Drastic mobile tariff price cuts by telecoms company Telkom could be ignored by the country\u2019s biggest networks MTN and Vodacom, says an expert.<\/p>\n
Telkom on Thursday announced its \u2018FreeMe\u2019 contract plans, a simplified offering of six products that will go live on July 25.<\/p>\n
The contracts, which are classified according to data usage, will be priced as follows per month: 1GB (R99), 2GB (R149), 5GB: (R299), 10GB (R399), 20GB (R599) and unlimited data (R999).<\/p>\n
These prices are competitive as Vodacom and MTN charge customers up to R150 for 1GB, according to Research ICT Africa.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, all of Telkom\u2019s new plans will include free texts, free instant messaging service calls, free calls to Telkom Mobile and Telkom fixed line numbers, and free Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n
Telkom\u2019s 20GB and unlimited data services will further include free calls to any network as well.<\/p>\n
But MTN and Vodacom may not react to these price cuts as Telkom is still a small mobile player with just 2.6% of South Africa\u2019s handset market, according to data cited by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality, Telkom is a small player and I think this will help them grow market share, and I think over time this will help with the gradual shifting of tariff structures in the market,\u201d Antony Seeff, CEO of local phone bill monitoring company Tariffic, told Fin24.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what we\u2019ve seen in the market is that the big players dominate. It\u2019s very, very difficult to move market share away from them,\u201d said Seeff.<\/p>\n
Local customers are not only concerned about prices but also other factors such as the signal and service they receive, explained Seeff.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at Telkom, you look at Cell C \u2013 both have been very competitive when it comes to price but yet Vodacom is the biggest operator out there in the post-paid space,\u201d Seeff said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a level of complacency in the market unfortunately. It\u2019s changing over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut people are happy with the status quo and they don\u2019t want to go through the perceived complexity of porting their number and finding a new operator,\u201d Seeff added.<\/p>\n
Vodacom is South Africa\u2019s biggest mobile network with 35 million customers, MTN has 28 million subscribers and Cell C has 24 million.<\/p>\n
Last month, Telkom reported that its mobile prepaid subscribers number 1.9 million while its contract subscribers number almost 800 000.<\/p>\n
Apart from Telkom, South Africa\u2019s third largest network Cell C has also moved in recent years to try and disrupt the local mobile market with various initiatives.<\/p>\n
Among Cell C\u2019s initiatives was the launch of its contract buyout option in 2015 which paid customers up to R20 000 to help buy them out of Vodacom or MTN contracts.<\/p>\n
But Cell C this year quietly discontinued its buyout option via its franchise channels and Seeff told Fin24 that he thought the offering was not a \u201cresounding success\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen with Cell C over the years, that Cell C has been acting as this consumer champion that has been offering really great and cheaper initiatives. They came out with their buyout deal and everyone said this is a game changer,\u201d Seeff told Fin24.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what happens a lot of time is Cell C make a big noise about something, they get lots of press, it probably helps their brand\u2026 but the ball is really in Vodacom and MTN\u2019s court to do something about it and to follow suit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems over the past few years that it\u2019s their (Vodacom and MTN\u2019s) prerogative just to follow the status quo and not even to budge,\u201d Seeff said.<\/p>\n
But despite the concerns over the big players\u2019 reaction to Telkom\u2019s price cuts, Seeff has still lauded Telkom for the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think generally it\u2019s a revolutionary move. It\u2019s really great to see mobile operators not just doing the same \u2013 not just following in the same direction,\u201d Seeff told Fin24.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see like a complete shift in strategy, which is what we\u2019re really seeing from Telkom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like they\u2019ve been more successful in the data side than the voice side, and I think this is a great exercise to help them leverage their data strength, their data competency and their data success and reputation into the voice side,\u201d said Seeff.<\/p>\n
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