Webafrica justifies new cancellation fee for FTTH packages

South African Internet service provider, Webafrica, has recently announced plans to introduce a R999 cancellation fee for all its fibre broadband connections, sparking outrage among its existing customers. Despite this controversial move, Webafrica has promised that its fibre prices will remain the lowest in the market, and its service will continue to be of the highest quality. In this article, we delve into the details of Webafrica’s decision, dissect its reasoning behind it, and evaluate the potential implications for the ISP’s future performance in the highly competitive broadband industry.


According to Webafrica, a new R999 cancellation fee for its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) packages is necessary due to recent price adjustments across major fibre networks in South Africa. The fee was prompted by a customer wanting to downgrade his line speed from 200Mbps to 100Mbps after being automatically upgraded by the fibre network operator (FNO), Octotel. Webafrica allowed him to downgrade without penalty, but informed him he would have to pay the cancellation fee if he terminated his package in future. Webafrica said the cancellation fee replaces previous costs for processing a cancellation with the FNO, installation and connection fees, and FNO-determined upgrade or downgrade fees. Customers can keep their routers following cancellation, which Webafrica says has occurred in less than 1% of cases. Webafrica claims its prices are the best and cheapest in the market, outpacing major ISPs such as Mweb, Afrihost, and Cool Ideas in 34 out of 35 cases.


In conclusion, while Webafrica’s recent announcement of a R999 cancellation fee may have raised some eyebrows, the promise of the cheapest fibre prices in South Africa is certainly attractive. As the competition in the fibre market continues to heat up, we can expect to see more efforts by service providers to differentiate themselves through pricing and other value-added services. Ultimately, the winners will be the consumers who benefit from greater choice and lower costs. As always, MyBroadband will continue to keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in the broadband market.