEO Rudi Jansen (pictured). “We signed up with Seacom in March for a long-term agreement and we are purchasing significant bandwidth as Seacom provides MWeb with a very attractive solution for international network capacity, at the best price currently available to the SA market.”

Fixed-line broadband prices have fallen significantly in recent months, with smaller providers such as Afrihost and Web Africa setting the pricing agenda. MWeb’s entry into the market could provoke similar price cuts from other large Internet service providers in the months ahead. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral