Vodacom Business has decided to cut in half its rates for broadband connectivity, following last year’s launch of Seacom fibreoptic cable, writes Business Day.
Acording to MD Ermano Quartero, the decision is justified by “the increasing competition between undersea cable providers, which in turn creates a sustainable competitive international bandwidth market in SA”.
Business clients will now pay half the previous rate for broadband use starting from February.
The Vodacom executive said that by increasing bandwidth allowances, companies can save more on boroadband costs.
Seacom cable connects Africa with Europe and India, providing bandwidth at speeds of 1,28TB per second. The cable became active last year. Previously, South Africa’s international voice and data traffic was routed via Telkom’s SAT3 cable.
Although the introduction of Seacom forced Telkom to reconsider lower wholesale bandwidth charges, the effect on retail costs is limited.
Vodacom Business said it plans to maintain the halved prices and possibly further reduce rates in July, after the West African Cable System launch.
