SA broadband shapes up
2010-03-18 12:07
Cape Town - While an announcement on the introduction of uncapped broadband packages by MWEB has been largely welcomed, there have been questions on how the service will be shaped.
Many News24 users questioned an uncapped service to home users that is shaped. Too often the word 'uncapped' comes with a catch, one user wrote.
World Wide Worx CEO Arthur Goldstuck, however, believes the packages offered by MWEB are well suited to the South African internet market.
"Shaped bandwidth is managed automatically by the system where e-mail and opening a web page is given priority, and video downloads or anything that takes a lot of bandwidth is given the lowest priority," Goldstuck told News24 on Thursday.
He said that a shaped service was not as demanding as an unshaped service because it wasn't as demanding of bandwidth. He added that uncapped broadband didn't appeal to the mass market in SA.
Game changer
"It's a game changer, because the bandwidth restrictions that have held back usage go away. But it's not going to bridge the digital divide - it's aimed at those already connected to the internet, not the mass market," he said.
Goldstuck said that price declines had already been happening in the South African market, particularly since the arrival of the Seacom cable, and that smaller ISPs were offering data at discounted rates.
"Smaller ISPs have been slicing and dicing bandwidth for users, but it's been specials, rather than something they can sustain. A bigger ISP can't afford to do that kind of slicing and dicing, so this announcement is a game changer for the consumer," said Goldstuck.
He said that MWEB's competitors would be forced to respond.
"Oh, they'll have to respond. Telkom will have to respond, but they'll probably say that they don't engage in a price war, before announcing their own package," he said.