It has been almost a year since local internet service provider MWEB launched its range of Uncapped ADSL packages (TechSmart’s 2nd most important tech news story of 2010), and it has now provided an insight into how this launch has impacted on MWEB’s growth.  

 

“MWEB’s aim of launching Uncapped ADSL to the market was to bring a fast and reliable Internet Service to all South Africans; providing them with a world class Internet experience at an affordable rate and allowing them to do more than ‘just surfing’,” stated Rudi Jansen, MWEB CEO.

 

Before the launch of Uncapped ADSL, MWEB users consumed 282 terabytes of data a month opposed to 2.5 petabytes currently used per month, an almost a nine-fold increase. This amount of data is equivalent to 32 years of continuous HDTV streaming, a strong indication of how MWEB is increasing internet usage in South Africa.

 

The ISP has also been successful in its peering efforts, establishing peering agreements with both local ISP’s and International partners. More than a third of the traffic passing through the JINX and CINX public exchange points is generated by MWEB customers. Internationally, MWEB peers 40% of its traffic.

 

MWEB’s partnership with Gameservers.com has allowed for the improvement of online gaming for local gamers, as the company now hosts more than 50 leading gaming titles locally including Call of Duty: Black Ops which was released globally in 2010.

 

“We have seen a significant change in users’ online behaviour and have noticed that their interests have shifted from checking emails, occasional browsing and online banking to really exploring and enjoying the wonders of the worldwide web,” said Jansen.

 

“Five years ago, listening to a local Internet radio station, viewing DSTV on your laptop and downloading your favourite movies and music would have been extremely expensive and almost unimaginable,” he explained.

 

Whilst MWEB has continued to enjoy significant growth across its broadband base, it is the take-up in Uncapped ADSL in particular that continues to demonstrate the pent-up demand in the local market for a true broadband experience.

 

To accommodate this growth, MWEB has also made significant investments in its IPC, national and international network. To bring resilience into the network MWEB has landed SAT 3 (west coast) international capacity at its new IPC node in Cape Town, to complement its SEACOM (east coast) capacity out of Johannesburg.

 

MWEB’s combined IPC capacity is substantially bigger than any other operator in the market, and it continues to grow each month. “Telkom is now in a position where they are able to grow our IPC nodes on a monthly basis, to ensure that we stay ahead of the growth in demand of our customers” said Jansen.

 

To promote customer interaction, the company has also rolled-out new concept stores in Canal Walk, Cape Town as well as Centurion Mall, Pretoria to complement the existing store in Cresta, Johannesburg. The ISP has also been at the forefront of social media platforms engaging daily with over 35 000 followers and fans on Twitter, Facebook and various online forums.

 

“MWEB will continue to lead the way in engaging with all consumers and stakeholders in the South African Internet landscape to establish their needs and to develop a world-class Internet infrastructure in South Africa”, Jansen concluded.