African telecoms company MTN has set the bar for mobile broadband providers after it announced an uncapped mobile broadband solution for South Africans
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Internet service providers all over South Africa have been forced to chop and change their prices since Mweb announced its uncapped solution a few months and MTN already started competing by selling one-day uncapped packages in April.
Now users who want uncapped mobile broadband can do so by binding themselves to a 24-month contract - there are two contracts available MTN Uncapped Lite and Pro and both packages come with a "fair usage policy".
This is a first in South Africa and while the connection will be slowed to 128kilobits per second after 3 gigs' usage for the Lite contract and 10 gigs' usage for the pro contract, subscribers will not be cut off and left without internet. The Lite package will be billed at R749 per month and the Pro at R1999 and will be on sale as of 1 June 2010.
"It really is all you can eat," said Surajh Surjoo, senior manager of consumer segment and broadband at MTN.
"And there is no shaping on either contract, only speed throttling after the fair usage limit is reached."
Surjoo also revealed that MTN plan to launch the first 900Mhz 3G connection in SA, a connection that will offer a stronger signal than conventional 3G technologies.
"We have already launched one-day uncapped broadband passes and these have been met with enthusiasm by the market. This has paved the way for the first uncapped long-term contracts in SA," said Surjoo.