Orange starts testing ADSL service in South Africa

Orange is planning to launch an internet service provider in South Africa soon, offering clients from its online store trial DSL accounts to test the service.

Orange Horizons CEO Sebastien Crozier told MyBroadband.co.za that some customers may be given an opportunity to test uncapped accounts. Technical testing of the ISP has already begun, and it is only a question of launching the pilot now, he said.

Customers will receive an e-mail telling them they have an opportunity to choose Orange as an ISP.

Those invited to the trial will be offered something "quite interesting", he said. Orange previously said it expects to launch its ISP by the end of 2015, which was later adjusted to early 2016. Crozier has now said they don't have a fixed launch date. In addition to testing the network and collecting feedback from users, they also want to ensure that their supply chain is in order.

Orange wants to make sure it isn't making assumptions that aren't valid, so it will be asking whether its service needs to be sold through shops or other physical outlets. The soonest they think the trial would finish and the ISP could officially launch is the end of Q1 2016.

Telecom Paper