Does South Africa need cheap data that never expires? Capitec seems to think so

In this age of expensive data, Capitec Connect has emerged –  that’s the bank’s own mobile virtual network operator. With it, Capitec plans to break into the mobile market with cheap data that never expires. It’s managing this by piggybacking off of the Cell C network, which itself piggybacks off the MTN network.

“South Africans have been complaining about the cost of data. It’s expensive and complicated. Bundle pricing, off-peak and peak rates, and the fact that your data expires are all things that make no sense,” said Gerrie Fourie, Capitec’s CEO.

Better than all the rest

Yes, data bought from Connect won’t expire in 7 or 30 days like some of the bigger name operators out there. As long as the customer uses their SIM once at least once every six months, that is. If so, the data will stay on there forever.

Capitec wasn’t lying when it said it wanted to sell cheap data. All the prices are flat-rate, meaning data costs are the same in all tiers. R45 gets you 1 GB, and R4.50 will get you 100MB. Sending an SMS costs 25c and calls are 90c per minute. As with data, airtime on the Connect network never expires. Though, the same six-month rule applies.

Read More: Which South African network operator is best? We have some answers

Compared to some of South Africa’s largest network operators, the prices here are more than 50% cheaper. When looking at the operator whose name starts with a V, 1GB cost us R49 — if it’s on a 63% discount. That’s R4 more than Connect’s standard 1GB price. Regular pricing for 1GB of Vodacom data over 30 days is R85.

Connect SIMs are available at all Capitec branches around the country. Each customer is able to link up to five SIMs onto an account. Once your SIM is up and running, you can use *120*3279#, the Capitec Banking app, or Capitec Internet banking to top up.