Since the 15th of June 2015, FNB has given the nation the choice of using a mobile voice data service called, the FNB connect product. This is the first time a bank offers any customer the chance to own its own SIM cards, since the SIM cards and devices are sold separately.
The user do not have to sign a contract for 24 months, but has a flexi contract option, letting you as a user the option on how long you want to commit to a contract. However, the biggest question of all remains: is it cheaper than the exiting mobile service companies are or not?
The proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the pricing. When looking at Data contracts, you see that on a 500MB data contract, FNB is the cheapest that only as R35, followed by Cell C and Telkom.
Data contracts | FNB | Cell C | Vodacom | Telkom |
500MB | R35 | R39 | R45 | R39 |
1GB | R65 | R69 | R75 | R59 |
2GB | R95 | R99 | R109 | R99 (2.5GB) |
5GB | R245 | R199 | R259 | R199 |
Source: Vodacom, Telkom Mobile, Cell C, and FNB Connect. Correct as of 5 June 2015.
The FNB connect products uses the Cell C infrastructure but has compiled its own packages, including mobile data bundles and contracts. When you look a Telkom, keep in mind that the SIM-only contracts can be chosen on a month-to-month term, while other contracts are usually 12-24 months.
FNB Connect also offers clients additional data contracts and data bundles what can be used to top up prepaid and contract data packages.
The Data Bundles comparison is as follows:
Data bundles | FNB | Cell C | Vodacom (post-paid) |
Vodacom (prepaid) |
Telkom |
50MB | R15 | R10 | – | – | R20 |
100MB | R28 | R19 | – | R29 | R30 |
300MB | R75 | R55 | – | – | – |
500MB | R95 | R85 | R55 | R99 | R95 |
1GB | R145 | R149 | R85 | R149 | R180 |
2GB | R245 | R245 | R149 | R249 | R349 |