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Neotel launches broadband data card

29 July 2009

South Africa's second landline operator, Neotel, has launched NeoGo, a data card that provides wireless broadband connectivity for consumers looking for a mobile solution.

"The data card offers consumers a simple and hassle-free method of connecting to e-mail and the internet," Neotel's Mukul Sharma said in a statement this week.

"It is compatible with multiple operating systems such as Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Mac, and the attractive price range gives it an edge over existing data cards available in the market."

Favourable speeds

The NeoGo data card operates on CDMA Rev-A technology, with download speeds up to 3.1 Mbps and upload speeds up to 1.8 Mbps, which Neotel says compares favourably with the HSDPA connections offered by the country's cellular networks.

NeoGo has two purchase options, the first of which allows consumers to purchase the data card over a 24-month period with a monthly service fee of R299. The second option allows consumers to purchase the data card upfront for R1 499, with a monthly service fee of R239.

Both purchase options include 1.5-gigabytes of in-bundle data, a NeoMail Basic account, SMS capability and high-speed data.

"The NeoGo data card, with its large data bundle at a competitive price, is just what the consumer needs, and we don't hide our out of bundle rate which, at eight cents per megabyte, redefines market pricing for data cards," Sharma said.

Data card usage

A South African study published in late 2007 by technology research firm World Wide Worx found that there was a steady move away from WiFi spots towards more affordable 3G or data card technologies, at least among corporate workers.

The study found that the proportion of South African corporations whose staff used data cards rose from 58% in 2006 to 82% in 2007. In contrast, the proportion that facilitate WiFi access by their staff fell from 74% to 66%.

SAinfo reporter