Most of us are clueless when it comes to internet providers and the various packages they offer. So how do we know where we can get value for money?
To assist you in your mission to find the best possible option when it comes to broadband, we’ve sourced the following information from www.mybroadband.co.za.
Most of South Africa’s broadband providers have reduced their prices or launched promotions over the last few months. Knowledgeable consumers are making the most of these price cuts, but some may make an ill-informed choice if they don’t check all prices first.
Sound advice is to always look at all the available offers before making a decision, and that is particularly relevant in the fast changing SA broadband market.
Just in case you don’t want to spend time on investigating all options, here are some caveats to avoid when buying an ADSL or mobile data package.
Telkom ADSL
Telkom’s bundled Do Broadband offerings – which offers a one price ADSL access and data solution – give much better value for money than purchasing the individual components.
However, many consumers prefer to pay a bit more for the freedom to easily change from one ISP account to the next to serve their needs – completely understandable.
What is not particularly bright is to purchase any data package over 20GB from Telkom. A 20GB ADSL data package from Telkom costs R239, while a 40GB bundle costs R630 – more than double the cost of the 20GB package.
| Telkom AllAccess ADSL ISP accounts | |||
| Account | Blended data | Local data | Price |
| Telkom AllAccess 20GB | 20GB | 30GB | R239 |
| 2 x Telkom AllAccess 20GB | 40GB | 60GB | R478 |
| Telkom AllAccess 40GB | 40GB | 30GB | R630 |
| 3 x Telkom AllAccess 20GB | 60GB | 90GB | R717 |
| Telkom AllAccess 50GB | 50GB | 30GB | R810 |
MTN mobile broadband
MTN has various mobile broadband promotions, and unless you are familiar with these options it may cost you.
The table below highlights some of the caveats to watch out for. It is clear that you should really only consider the MTN 2GB for R149 promotion or MTN’s Uncapped Lite product for R289.
| Package | Data | Price |
| MTN 300MB | 0.3GB | R149 |
| MTN 2GB promotion | 2GB | R149 |
| MTN 1GB | 1GB | R289 |
| MTN Uncapped Lite | 3GB (uncapped 256kbps) | R289 |
| MTN 2GB TopUp | 2GB | R389 |
Vodacom mobile data
Vodacom is currently running two promotions: R99 for a 1GB data package and R149 for a 2GB package. It is easy to sum up the best decision: Buy one of these two services or you will make a silly choice.
| Package | Data | Night Owl data | Price |
| Vodacom 1GB + 1GB promotion | 1GB | 1GB | R99 |
| Vodacom MyMeg 250 | 0.25GB | 0.25GB | R99 |
| Vodacom MyMeg 500 | 0.5GB | 0.5GB | R149 |
| MyGig 1 Advanced | 1GB | 1GB | R285 |
| Vodacom 2GB + 2GB promotion | 2GB | 2GB | R149 |
| Vodacom MyMeg 500 | 0.5GB | 0.5GB | R149 |
| MyGig 1 Advanced | 1GB | 1GB | R285 |
| MyGig 2 Advanced | 2GB | 2GB | R385 |
8ta mobile data
8ta is currently running a few data promotions, and like Vodacom you will be well advised to look no further than these promotions to get the best value for money.
| Package | Data | Price |
| Go Big 3GB prepaid promotion | 2GB (+1GB after hours) | R149 |
| 1GB prepaid | 1GB | R200 |
| 2GB prepaid | 2GB | R266 |
| Go Big 10GB contract promotion | 10GB | R199 |
| Internet 2 | 1.5GB | R210 |
| Internet 4 | 5GB | R666 |
| Internet 6 | 10GB | R1200 |
| Go 120GB big prepaid | 60 GB (+60GB after hours) | R1800 |
Please also remember other wireless options: I have had iBurst for many years, it is fast and reliable as dedicated data supplier. It is useful if you live in an area where Telkom does not advise ADSL due to older lines, or if you prefer not to have a landline at all. One has to have a modem, however, but these come in 2mbps models. One has to check coverage. Our neighbourhood has better coverage for iBurst than other wireless data packages. iBurst packages are affordable and listed at http://www.iburst.co.za
Pity I bought a Vodacom data bundle 10 minutes ago (and made a silly choice) – it doesn’t seem the specials appear on the internet banking menus :(
In any case, thanks for the post – it would be great if this list could be posted somewhere and regularly updated by IT!