Most Expensive ADSL in the world (Thanks Telkom)

[roddyp]

Comparing the price of our ADSL to the rest of the world, we have the most expensive and slowest around.

For instance, in the UK, you get a 512 ADSL line UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH for 20 pounds a month. This works out to R250 per month, including the ADSL line, the account, everything.

This really really sickens me, especially as Telkom is making a killing from its monopoly.

All they ever offer are excuses and lies about the cost of the service. (its so expensive, because we pay a premium for bandwidth....blah blah blah..)

Bandwidth is cheap and there are a ton of companies in the US offering Telkom huge amounts of bandwidth for a minimal price.

The main problem, is that Telkom makes a KILLING from ISDN. Imagine if ADSL become a realistic alternative for companies using ISDN? Telkom would lose millions.

this is why they rip us of the way they do.

Go Telkom.

[cwayjone]

You are wrong ...Telkom makes a killing off isdn, diginet and analogue modem internet access. At the moment these are all better options than dsl. According to telkom dsl is not aimed at high volume users.

Quote from ITWEB, "Andrew Weldrick, Telkom senior manager of media relations, points out that ADSL is not aimed at high-volume users, and says the 3GB limit had to be imposed because of a small group of users retarding the service for average users.

Weldrick says end-users should assess their requirements carefully, and if high-volume downloads are important to them, they should look at more appropriate solutions such as ISDN or leased lines for which the correct bandwidth may be allocated.""

I would think this service would only appeal to high volume users, I would consider isdn and analogue modems as low volume.

DSL = broadband.

Telkom should do their homework.

[roddyp]

I agree. What exactly am I wrong about?

[Anton Veldhuizen]

I completely agree that we are overcharged for a lesser service than that of other countries.

I had the privilege of using a superb ADSL Service for the last year and a half I lived in the UK. These are the guys I subscribed to:

http://www.xtreme.pipex.net/adsl/sales/solutions/residential/

Follow the URL and you will see that modem, installation charges and unlimited cap can be yours for a mere 17.57GBP(one-off) + 23.44GBP(monthly). Upon raising this issue with one of Telkom's guys the counter argument was that we are paying more in this country due to our geographical disposition.

His counter arguments:
1) Telkom has to maintain a cable (with a boat standing at bay 365 days a year) that runs all the way from here to London, we can never expect to pay as little as the Americans or Europeans. However, I suspect that this cable serves all data communications between us and the rest of the world - not only ADSL!

2) England is approximately the size of Natal with approximately 16 million residents whereas Telkom has to provide a service to the whole of S.A. with only 4 million residents.

After listening to his counter arguments I could just about understand that there are some reasons why we have to pay 4 times (5 times if you consider the unlimited cap!) as much as the UK for ADSL. However, I recently noticed that our capping not only applies to international bandwidth (the costly part, apparently imposed by SAIX), but local bandwidth as well!!! This, not even considering the costs mentioned above just left me speechless.

About ADSL in the UK:
The government is making an attempt to bring broadband as to every household. In contrast to S.A.: ADSL is also fast becoming the de-facto standard for small businesses (what would happen to a business in S.A. if your 3GB cap suddenly kicks in?). BT (British Telecom - UK's equivalent of Telkom) has fierce competition from cable companies.

I strongly believe that we need to expose Telkom’s ridiculous monopoly. Perhaps the our government should also intervene? Can we not get some television show to debate these issues with Telkom?

Thank you for a great forum - so pleased someone started something like this. Let's nail 'em!

Anton