Internet services provider (ISP) Web Africa was in the process of transferring its clients from its own network to a network hosted by Internet Solutions in a move to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness within its business.

The group this week started shifting its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) traffic from its largest ISP and reseller customers, as well as any new clients, onto the new network, with the remaining customers’ domains expected to be moved from Monday.

The entire network transfer was expected to be completed on February 27, Web Africa CEO Tim Wyatt-Gunning told Engineering News Online.

Web Africa announced earlier this week that it had entered into a contract with Internet Solutions after three years of maintaining and running its own interprocess communication network.

Wyatt-Gunning said the use of Internet Solutions’ infrastructure and technical expertise would free up Web Africa’s resources and enable improved delivery to customers and business.

He pointed out that running and maintaining a network was effort- and cost-intensive for a smaller company, adding that the company believed it would be able to improve customer support and de-risk network management with the move.

Internet Solutions had multiple access points, compared with Web Africa’s single-point connectivity, which would enable reduced downtime and better latency and experience, particularly for the company’s large online gaming user base.

Web Africa would manage and maintain control of its ADSL product groupings and offerings and Wyatt-Gunning said that, with a performance agreement in place and the increasing size of Internet Solutions’ network, he was “comfortable” with the ISP’s ability to provide an efficient, well-performing network.

Meanwhile, Web Africa this week lowered its Home Uncapped ADSL pricing by up to 32% in response to telecommunications group Telkom’s surprise price cut in January.

Telkom implemented price reductions of up to 40% for consumer uncapped products and up to 35% for business uncapped products. Telkom offered a 1 Mb/s Home Uncapped ADSL from R199 standalone and R329 bundle. The 10 Mb/s package would range from R699 standalone or R999 bundle.

Web Africa reduced its price for a 1 Mb/s service to R189 a month and a 10 Mb/s service to R699, with Wyatt-Gunning promising further reductions in many of the company’s products over the next few months.

Initially, the firm aimed to decrease its pricing structure after it completed the network transfer; however, Wyatt-Gunning said the company brought it forward by a month.

Web Africa had also removed its somewhat restrictive policy structure on its uncapped ADSL products.

Wyatt-Gunning pointed out that, previously, the group had “slowed” the network down once a user reached a certain point of bandwidth use, however, owing to the network move, Web Africa was able to remove this policy so that users “get more bang for their buck”.