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

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