Computer Networking

COMPARE ADSL PRICES – WEB AFRICA VS. TELKOM

Many South Africans don’t bother to compare ADSL internet prices before signing up to an ADSL provider. Most people assume that Telkom ADSL prices will be the cheapest as they have ownership of the telephone lines in South Africa. However, this is not always the case. Many other ADSL suppliers such as Web Africa are extremely competitive when it comes to ADSL prices.

So who has the cheapest ADSL Prices between Web Africa and Telkom?

In order to prove the effectiveness of doing a bit of research before purchasing ANYTHING on the internet, I did a quick 5 minute comparison between the ADSL packages that Web Africa and Telkom have to offer.

Not to my surprise, I found that the current rates displayed on each company’s website show that Web Africa works out to be a cheaper ADSL provider than Telkom.

Take a look at the price comparison table below:

Web Africa = R330 / Month + R699 (once off payment for Modem)

Installation Cost = Free (Self install)
Modem Cost = R699
Residential Line Rental = R 131 / Month (From Telkom)
ADSL Line Rental 1 GB = R199 / Month

Telkom = R362 / Month + R899 (once off payment for Modem)

Installation Cost = Free (Self install)
Modem Cost = R899
Residential Line Rental = R131 / Month
ADSL Line Rental 1 GB = R231 / Month

As you can clearly see above, Web Africa comes out to be R32 cheaper per month than Telkom. Add to this the fact that Web Africa’s ADSL modem prices are R200 cheaper than those offered by Telkom and consumers can’t help but start wondering whether their initial assumptions were perhaps incorrect. Not too bad for a company that specializes in domain registration and hosting!

It’s not just about price!

Many consumers will argue that price isn’t everything when comparing ADSL providers. Factors such as customer service, support and security are also extremely important.

Due to the fact that they are a much smaller company in comparison to Telkom, Web Africa are still able to provide customers with superior support compared to most ADSL providers. The quote below is taken directly from the Web Africa website and perfectly illustrates their view on customer service and support:

“Our philosophy with support: Friendly, fast and efficient. We supply all clients with ticket tracking and management systems to help resolve issues as effectively and quickly as possible. We also supply live online instant messaging support (MSN/ICQ/AOL) as well as emergency support lines.”

Not many companies can boast instant messaging support as well as ticket tracking systems that allow clients to follow-up on their tickets without having to resort to long call center queues etc.

So What Does All This Mean?

The fact is that the ADSL industry in South Africa has come a long way in the last 5 years and Telkom no longer have the same monopoly that they used to have a few years ago. Laws have been passed that allow many other ADSL providers (such as Web Africa) to make use of the Telkom ADSL lines to provide their own unique ADSL service at often better prices than Telkom.

In the near future we can expect more competition in the industry which should result in even cheaper ADSL prices all round.

About the Author

Written by Dave
Fanatical about all things internet and E-commerce

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