They say competition benefits users and I think we can add that even the threat of competition has the same effect. That’s what most people think is the reason why Liquid (formerly Zol) has exciting new unlimited packages we will be talking about.
We got to ask Liquid what motivated the new packages and they say it had nothing to do with that other company that I shall not name. It was simply their own marketing initiative.
Listen, in all likelihood, that other company is responsible. However, that does not matter one bit, who cares if that’s the case. What we have here are exciting new products and I for one will not be looking this horse in the mouth.
Infinity packages
All the packages we are talking about today offer unlimited data. I guess it’s more technical to say they are uncapped. They look like this:
Home:
Infinity 99 – costs $99 a month at up to 75Mbps
Infinity 129 – costs $129 a month at up to 100Mbps
Infinity 169 – costs $169 a month at up to 150Mbps
Infinity 89 – costs $89 a month at up to 20Mbps ( This one is the sole new Wibronix package, and so if you’re on fibre it’s not available to you. The 3 above are Fibronix only)
This is more like it. Look at those speeds. I know some might wonder about how real those speeds are. Well, right now I’m on a 50Mbps package and that’s mostly what I get when there are no fibre cuts anywhere. I did test what kind of speeds Liquid themselves enjoy at their HQ and … yeah.
Mine has 47.4 down, 47.3 up and Liquid’s has 237 down, 295 up.
On prices, would I have wanted to see a $50 option? Of course. I would have loved it to be free but I think the above packages are a good step in the right direction. I think in time prices will only go down further.
That has been the trend in most developing countries and GMSA says that has been down to regulatory reforms, increased competition, and infrastructural investments. In Zimbabwe and a few other countries we were not really seeing this but we seem to have turned a corner.
Until we get there, my only hope is that Liquid brings the $89/20Mbps deal to Fibronix users too. Or if you’ll allow me to daydream here, how about a $50/10Mbps one too?
Business:
Biz Infinity 99 – costs $99 a month at up to 25Mbps
Biz Infinity 149 – costs $149 a month at up to 50Mbps
Biz Infinity 275 – costs $275 a month at up to 75Mbps
Biz Infinity 569 – costs $569 a month at up to 100Mbps
Biz Infinity 99 – costs $99 a month at up to 20Mbps ( This one is the sole new Wibronix package. The 4 above are Fibronix only)
Good to see
It’s not everyday that you see price cuts and so I’m one happy camper. Do I think there’s room for prices to tumble even further? – yes, of course. However, this is a positive thing that should be celebrated.
Do note that the packages are promotional, which means this is not really the new Liquid pricing but rather we will revert to old prices when the promotion ends.
Liquid did say this promotion will be run indefinitely and so there’s that. That essentially means it’s as good as a price cut. We can treat it as such.
However, it’s a good business move in that it allows Liquid to tweak things later without much fuss. Should it happen that capacity is a problem or that hypothetically speaking, a certain competitor never materialises, the promotion can be scrapped. It’s a good business move setting it up this way.
What of the competition?
Liquid is not the only game in town and I know you guys have spreadsheets comparing various packages from different service providers. That is the lucky few that have multiple providers to choose from, I know many locations have just one option.
For those that were (are?) looking at that other yet-to-come competitor, how would you compare what they have to offer with what Liquid has here? Seeing as Liquid equipment is much cheaper, the subscriptions have gone down and all things being equal, fibre should be more reliable, does this change things for you?
Oh, and I found out some were wondering why we act as if Liquid does not have competition right now when we talk about that other looming competitor. That’s actually a compliment to Liquid.
We have found that most people who have access to multiple service providers prefer Liquid (especially Fibronix), the only real complaint being the cost, although service interruptions have been a problem in the last couple of years.-techzim