Neotel 'raises the bar'
2008-05-22 17:35
Johannesburg - Converged communications network operator Neotel has raised the bar in the local communications industry, which might see consumers migrating from its competition.
This is according to MyADSL founder Rudolph Muller, whose comments follow the launch of Neotel's consumer offerings on Thursday.
The product, called NeoConnect, is a wireless device that resembles a standard fixed-line telephone, which allows consumers to gain access to high-speed internet, carrier-grade voice calls and SMS through one product.
"Neotel has done quite a bit of research; it looks like it's listened to the consumer and has really addressed some concerns," said Muller.
Neotel is offering consumers two packages: NeoConnect Prime, with download speeds of up to 2.4 megabits/second (mbps) and NeoConnect Lite, which offers all the same basic services as NeoConnect Prime but is limited to 156 kilobits/second (kbps). Average connection speeds for the prime offering range between 300 to 700kbps.
There are five NeoConnect Prime packages available, ranging from R399 a month for the 2.5GB (gigabyte) offering, to R999 for unlimited internet access. NeoConnect Lite costs between R299 for 2GB and R469 for the unlimited package.
One analyst, who did not want to be named, agreed that Neotel had done its homework, but wasn't 100% convinced that the company's offer would impact the market if they didn't have marketing.
"It will take a while before the product is known, and I don't expect to see a significant migration within the short term. But at least they have their foot in the door," said the analyst.
However, Muller expects customers to migrate to the Neotel offering, not only from Telkom's fixed-line service, but also from other mobile telecoms options offered by MTN and Vodacom.
"Its [Neotel's] internet is faster, cheaper and you get free calls in their packages," said Muller.
Muller said that the competitors who run 3G internet services may start to lose some of their customers to Neotel, as its offer to the market was far more aggressive.
However, limited geographic coverage curbs market share, said Muller, adding that Neotel could have quite an impact on the market in the long run, but not in the short term.
Neotel MD and CEO Ajay Pandey said at the product launch that the rollout of Neotel's services would be phased in.
"Our first phase of rollouts is in Johannesburg, Pretoria and parts of Ekurhuleni [east of Johannesburg], we are however expanding our network at a rapid pace and will be able to roll out services in Cape Town and Durban, shortly," said Pandey.
The group is also expecting to expand its coverage throughout South Africa.
Muller said that despite Neotel's limited coverage, the communications network operator had raised the bar with their internet standards.
He said that it offers fast internet access for a cheaper price, with extras, giving consumers so much more.
- Fin24.com
- Finance24