Openserve, the wholesale division of Telkom, has taken another step in its efforts to reduce the cost of communication in South Africa with further planned price reductions to its IP Connect (IPC) and South African Internet eXchange (SAIX) Dedicated Access services.
The company said in a statement that these reductions will become effective on 1 June 2016.
“This new pricing augurs well to further drive the democratisation of broadband and live our purpose, that together, we enable a connected future for South Africa,” said Prenesh Padayachee, Chief of Sales and Marketing at Openserve.
Openserve strives to better enable its clients to create more choice for South African consumers through their internet service provider (ISP) platforms.
The new pricing structure for SAIX Dedicated Access on average shows reductions of between 31 and 60 percent, depending on the specific product procured. This, in itself, will stimulate greater innovation and creativity amongst the ISP’s to the benefit of consumers. The entry-level pricing for IP Connect will be reduced by up to 57% to encourage further competition in the broadband market.
When Openserve was launched in October 2015 it set out to drive a healthy and competitive telecommunications environment across South Africa.
At the onset, Openserve committed to the establishment of a more agile and efficient operating model to offer world-class commercial capability. To this end, the organisation continuously reviews products and services that make broadband more available and affordable for all.
This price reduction follows the recent announcement that Openserve is peering at Internet eXchange Point (IXP), NAPAfrica.
Padayachee explains, “At our launch event last year we emphasised to the industry that Openserve provides us the opportunity to drive real perception change in the hearts and mind of our people, our clients, our stakeholders and the public at large. We further claimed that Openserve will be a responsive organisation that prioritises the client and pursues collaborations.
“Our peering at NAPAfrica is a clear indication that we will do what is necessary to reduce bandwidth costs while improving on overall network performance.”
Through the peering at NAPAfrica Openserve has joined its industry peers at the facility where they operate from thereby negating the need for expensive dedicated links to connect to each peer individually. This enables Openserve to enhance its cost efficiency and at the same time advance the growth of Africa’s biggest neutral internet exchange. It further helps reduce latency on the internet connectivity of consumers by bringing content closer to them and substantially improving their online experience.
“With these two announcements we are further signalling a break from the past by formalising the autonomy that is necessary to serve all our clients on an equitable and transparent basis, concluded Padayachee.
