Not All Uncapped Internet Services Providers Offer Unlimited Use – Vodacom, MTN and Telkom Under Spotlight

• Some internet service providers that promise uncapped connections have restrictions in place which limit use
• Vodacom will subject users to a hard lock from Wednesday, February 15, which will force them to buy more data
• Consumer journalist Wendy Knowler urged citizens to ensure they read the fine print regarding fair use policies

JOHANNESBURG - Having uncapped internet does not necessarily provide consumers with unlimited, full-speed connection continuously.

Some internet service providers rely on fair usage policies to enforce loopholes that prevent users from throttling speeds at a certain level, especially at peak times. Others also resort to placing “hard locks” that restrict the internet service.

While it is unlikely that uncapped internet packages will allow customers to use without monitoring and restrictions, the hard lock has become a major concern for some users. Business Insider SA researched the data limits on Vodacom, MTN and Telkom’s uncapped deals.

Read also

DA earns Mzansi’s respect for loadshedding-ending plan in Cape Town: “I'll reconsider voting again”

The publication found that Vodacom will subject users to a hard lock from Wednesday, February 15, this will stop internet use once the soft cap policies are depleted. Uncapped consumers who reach their limits will have to buy additional data bundles.

While MTN does not have a hard cap policy in place, it does limit the line speed of users who deplete a certain threshold. Some of Telkom’s uncapped packages also have a limit, once users reach 50GB, it throttles the bandwidth.

In light of Vodacom’s hard lock, consumer journalist Wendy Knowler spoke to Cape Talk and advised consumers to ensure they read the fine print regarding fair use. She added that for “heavy” data users it may be wise to choose an internet package that has a higher fair use cap.

Read also

Eskom announces stage 5 loadshedding, SA citizens furious on social media: "This is utterly ridiculous"

Mzansi annoyed over limits on uncapped internet

@smanga_m said:

“Scammers, all telecom companies are scammers.”

@Zanee760620 commented:

“The biggest disgrace is that they still offer packages at those speeds. All packages should at least be 50mbs.”

@Just_A_Ducking added:

“They are thieves like all the others!”

MTN backs out of acquiring Telkom because it was entertaining other proposals

Briefly News also reported that MTN has abandoned its plan to take over Telkom, an industry move that would have formed the biggest telecommunications company in South Africa.

Telkom lost a fifth of its market value since its shares started depreciating in 2009.

Preliminary talks between the two companies fell through because Telkom could not guarantee MTN that their discussions would remain exclusive. TimesLIVE reported that Telkom said that no binding offer by MTN was on the table.

Source: Briefly News