Who still uses Telkom’s fibre in this day and age? Telkom may once have championed broadband in South Africa, being the first to get ADSL up and running commercially but since then, it’s been one overpriced package after another. To counter this narrative (and feed their workers), the provider has launched a new, prepaid R100/week fibre-to-the-home deal. It’s even sporting some half-decent speeds.
What’s the catch, Telkom?
Of course, there’s a catch. Known as Prepaid Compact-Fibre, the 20Mbps/10Mbps download and upload package deal is only available in those areas where Openserve operates — and even then, your area may not be one of the ‘lucky’ ones. Oh, how we wish that were the ‘catch’ we were talking about.
“The new Telkom Prepaid Compact-Fibre product will be available in select areas, offering an Installation Starter Pack bundle comprising 14 days of uncapped internet at R199. Additionally, customers can purchase a recharge voucher for seven days of uncapped internet at R99,” the provider said.
See, the package is technically uncapped. Emphasis on ‘technically’. We’ve already mentioned the 20Mbps download and 10Mbps upload speeds, but what we didn’t mention was that those speeds are conditional to users not surpassing 200GB worth of downloads over the week. Cross that threshold (downloading any Call of Duty game should do the trick) and you’ll be throttled right back to the Stone Ages (4Mbps).
Read More: Which South African network offers the fastest mobile speeds?
But hey, R100/w is R100/w, right? Uh, kinda. Customers are essentially purchasing 800GB of useable, speedy fibre for R400/m. Compare that to some of South Africa’s other faster, unthrottled and uncapped packages out there, and Telkom’s offering begins to look more foolhardy.
“This innovative solution complements our existing Telkom Prepaid Express-Fibre product, enhancing our range of options for customers,” said Telkom in a statement.
Should you accidentally hit ‘purchase package’ online, customers will at least get a Wi-Fi-enabled ONT device and installation thrown in, eliminating the need for a separate router. Woohoo?