Great news for people with fibre packages from major property developer

Property developer Balwin is increasing the speeds of most of its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) packages for free and upgrading its entry-level product with a 650% speed bump for a marginal price hike.

MyBroadband previously compared the prices and value of sub-R500 FTTH products and one product stood out — but for the wrong reason.

We calculated that the best-value fibre package under R500 was the 75/75Mbps product from MetroFibre Nexus on RSAWeb. Its price per Mbps of download speed was R6.60. Most of the other packages in the comparison were above R10/Mbps.

The same could not be said for Balwin’s entry-level package, which boasted a measly 4Mbps download speed and an upload speed of 1Mbps.

This was just slightly more than the average ADSL speed recorded in MyBroadband’s speed test results among the best-performing Internet service providers (ISPs) nearly a decade ago.

We found this offering to be particularly underwhelming considering most fibre network operators (FNOs) had moved to 20Mbps or higher for their entry-level packages in recent years.

The only exception was in lower-income areas with specialised fibre solutions like Vuma Key. However, even in these cases, the slowest speed available is 10Mbps.

Balwin does not cater for these markets. Most of its customers are middle-class or affluent households.

Balwin’s price per Mbps on its entry-level package was R114.75 through Cool Ideas and R122.25 via Webafrica, the two ISPs with the best prices on this product.

When MyBroadband queried Balwin about this, the company argued that its pricing was in line with other estates or complex-bound fibre networks.

It also offered up a plethora of reasons why its network was technically superior and service levels better than major players, despite its poor ranking in an Internet Service Providers Association survey.

Unlike people in areas outside Balwin’s estates, its residents would have no choice but to use its fibre for a fixed connection or resort to alternative technologies like 5G or LTE.

Although multi-dwelling areas also have just one FNO, they may have the option to convince another FNO to lay infrastructure from the street if there is sufficient interest from residents.

Some neighbourhoods also have multiple major FNOs, forcing operators to compete on pricing.

Balwin, also being the property developer for its customer, would have more control over who gets to lay infrastructure in its estates and complexes.

Excellent adjustments provide much better value

Fortunately, the company confirmed it was adjusting all its packages based on a review of its line-up to ensure they remained competitive and market-related.

“As part of this revision, we will be upgrading our 4Mbps line speeds to better align with customer expectations,” the FNO said.

These changes have started reflecting on certain ISPs’ websites — including major provider Afrihost.

It showed that Balwin’s 4/1Mbps package had been replaced with a 30/30Mbps line.

Although this comes with a R48 price hike, the value of the package is substantially better.

Previously, the price per Mbps of download speed was R139.75. Following the speed upgrade, this figure has been slashed to R20.23.

While still some way off the best-value entry-level fibre packages on the market, it puts Balwin’s offering on a much better competitive footing.

In addition to the entry-level upgrade, Balwin has bumped speeds on most of its packages at no extra cost, apart from its top-end 1Gbps product.

This package’s download speed will be reduced by 100Mbps, a 10% reduction, but it comes with a 30% price cut on Afrihost.