South Africa's fourth mobile network, the Telkom-owned 8ta, today announced new faster and lower cost mobile broadband options.

The promotion is aimed at getting more South Africans online than ever before, with low rates termed as especially important.

The new post-paid Internet 5 Promotion offers subscribers a 10 GB data bundle for R199 per month with the option of an additional 10 GB Midnight Surfer data bundle at R100 per month for use between 12 am and 5 am.

When not taking the odd times into account this new offer sees users gaining a full 20 GB's worth of data for only R299, rounding out to as little as 1.5 cents per MB. Which is, according to Amith Maharaj, managing executive of Telkom mobile, “the lowest mobile broadband rate available in South Africa.”

A 3 GB Smartdata bundle from Cell C goes for R400 at the moment, working out to 13 cents per MB, while a 100 MB bundle goes for R50. Vodacom is also offering a midnight special called Night Owl until the 31st of July. This sees users gain access to free data between midnight and 5 am when they buy or upgrade to a 24-month MyMeg 500 contract or add a MyMeg 500 Data Bundle to your existing contract. Users will then gain the same amount of data corresponding to the data bundle they purchased, with MyMeg 500 users gaining an additional 500 MB during nighttime, while MyGig 2 customers will gain an additional 2 GB during the same time.

Maharaj added that, “while the sale of the offer will be for a limited time, it is important to note that customers who sign up will be eligible for the Internet 5 promotional price as well as the Midnight Surfer price for the full 24 months.”

The offer will be available from the 26th of June at 8ta stores and selected Telkom Direct stores nationwide. Consumers can also phone the call center on 081125, or go online at www.8ta.com for more information.

While mobile internet is gaining momentum across the country, many first time users are still wary of the service, fearing huge bills at the end of the month when consumption isn't monitored correctly. 8ta has planned for this as well though, introducing a 'safety net' to check balances and make out-of-bundle purchase decisions in real-time.

8ta data subscribers will also receive a free email account with online Office Web applications such as MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The Internet 5 and Midnight Surfer promotions are exclusive to the 8ta network, and interested users can check out this link to view a comprehensive coverage map prior to making their decision.