While Vodacom recently announced an up-to-61% drop in their mobile broadband prices, iBurst could be on the verge of dropping a bombshell on the broadband market by introducing new out-of-bundle rates up to 614% more expensive than their current rates.

This is according to a MyADSL report this morning which stated that they (MyADSL) had received correspondence regarding the rate hike. This correspondence takes the form of a letter to resellers (PDF) from iBurst boss Alan Knott-Craig and its accompanying new pricing structure (PDF). However, these rates have not been officially confirmed as they still need to be approved by ICASA.

The new rates for iBurst’s add-on data bundles are as follows:

100mb - R 110
200mb - R 209
500mb - R 495
1000mb - R 853 (614% increase)
2000mb - R 1540
3000mb - R 2145
6000mb - R 3630
9000mb - R 4950

I called iBurst to attempt to get some clarification on the matter. I first spoke to product development assistant, Candice du Plessis. She was hesitant to comment and put me through to the head of marketing, Callia Doukas, who said that she could not confirm or deny the new pricing structure because it had only just been sent to ICASA for approval. She said that MyADSL’s source was anonymous. However, the MyADSL forums reveal the source of the information as iBurst themselves, as seen from the documentation linked to above.  

iBurst recently introduced five new keenly-priced packages to the wireless broadband market and upped the in-bundle allowances across their package range. However, the proposed increases in out-of-bundle rates certainly do not represent a six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other situation. Previously, for a 1GB top-up, customers paid R139. Now, if the rates are approved by ICASA, they’ll have to pay a hefty R853. This is hardly a proportionate compromise for the higher in-bundle allowances.

With competition in the broadband arena intensifying to the extent that it is, iBurst can hardly afford to take a punch in the jaw from consumers, which is what they’ll likely get if these rates come into play.

Much interest in the speculated out-of-bundle price hikes has already been generated – there is already a 5-page-long thread on the MyADSL forums about the matter.

Last year, the head of iBurst's customer support, Ed Hall, stated in an interview that “Criticism is not a bad thing, and we are open to criticism. It keeps us on our toes.”

We hope iBurst has strong calf muscles – it seems they’ll need them if ICASA approves the new rates.