Skaap is down and out

VoIP Service Provider Skaap is down and out after less than two years in business, despite aggressive marketing campaigns up to the end. ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) has made this shocking discovery earlier this week in a MyBroadband article.

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) reported in September 2006 on ‘Skaap’s sheer brilliance and drive in creating a low cost call environment’ (Skaap: Sheer brilliance and drive, 19 September 2006). We also reported on Skaap’s eagerness to take Telkom head-on in the market place and quoted the MD of Skaap, Brett Magrath, as saying that interest... “in the Skaap service has been phenomenal and is rapidly growing as people realize that they don’t necessarily require an ADSL line to make cheap international calls. Our rate of sign-ups more than double on a weekly basis. We are simply responding to the great demand for cheaper international calls that exists in this country” (Skaap: Sheer brilliance and drive, 19 September 2006).

What happened?

Details on why Skaap closed remains sketchy because Skaap representatives not only failed to comment on the reasons for failure, but also seem to have different ideas on whether Skaap is closed or not when MyBroadband contacted them earlier this week. Skaap representative, Keri Davies, however commented that Skaap was “working on new things” when MyBroadband contacted them again. Rumours that the company has failed to refund users who still had funds in their accounts will not sit well with consumers in South Africa. “Working on new things” is not going to restore the public’s trust in you if these rumours are true.

The Skaap case serves as an excellent example of how easily things can change in the SA telecoms market, especially when you lose the trust and support of The Average Joes. A lesson Telkom is currently learning the hard way.

The ADSL South Africa Team

New Broadband Service Launched

Our loyal supporters and all new visitors should welcome the service we have just launched on the main ADSL South Africa site (www.adslsouthafrica.co.za).

The service is called the ‘One Stop Broadband Request Service’. If you are interested in getting broadband, would like to upgrade to broadband or just want to go for better pricing or switch to another ISP, then you will find the service very useful. You only have to submit your details ONCE. After this, you will receive multiple broadband quotes from various ISPs.

Be sure to visit the following link for more details:

http://www.adslsouthafrica.co.za/One%20Stop%20Broadband%20Request%20Service.htm

The ADSL South Africa Team

Neotel’s popularity will grow with coverage

Neotel has recently launched the first of their converged consumer packages, but when you walk down the street and ask people if they know about Neotel, the most popular answer you will get is: “Neotel? Neotel who? What are you talking about?”

This may be the case now, but things are going to change as South Africa’s second national operator (SNO) or Neotel’s coverage expands and more and more people start to make use of their products and services. There is no doubt in our minds that Neotel’s popularity will grow with the expansion of its coverage area.

The reason for this is simple: Neotel do not only offer bundled or converged Internet data, voice and SMS services through their NeoConnect offerings but also quality and affordability.

NeoConnect Lite…

NeoConnect Lite offers 1 package at this stage:

NeoConnect Lite - 2GB of bandwidth or Internet data, personalised email, 25 free on-net SMS’s and 500 free on-net voice minutes for the all-inclusive price of R299 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

NeoConnect Prime…

NeoConnect Prime offers 5 packages to choose from, which include:

NeoConnect Prime Unlimited - Unlimited bandwidth or Internet data, 2000 free on-net minutes, 120 free local & regional to Telkom off-net minutes, 100 free on-net SMS and 100 free national SMS. All-inclusive price of R999 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

NeoConnect Prime 15G – 15GB bandwidth or Internet data, 1500 free on-net minutes, 60 free local & regional to Telkom off-net minutes, 75 free on-net SMS and 50 free national SMS. All-inclusive price of R699 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

NeoConnect Prime 10G – 10GB bandwidth or Internet data, 1000 free on-net minutes, 30 free local & regional to Telkom off-net minutes and 50 free on-net SMS. All-inclusive price of R599 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

NeoConnect Prime 5G – 5GB bandwidth or Internet data, 1000 free on-net minutes, 15 free local & regional to Telkom off-net minutes and 50 free on-net SMS. All-inclusive price of R499 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

NeoConnect Prime 2.5G – 2.5GB bandwidth or Internet data, 1000 free on-net minutes and 50 free on-net SMS. All-inclusive price of R399 per month on a 24-month contract. The price includes the device charge, VAT and all other monthly charges.

It’s clear from the above that Neotel means business and has done their homework. Neotel knows what The Average Joe wants.

This is only the beginning. We can expect the launch of even better and more affordable packages from Neotel in the coming months. ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) is especially looking forward to the launch of Neotel’s first ADSL based offerings.

Will Telkom survive?

We believe Telkom won’t survive in its current form.

The Average Joes are fed up of Telkom and their BS to say the least. They are going to answer Neotel’s call in their thousands and millions when the time is right. We at ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa), Average Joes like you, will answer Neotel’s call when the time is right for us. The time will be right for us when Neotel got us covered and the same should be true for you. It is then time to get out of the trenches and take the fight to Telkom.

If Sexwale or someone or some group don’t succeed in buying Telkom in its totality and change the way Telkom does business, then Telkom is doomed. Telkom will be sold-off in separate units at an auction if that doesn’t happen soon.

Be sure to visit Neotel’s website for more info.

The ADSL South Africa Team

Dark Fibre Africa

The ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) Team travel to Sandton almost every day to compete in the 8 to 5 rat race like most of The Average Joes in South Africa. Those of you who share this road with us would have noticed the thin line snaking down Sandton Drive (and other roads as well). Yes, the same line that slowed down traffic recently to the frustration of many.

Great was the relief when we discovered that it’s all for a good cause...

Dark Fibre Africa is not the end of Africa or anything of that sort but the name of a company that’s helping to bring light to Africa. Dark Fibre Africa is busy rolling out fibre optic cables that are needed to bring down the cost of broadband in South Africa.

A different approach…

Unlike other companies who lay cables mostly in pavements, Dark Fibre Africa, lay cables directly in our roads. They do this by cutting through the tarmac, laying the cable and then tar it all up again.

Even more interesting…

Dark Fibre Africa is not a telecoms provider but an infrastructure provider.

Their plan is simple: If you do not have a licence to provide telecoms services, piggy back on those who do have licences and lay down as many cables as possible and sell it to them.

They have so far managed to get Vodacom and another anonymous telecoms service provider onboard.

The ADSL South Africa Team

More time to surf the net

ADSL and other broadband users in South Africa who frequently surf the net will welcome the fact that Eskom has promised to halt ‘scheduled load shedding’ for now. This means, if correctly interpreted, that we will have more time to surf the net than during the recent bombardment of load shedding.

Now some of you might say, what load shedding, because it did not affect your Internet surfing or way of life at all, because you are one of the lucky ones to enjoy the services of a backup power generator or was at work or somewhere else during load shedding. Well, to be honest, most of The Average Joes in South Africa just did not, still not have the money to afford such luxury, and have been left with candles and other primitive sources of energy to combat the consequences of load shedding. God knows there is simply not enough money left for generators and such when we are already struggling to cover the raising cost of fuel, food, et cetera. It is therefore great news that Eskom has promised to halt scheduled load shedding for now.

Can we trust Eskom to keep their word? Hell no some will say, and to be honest, you can count ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) among the sceptics. Despite this, the idea or prospect of no load shedding is music in the ears of many consumers in South Africa.

Winter is on its way as many of us have observed and felt over the last couple of days. It will be interesting to see if Eskom will be able to keep their promise of no ‘scheduled load shedding’ when the Winter is here. It is no secret that thousands of heaters, electric blankets and geysers will be working over time to keep the nation warm this coming Winter.

We have the funny feeling that unscheduled load shedding, not that Eskom kept to a schedule in the first place, is going to be more of a nightmare than ‘scheduled load shedding’. After all, nothing stops Eskom from load shedding the living hell out of us whether it is scheduled or not.

Despite the above, we need to use the extra time we have to surf the net before the next load shedding starts. :-)

The ADSL South Africa Team

Telkom might fall flat on its face

Neotel has launched the first of their consumer packages on Friday. This must come as great news to entrenched consumers in South Africa.

It’s finally time to come out of the trenches and take the fight to Telkom. The NeoConnect Prime 10G package, alhough only available to consumers in certain parts of Pretoria and Johannesburg at this stage, is going to take the telecoms market in South Africa by storm. The package/bundle include a wireless Internet, voice and SMS offering which offers excellent value for money. High-end users and small businesses, the targeted market segment of the NeoConnect Prime 10 G package, can get 10 GB of bandwidth, 1000 Neotel to Neotel call minutes, 30 Local and Regional Neotel to Telkom call minutes and 50 Neotel to Neotel SMS’s per month at a price of R599 per month all costs included (VAT, device charges, service rentals, et cetera).

Excellent value for money...

It is easy to see that Neotel offers excellent value for money with their NeoConnect Prime 10G package, especially when compared to similiar offerings from other players in the market. iBurst for instance offers 10 GB of bandwidth and iCall with a webphone for R1 139 per month (R99 activation fee excluded), while Vodacom and MTN offers more or less the same service at R2 099 and R2 005 (R99 activation fee excluded) respectively.

What about the cost charged when one is subscribed to the NeoConnect Prime 10G package and move/go outside the bundle?

Very reasonable out of bundle rates.

The rates table on Neotel’s website is evident of the fact that Neotel is not planning to rip you off when you go outside the bundle. Neotel will charge you 8 cents per MB for bandwidth if you move outside the bundle while iBurst will charge you 95 cents per MB, Vodacom R1 per MB and MTN R1.20 per MB.

What is out of bundle?

Out of bundle is when one moves outside the montly limits set by the package you are subscribed to.

For example: If you are subscribed to the NeoConnect Prime 10G package and use more than 10GB of bandwidth per month, then you will have to pay for the additional or out of bundle bandwidth you have used.

In other words, out of bundle can be seen as the extra money you pay for exceeding monthly limits.

What about speed?

2.4 Mbps.

The Internet access offering which form part of the NeoConnect Prime 10G package/bundle is fuelled by wireless mobile CDMA2000 technology. This technology makes peak speeds of 2.4 Mbps possible. This compares very favourably to iBurst’s 1 Mbps, Vodacom’s 3.6 Mbps and MTN’s 1.8 Mbps.

In other words, the speed of Neotel’s Internet access offering compares favourably to the Internet access speeds offered by iBurst, Vodacom and MTN.

What about assembly and installation? Will it take me ages?

Assembly and installation are easy and should not take you ages to complete.

MyBroadband tested the assembly and installation of Neotel’s ‘converged Internet phone’ and reported that ‘it took less than five minutes from opening the box to surfing the web.’

In other words, it is evident that Neotel has put a lot of thought into making assembly and installation as easy and fast as possible.

We can go on and on here about other benefits of Neotel’s NeoConnect Prime 10G package, but the important thing is that Neotel has not failed us and brought a great package at a great price to the table. Consumers can expect the launch of even more exciting packages, tailor-made for their needs, as Neotel role out their services to ultimately cover 80% of South Africa.

The ADSL South Africa Team