/ 3 March 2021

Openserve continues to transform broadband access in South Africa

Pic2 Phila Dube
Phila Dube, Chief Commercial Officer at Openserve

During the peak period of the pandemic, Openserve doubled speeds for free on its network, introduced symmetrical speeds to its fibre portfolio and increased sync profiles. Openserve also offered numerous incentives, including discounted or free installations. It launched and enhanced its various offerings to provide customers with affordable internet connectivity options through its Openserve Fibre Connect, Openserve Pure Connect and Openserve Copper Connect product suites. 

From 1 March 2021, Openserve has introduced further speed upgrades and price changes on its Openserve Fibre Connect and Openserve Copper Connect product offerings. Price reductions for Openserve Pure Connect will be introduced on 1 April 2021. 

“With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown, there was significant demand for reliable internet connectivity, and this has continued to grow, as more people are working and learning from home indefinitely,” says Phila Dube, Chief Commercial Officer at Openserve. “Openserve understood more than ever how critical it was to ensure that as many South African’s got connected and stayed connected. We are encouraged by the positive feedback and excitement of our ISP partners on these new propositions. Our goal is to allow more South Africans to have access to affordable broadband.” 

Fixed broadband pricing compares favourably to mobile data offerings

Currently, the price per Gigabyte of data that end-users pay over fixed broadband connections compares very favourably to mobile data offers, even when compared to limited-time promotional offers from mobile providers. The table below compares the per Gig price a user on Openserve fibre would pay on a typical uncapped package from an ISP to a typical promotional mobile data deal. 

This example is based on the current ISP pricing of uncapped packages in the market. The price per Gigabyte rate over Openserve’s fixed Broadband (BB) is expected to drop even more once the price changes mentioned above take effect and are passed on to end-users. In addition to competitive per gigabyte rates, fixed BB users generally have a more reliable and consistent user experience than mobile BB users.

Price per Gig based on 1TB usage
1Tb Mobile Data Promo offer @ R1 000R 1/Gig
Uncapped 10Mbps ISP package over Openserve fibre @R499 pm50c/Gig*
Uncapped 20Mbps ISP package over Openserve fibre @699 pm70c/Gig*
*It is important to note that on Openserve fibre, the user could use more than 1TB, resulting in an even lower per Gig rate

 

Openserve strives to give its customers the most value, beyond affordable pricing

Openserve launched a self-service app in November 2020. This app enables customers to manage their broadband network connection and internet service at a push of a button.

The Openserve Connect App, which is available in Android and IOS, puts self-service capabilities in the hands of the customer, allowing potential and existing customers to engage with Openserve directly to get their homes connected to the Openserve Broadband network. This platform makes the customer’s connected home a priority. 

“We encourage all customers on Openserve infrastructure, copper or fibre, to download the Openserve Connect App to check whether their line has been upgraded as per our communication. The App has also become a channel through which customers can influence the future roll-out out of fibre in their respective areas by registering their interest on the App,” says Dube.

“As the leader in Open Access broadband connectivity in South Africa, we are committed to finding new and innovative ways of enabling the flow of information and will continue to work closely with our ISP partners to ensure that together we enable a world-class connected experience for the customer at their home.”