ITWeb: "Telkom plans to connect Africa" [Archive]

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MaD

07-05-2004, 07:26 PM

Telkom plans to connect Africa

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2004/0405070614.asp?A=AFN&S=All%20Africa%20News&O=E&CiRestriction=

"We want to see multi-service enabled networks and multi-network interoperability, as well as the provision of on-demand broadband capability, but it needs to be both affordable to the people and profitable for the networks," said Telkom chief technical officer, Reuben September.

Balancing affordability and profitability is tricky, and we all understand that they have to make a profit. But if Telkom comes right with their pricing with ADSL and Diginet I'll buy shares tomorrow.

Where others have progress, we have Telkom.
Hellkom website - http://telkomsucks.0catch.com

Strobemeister

07-05-2004, 08:40 PM

Well, from a layman's point of view, I don't see how telscum is qualified to take this forward. We are one of the richest countries in Africa, and they have not managed to make it affordable to the average Joe here. They have however managed to make it "profitable to the networks".
Seems like they're planning a rape & pillage expedition through our beloved continent.

Telkom - South Africa's Handbrake to progress.

BTTB

07-05-2004, 10:03 PM

It will be like Swaziland. Fuel is cheaper their although it all comes from SA.

<hr noshade size="1">You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.

microfast

08-05-2004, 12:28 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MaD
 Telkom plans to connect Africa<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

thx Mad - could have written a lot here, .... but.

"The key consideration is to have African operators connect the unconnected
across the continent through African-based partnerships."

I agree with this statement 100%, however .....[:D]

Here in South Africa they have disconnected the connected - some 2M+ I think.

MaD

08-05-2004, 09:35 AM

Yup there are roughly 500,000 active phone lines at the moment, the vast majority of them being business lines (Businesses and govt accounted for 71% of Telkom profit last year) because they tend to be able to afford it easier than a previously disadvantaged person, and we know how unimportant *they* are to Telkom..

It would be great to see Telkom actually do something positive for Africa - but I'm sure none of us are holding our breath because so far we've been screwed every way from Tuesday... but it would be nice for them to prove us wrong for a change, no?

Bets on the table... [:)]

Where others have progress, we have Telkom.
Hellkom website - http://telkomsucks.0catch.com

lewstherin

10-05-2004, 01:09 PM

My message to Hellkom: How about connecting SOUTH AFRICA to affordable broadband first????

Telkom needs a leash, ICASA needs some guts, and the SA consumer needs to make it happen

microfast

10-05-2004, 01:24 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MaD
Yup there are roughly 500,000 active phone lines at the moment, the vast majority of them being business lines .......<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I think it would be correct to say then :

There are no telecommunications in place for the previously disadvantaged -
the masses, the people, the majority - the voters.

I would suggest that cabinet makes this one of their top priorities
when they discuss how best to deliver on their mandate.

BTTB

10-05-2004, 01:45 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I think it would be correct to say then :

There are no telecommunications in place for the previously disadvantaged -
the masses, the people, the majority - the voters.

I would suggest that cabinet makes this one of their top priorities
when they discuss how best to deliver on their mandate.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

http://www.mybroadband.co.za/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22

Extracted from this article.
Melody says: "Telkom's profits are outrageous in the light of their having withdrawn services [due to fraud and unaffordability] from two million of the 2.5-million they had undertaken to roll out services to under their licence obligations.

"Telkom is getting rid of its marginal customers, the poor, and is not providing universal access as it claims to be."

"Telkom's profits are outrageous, especially in the light of their losing two million of the 2.5-million line connections they were required to make under their licence. After going to the expense of putting lines into people's homes you don't switch them off. You at least allow them to receive calls. This costs Telkom nothing. Instead, it could earn from incoming calls and allow emergency calls to me made."

If these statements are true, then Telkom is a disgrace and the state for allowing it to happen. How can they talk about connecting Africa, after they disconnected those poor souls. Aren't we in Africa too?

Furthermore Melody states further:
Melody says unknown to most of us is the fact that the largest network in the country is the national lottery. It has exemptions to lease capacity from others but may not provide a voice signal. In other words, if a payphone were allowed at each lottery point, greater voice penetration would be achieved in South Africa.

 This goes further to point out the fact that the state is only interested in furthering it's monetary gain making exceptions for The Lottery. Whereas I could think of many other things they should be doing like bringing the Internet to Every School in South Africa, free of charge.

<hr noshade size="1">You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.

onionpeel

10-05-2004, 06:16 PM

There are two conflicting sides to this: Telkom runs a business, the SA government runs a charity.

Karnaugh

10-05-2004, 08:04 PM

I wish they would try and connect South Africa first...

- Colin Alston
colin at alston dot za dot org

"Getting traffic shaping right is easy and can be summed up in one word: Dont." -- George Barnett

MaD

11-05-2004, 09:40 PM

There's over 160,000 payphones as well - one for every 306 people... and unbelievably TK lowered the rates for that (http://www.telkom.co.za/news/article_644.jsp) from 80c to 50c "a unit" in February... prolly due to a conscience... must be a South African's idea because only they know how much we need any kind of price relief.

Most of the phones being "positioned in high traffic areas and many at filling stations forecourts, taxi ranks and train stations" - but still they won't allow the previously disadvantaged people to afford their own lines at their own homes, which will cost them much less starting with the first call!

Pretty bloody racist IMHO. I've said that before and I'll say it again.. not to be dodgy, but that is what I believe.

Where others have progress, we have Telkom.
Hellkom website - http://telkomsucks.0catch.com

Perdition

11-05-2004, 10:04 PM

I wouldn't say it's racist, more like capitalist. Telkom don't want poor people to have phones, previously disadvantaged or not... in fact "previously" implies they are advantaged now which clearly they are not [;)]

onionpeel

12-05-2004, 07:50 AM

Here is the reality of doing business in Africa with copper cabling [V]:
http://www.telkom.co.za/news/article_441.jsp
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2004/0401091159.asp?http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2003/0310081133.asp?
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2003/0308191107.asp?http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2001/0112181105.asp?
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2002/0211061051.asp?

antowan

12-05-2004, 08:02 AM

Nice words from a bad company doing bad work trying to make it look nice...

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MaD
 Telkom plans to connect Africa

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2004/0405070614.asp?A=AFN&S=All%20Africa%20News&O=E&CiRestriction=

"We want to see multi-service enabled networks and multi-network interoperability, as well as the provision of on-demand broadband capability, but it needs to be both affordable to the people and profitable for the networks," said Telkom chief technical officer, Reuben September.

Balancing affordability and profitability is tricky, and we all understand that they have to make a profit. But if Telkom comes right with their pricing with ADSL and Diginet I'll buy shares tomorrow.

Where others have progress, we have Telkom.
Hellkom website - http://telkomsucks.0catch.com
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

He who does not understand the value of war at the right time, cannot comprehend the value of life at any time - Anonymous