Is Telkom changing into a cool company?

[rpm]

Is Telkom becoming a cool company? (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/33198-is-telkom-becoming-a-cool-company.html)

Free ADSL data promotions; free ADSL installations and access special; aggressively priced mobile products. What is going on at Telkom?

[Mike Hoxbig]

No. For as long as we have to hold for 2 hours to get through to an operator who can barely speak or understand English, they will remain a crap company.

[Ekstasis]

No. For as long as we have to hold for 2 hours to get through to an operator who can barely speak or understand English, they will remain a crap company. "wamkelekile"

[Rosaudio]

I'm starting to get worried about MyADSL...

[kingrob]

I must admit it, to my absolute horror : Telkom is becoming a cool company. :eek:

Just waiting to see what contract will be offered with the Samsung Galaxy S2. ;)

[ichigo]

No. For as long as we have to hold for 2 hours to get through to an operator who can barely speak or understand English, they will remain a crap company.

Lol 2 hours last time I used them I got an operator in a few seconds


I must admit it, to my absolute horror : Telkom is becoming a cool company. :eek:

Just waiting to see what contract will be offered with the Samsung Galaxy S2. ;)

This is not for 8ta it is for Telkom adsl which have different CEO's running them therefore different companies.

Can you add an unsure button cause I am 50/50.

[Loopin]

They're making progress... slowly.

[MickeyD]

Lol 2 hours last time I used them I got an operator in a few seconds

This is not for 8ta it is for Telkom adsl which have different CEO's running them therefore different companies.

Can you add an unsure button cause I am 50/50.
Pinky is still Amith's boss...

[ichigo]

Pinky is still Amith's boss...

Oh ok but aren't both companies independant of each other?

[dablakmark8]

I must admit it, to my absolute horror : Telkom is becoming a cool company. :eek:

Just waiting to see what contract will be offered with the Samsung Galaxy S2. ;)
me to,i dont know what to think of it

[MickeyD]

Oh ok but aren't both companies independant of each other?
No. 8ta is not a separate legal entity. They are a separate division within Telkom under the leadership of Pinky.

[Hummercellc]

Well done Pinky you are the new Brain!

[VioAdmin]

Pinky is probably the best CEO Telkom has had in a long time, they are at least moving in the right direction but still, way way too slow and the prices have to drop way further.

We have been saying this for decades now, remove the Line rental price or drop the prices for ADSL to acceptable levels for this day and age(would require at least 30%+ drop on all prices!)

If they can do that, the transition to becoming a 'cool' company would begin, otherwise they remain where they are.

[TheRoDent]

If they carry on this strong after LLU, then they will be cool. Until then, they're still an incumbent.

[Saajid]

Jeez. I'm scared to vote. Afraid to praise Telkom (yes vote), as it might (probably will) come back to haunt me, also afraid that Telkom will think this is all they need to do in order to succeed (far from it, but a decent start) and their heads might get fat. On the other hand, definitely some interesting and refreshing things happening.

So I'm not gonna vote. Too scared I'm gonna jinx it. If there was an 'undecided' option, I'd choose that.

Update: I voted no, after thinking about it in a level headed manner. Cell C is what you call a cool company. Telkom need to do better than Cell C to be regarded as cool. 2 months of some goodwill to the consumer from Telkom is not enough. If they can better Cell C, and keep the pace for over a year, then I'd call them slightly cool. Do it over 3 years, then you're cool. Pinky needs to become the new Lars, and make an appearance at MyBB 2011 conference, fix up its terrible call center and IVR, billing, customer services, shocking ADSL prices, and put a rep on these forums.

But if you really want to take the golden prize of being the coolest, put a 50mbps uncapped fibre pipe in my house and business and my friends houses, for under R1000 per month each. Then you'll be the coolest, until LTE Advanced comes, or someone else beats you to it, which is looking more likely with each passing week. BWired are down my street, admittedly a very long street, trenching fibre. Wonder when we can expect consumer services or even wholesale services (to ISPs and telecoms companies) on the BWired network?

[Jagtiger]

Just realized that something weird, when they announced 512k --> 1024k updates and that promotion. It didn't look like telkom, where it has something new occurring recently few times.

[Milano]

If competing unfairly, being slow to change and failing to drop rates enough are the new measures of cool, then yes, Telkom is cool.

[Carbon_Fibre]

8ta aside, Telkom is always way behind the curve. For example the upgrade of 512 to 1Meg was at least 1 to 2 years too late (even by SA telecom standards), same with the price anomaly on 512 (prior to price cut R326 to R289).

I understand the hesitance to upgrade 384 because it will break their network, but they should upgrade 1Meg to 4Meg or at least 2Meg in the next 6 months. That really isn't too much to ask.

[Reelix]

"to Telkom’s Fast Internet with up to 1024kbps ADSL access"

As long as statements like that exist, I will be ashamed of Telkom.

Me: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1466466099.png

Fast: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1340474896.png

Notice those two values are slightly different...

So, if 1MB internet is "Fast", what is 100MB internet, exactly... ?

- Edit -

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1415731837.png

And that? What would Telkom consider THAT -_-

[2old4this]

Bbbbeee company! No change! No speaka English!

[jdkh]

Telkom is bowing to competition eating into their margins. Exactly what the old Telkom would have done had competition been introduced years ago so no change. Cell C introduced the real competition and a few months of specials from each operator is not enough to change the reality.

[Easter Bunny]

there i was, reading on my phone, three paragraphs in and no picture of pinky.... then i scrolled down a bit.

i think mybb has a crush on her.

and back to the topic...

i don't know if i can live in a world where spermcount is cool. i've gotten used to them disappointing me. i expect that their business deals must have something wrong - tablet displays sold seperately?

[markings]

I understand the hesitance to upgrade 384 because it will break their network, but they should upgrade 1Meg to 4Meg or at least 2Meg in the next 6 months. That really isn't too much to ask.
Why would upgrading 384 break the network?

[TelkomUseless]

No from me.. they still too expensive and a big FU for not upgrading 384 automaticly..

[maneshk]

U know what FWdeK did in south africa in the early 90's, well we need similar change in telkom. Someone who must make some tough decisions like 'naked adsl'

[Roadrunner]

Telkom as a whole is not becoming cooler, but I think a 'rebel' group within them is trying hard to change the status quo. ;)

Hope that top managment don't send the Death Star after them.

[copacetic]

How much does it cost for 384 access again? Never mind an actual broadband connection...

[noxibox]

a world where spermcount is cool.
When was that ever not cool? :twisted:

[SUPERMAN89]

They need to sort out their landlines. I recently moved to pre-paid even that nobody know whats going on.Neotel wins in that!

The cost of a telkom land wasnt worth it.

8.ta on the other FTW,long as speeds and costs get better

[Ispy]

Telkom has been changing quietly, new comers , new management from industry

[hereticangel]

when they give me a 20mb line and allow LLU , then they will be cool :P

[drukkie]

Well i must say havn't had any issues with them lately....
Cable got stolen...replaced within 4 days...WOW!
Downgraded to 1MB....done in a day...
So something is happening.

If only they would drop the mandatory telephone line....then i will be happy!
for now im content.

[noxibox]

I can't judge either way. I'm waiting to see whether they lower ADSL access prices and do something about the wiring from exchanges to homes. I've also yet to see them offering decent service in regard to coming out to find the source of a fault on a line (while threatening to charge a few hundred Rand if they can't figure it out is not on).

8ta's contracts sounded good until I saw the details. Very misleading advertising.

[surfs-up]

Is Telkom cool ? I would say that question needs to be split between their ADSL division and 8.ta

8.ta is cool
Telkom ADSL is totally uncool - way too expensive line rental charges, and speeds suck

It was with trepidation that I bought a 2 + 1 GB 8.ta deal to test their speeds and efficiency. I was well pleased with the speeds I was getting in my area. So much so that am now waiting for approval for my 24 moth 10 GB/month 8.ta deal.

I still have two Cell C 5 GB/month packages if 8.ta does not live up to it's expectations.

[mezu]

it took me a freaking 35 minutes on the phone to chat to an operator after login a fault online. Their email templates come through empty...naah, they are still uncool in my books.

[hsark]

wow vodacom is now becoming the bad guy ......if you asked the same question 2 years eish! good times where is neotel? thanks 2 cell c aggressive marketing in the mobile sector again

[hsark]

it also only took me 4mins to get through to setup my adsl at telkom have no idea what number you guys are cooling , as i called them 3 times and never waited more than 5 mins

[EtienneK]

What is cool about calling 384kb/s broadband?

[uchoose]

10GB is not cool 100GB is just OK. They just can't get passed this low cap thinking.

[surfs-up]

wow vodacom is now becoming the bad guy ......if you asked the same question 2 years eish! good times where is neotel? thanks 2 cell c aggressive marketing in the mobile sector again

Vodacom has been the bad guy for many years now - ask Jannie, he will tell you how much abuse he takes. :D and for good reason too. They should be about the last company you should use for mobile data, if you use anything MORE than 20 MB per month

[Geoffers]

It would be cool to see them offer some better pricing on the fixed line (which i dont need) and on the ADSL
Otherwise I am loving the competition..

[McGuywer]

consumers are starting to compliment Telkom and welcome what the company is doing – something that has been in short supply over the last decade.



Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the columnist and do not represent those of MyBroadband.

Lol....

[Madman88]

Telkoms peering policy = Not a cool company.

Theyre getting their arses in gear because they have no choice, but their business decisions still show their priority is to keep their strangle hold.

[ThinkCentre]

What is cool about calling 384kb/s broadband?

That is not cool and according to world standards, it is not seen as broadband! South Africans the rewrite the standards to fit their specs!

[inferno]

Its not a small company like CellC. Change is a slow process due to Telkom's sheer size and ICASA's constant need to approve every product change.

If it wasnt for ICASA, we would have our cellphone and telephone on the same account. Using our 10gb dsl bandwidth on our cellphones. However ICASA said they could not do that because it would be so competitive that it would be uncompetitive.

[gregmcc]

Telkom prices aren't cool, ergo they aren't cool.

[jdkh]

If it wasnt for ICASA, we would have our cellphone and telephone on the same account. Using our 10gb dsl bandwidth on our cellphones. However ICASA said they could not do that because it would be so competitive that it would be uncompetitive.
There's nothing preventing Telkom from doing that already.

[voiDude]

Erm, wasnt there an article a while ago that mentioned how Telkom had no idea that 8ta was going ahead with the Go Big special? ie: Telkom still sucks balls because 8ta and Telkom are 2 different companies at the end of the day.

Not to mention when I applied for theire free 3 month trial adsl i was bullied into signing a 24 month contract. I told the Telkom rep to go get STUFFED.

[jdkh]

Or one snake with 2 heads. ;)

[msm]

The title should read: "Is Telkom changing into a Competitive company"

With 8.ta yes, but with their existing fixed line services (including DSL), a very big NO.

[Garyvdh]

There should be a third option on the poll. I can't make a choice between those two as we simply do not know yet. Not many people trust Telkom yet so far to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[RDE]

Definately moving in the right direction, sure they have areas wherein they are still sub-standard. One thing is for sure, the winds of change are blowing at Telkom. They were ready to in install my ADSL within 2 weeks of applying, but a cable was stolen then they replaced it within a week. Tomorrow I get sorted :D

So double thumbs up to Telkom, I choose to stay positive for the future!

[Base122]

Just imagine how much "cooler" they could have been if they hadn't squandered that R7 Billion in the Multi-Links Nigeria EPIC FAIL!

[bullzeye.za]

They're trying to win favor for LLU

They've been in the way for far too long, and if they win the LLU battle, they will go back to their regular self.

Viva la Revolution!

[Tank101]

this is better then expected! sure prices are way too high still, especially line rental, and LLU is a must but if you consider inflation at 5% 2010, 5% 2011 and 5% 2012, we are slowly getting better value for money even if prices stand still. packages are also getting bigger and faster. things are moving in the right direction and should pick up speed once telkom wakes up and starts competing properly, they have the resources and connections

[entrepr]

The reality is Telkom is schizophrenic (in my view) - on the one hand they have the old Telkom, dominating it's market for historic reasons but having its business eroded quickly. Many of their customers are older generation, slow to change and businesses who also change slowly and believe Telkom offers them a level of reliability (although my home line is certainly not reliable).

On the other hand they have the mobile division which is a minnow in its market, new and small compared to competitors. Not only that, but the mobile market attracts a different mindset - youthful, innovative and all the rest. Just compare a Telkom Direct shop with an MTN or Virgin in the same mall, to see the difference.

The Telkom mobile people have no choice but to adapt or die (or never get started). However this is really only in the branding and the offers. Underneath it is the same Telkom politics, same departments signing off, same resistance.

Telkom is not the first company to have this dilemma. Other telco's internationally have actually spun off new businesses to throw off their past. Of course, Telkom would never do this and so they have an uncomfortable combination of the old and the new, hence the schizophrenia.

[Fudzy]

Hmm, with what was highlighted the other day about Telkom's aggresive advertising on this site maybe there should be a poll asking whether MyBB is selling out to them :/

[evilstebunny]

Both Armstrong and Moholi said that we can expect to see a new Telkom – a company which is fast and lean, and one that provides attractive product offerings.

Great. Looking forward to you dropping the monopolistic line rental fees immediately then.
While you're busy, get your techies to contact me about the apparent discrepency between your online checker and my actual less-than-10meg speed.
Btw 8ta is useless to me until they extend their coverage to my remote place here in the far out regions of the middle of the city.

The writer of this article suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, happens sometimes when the abuse was particular nasty for an extended period of time.

[system32]

Telkom Cool - don't make me laugh.

Just finished cancelling my Telkom POTS+ADSL because the 4Mbps ADSL only does 0.2Mbps during peak periods.
Telkom - what a painful experience - call open for 4 months and they can't fix their back-hall exchange infrastructure.
Pay for a 4Mbps ADSL and get 0.2Mbps!

Even the cancelling was difficult:
>Friday - 2 hours on the phone to 10210 - no luck
>Saturday - a visit to the walk in centre - fail
>Monday - 1 hour on phone to 10210 - success (I think).

Switched to Cell-C - now there's a cool company - getting 10-15Mbps DL on Cell C :)

[sand_man]

They're as cool as a brain tumor...

[system32]

Its not a small company like CellC. Change is a slow process due to Telkom's sheer size and ICASA's constant need to approve every product change.

FNB, StandardBank, ABSA, MTN, VodaCom, DSTV, Outsurance, Discovery, VISA, MasterCard, etc, (and probably Cell-C), are all have more customers than Telkom.
The above are also regulated - and the all provide much better service and are customer focused.


Telkom's sheer size is an exaggeration and an excuse.

Telkom != COOL
FNB, StandardBank, ABSA, MTN, VodaCom, DSTV, Outsurance, Discovery, VISA, MasterCard, Cell-C = COOL.

[Pilgrim]

Their 8ta brand shows 2 things:

1. They know their brand is one of the most hated in SA, hence the "new" brand, instead of trying to push "telkom mobile" or such.
2. The great 8ta deal shows you what they have to do to break into the market. Competition sucks hey?

[Garethooper]

Pinky is still Amith's boss...

Amith is my ex-boss and vouch that he will make things work. This is a good thing for Telkom.
Between the two, I believe Telkom will see the light as a whole, and so it shows already.

[msmoorad]

i think its too early to tell
if they get rid of the double line rental nonsense for ADSL, remove caps & increase speeds for ALL ADSL subscribers, then i'd really accept that they are now a COOL company
other than that, im not so convinced.

[MightyMuffinMan]

No. For as long as we have to hold for 2 hours to get through to an operator who can barely speak or understand English, they will remain a crap company. don't talk bull. I have used their customer care extensively over the past 3 months and can assure you that I have been answered with in 5-10 min, and they also offer a callback option so you don't have to wait. Don't mention your problems you had 5 years ago and behave as if they are relevant now.

[MightyMuffinMan]

this is better then expected! sure prices are way too high still, especially line rental, and LLU is a must but if you consider inflation at 5% 2010, 5% 2011 and 5% 2012, we are slowly getting better value for money even if prices stand still. packages are also getting bigger and faster. things are moving in the right direction and should pick up speed once telkom wakes up and starts competing properly, they have the resources and connections most of the clowns on this forum are too short sighted to see what you are saying. wp gg

[Mike Hoxbig]

don't talk bull. I have used their customer care extensively over the past 3 months and can assure you that I have been answered with in 5-10 min, and they also offer a callback option so you don't have to wait. Don't mention your problems you had 5 years ago and behave as if they are relevant now.
Riiiight, so because you've had luck, it means that I must have too. I too have had to make queries extensively during the past year, what with moving house etc., and while 2 hours is obviously a bit of an exaggeration, it's never been less than 30 minutes that I've had to hold.

And when 0800 DSL DSL can't provide you with an answer, their solution is to call 10219. Eventually you try calling back, get a different operator, who is suddenly able to provide you with an answer. So yes, their call centre is a disaster, and there appears to be a big rift between the quality of agents.

BTW I even created a thread to give credit to Telkom for a relatively quick turnaround time in getting my DSL installed, but that's after the crap I had to go through in making follow-ups with their call centre to get my line installed. Don't mention your good experiences and then pretend like it's the same for for everyone. I always give credit where it's due, and while things are improving at Telkom, customer experiences still vary far too much to agree that everything is ok.

[Loopin]

i think its too early to tell
if they get rid of the double line rental nonsense for ADSL, remove caps & increase speeds for ALL ADSL subscribers, then i'd really accept that they are now a COOL company
other than that, im not so convinced.

I'd rather have full line speed and a large cap (100GB?) than the slow / throttled service that we get on the current uncapped accounts...

[Blackhand]

Has the world GONE MAD!

[Tomtomtom]

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_cobley_what_physics_taught_me_about_marketing. html

Telkom's brand is so large and has such a poor image that developing a portfolio of separate brands is their best strategy... I do think the company is changing, but I also think it'll take years for them to convince anyone of that. I think they should rename the "Telkom SA" division (which is strange and confusing to begin with) and spin off separate commercial and consumer ISPs under different brands.

[kamikazi]

Telkom's customer service staff certainly don't give the impression that they think it a cool company and that is enough for me. It would have been better to launch 8ta without support from Telkom's existing retail facilities and make a clean break with the past and present.

[gregorio]

Cell C is the only cool telecoms company. Whooooosh!

[ajules]

Definitely not a cool company but I also don't think we can ignore the fact that there has already been significant improvements made with Pinky at the helm.
Expect more good things to come from this corner in the next 12 months

[Gimaru]

ADSL prices still are not cool. Therefore, no.

[bwana]

Bar pickup 101. It's the ugly friend syndrome. Telkom surrounds itself with less attractive companions, Vodacom and MTN, so they look better.

[LabAnimal]

Telkom/8ta would have to do a whole lot more to WOW me before I'd spend more with them!... cheaper, much faster, and uncapped unshaped, and a ton of compliments on mybroadband - then I'll consider them! Vodacom also leaving a sour taste in my mouth... Cell C looking ever more interesting! MTN seems much the same as Vodacom... so no!.

[b166er]

Marketing/brainwashing tips from Telkom:
Pay massive amount for billboard next to your competitor (check (http://www.thehouseofmarketing.co.za/?tag=neotel-and-telkom))
Pay for massive advertising campaign on your worst critic's webpage. (check (http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5602/mytelkom.jpg))
Get worst critic to think you are actually not so bad. (check (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/33198-is-telkom-becoming-a-cool-company.html))
Profit.

Brainwash successful?

[kingrob]

If the government stops interfering with Telkom/8ta, I think we should see a very cool company.

[nalu]

Let's see it then we can believe it.

[Flowerhat]

I'm starting to get worried about MyADSL...

Mee too, Telkom is probably the sole reason why our is internet prices are sky high..
Telkom can never be cool

[Lupus]

I wouldn't know if they a cool company waiting now 11 months for them to install a line in my area, and even if they did they claim we limited to 512 so yeah at the moment no.

Sent from my U20i using MyBroadband Android App

[ingeon]

I dislike these articles because I always end up with the "Upgrade our speeds" voters
They`ll get my vote of confidence when they upgrade 384 > 1meg, 1meg > 10meg, 10meg > 20/40meg with the same prices.

[Gloudine]

I could not agree more Mike. I have logged a fault on 29 Aug... they keep on testing my line and tell me that my line is clean. BUT I have a terrible download speed internationally ... hold your breath less than 1MG. When I run a ping test to a local site like www.telkom.co.za it requests time out and there is about a 25% package lost. Every time I logg a fault I receive a message to confirm that the fault has been cleared. How on earth do I get somebody to look at this problem. I have esculated the fault because obviously there is no line problem from my house to the local exchange. I have the best and fastest package tha Telkom can offer their clients and my line sync well at 6MG, Any suggetions .. I can not take this anymore. How on earth do I get somebody to help me. The fault has been cleared 4 times and every time I phone and have to go through the whole process -- logg a fault - technicians confirms no line fault - esculate the fault - receive a sms - fault has been cleared. Phone - hold on for a long time - explain that my international download speed is less than 1 MG - explain ping test request time out - log a fault and the cycle repeats itself over and over again. Please I need help and advice - urgently :)

[Tomtomtom]

Please I need help and advice - urgently :)

How about getting an account with another ISP and transferring your line to them. If that doesn't fix the problem by itself, then log your fault with the new company.

[Gloudine]

Thanks for the advice. I do video conferencing via the internet - connecting to Taiwan - 7 hours a day. I really need a good connection at least 2.5MG download. I have tried some of the other service providers but their speed isn't the same as Telkom. The reason - Telkom uses the SAT3 cable for their clients or soo I was told and that is why my internet is more expensive. I have been working from South Africa for the last 2 years and Telkom is my ISP,never had this problem before. Last night I tried to test Afrihost but my Netgear Modem doesnt want to connect. The DSL connects but the internet light stays red. Michael at Afrihost told me that it could be that Telkom has logged it so that I can't change my password or username. I tried to phone 10215 at Telkom to clear this up but to be honest when I had to hold on after I got cut off I cracked...

[Gloudine]

Just wondering if anybody else have the same problem.. low international download speed.. maybe I am not the only one.

[MickeyD]

Thanks for the advice. I do video conferencing via the internet - connecting to Taiwan - 7 hours a day. I really need a good connection at least 2.5MG download. I have tried some of the other service providers but their speed isn't the same as Telkom. The reason - Telkom uses the SAT3 cable for their clients or soo I was told and that is why my internet is more expensive. I have been working from South Africa for the last 2 years and Telkom is my ISP,never had this problem before. Last night I tried to test Afrihost but my Netgear Modem doesnt want to connect. The DSL connects but the internet light stays red. Michael at Afrihost told me that it could be that Telkom has logged it so that I can't change my password or username. I tried to phone 10215 at Telkom to clear this up but to be honest when I had to hold on after I got cut off I cracked...
He's speaking crap.

[Reelix]

Do the following:

1.) Apply for a phone line at a location that has never had a phone line
2.) Wait for the phone line to arrive (Should take +- 3 months)
3.) Apply for DSL to be activated on that phone line
4.) Whilst waiting for DSL to be activated, attempt to cancel the line.

Result:
1.) You will be told that you cannot cancel the line since it has an operation pending on it.
2.) Upon attempting to cancel the DSL activation, you will be informed that your cancellation can not be processed, since something else is in the queue (The Activation you are trying to cancel)
3.) Upon attempting to cancel the line after the activation is complete, you will be informed that the line cannot be cancelled, since it has the DSL activation.

With a system like this in place, how can anyone believe Telkom is even semi decent, let alone cool?

[Gloudine]

Well then I obviously don't want them as my ISP.... Do any of you have a good connection internationally and who is your ISP

[MickeyD]

Guys I don't wanna bad muth any ISP.. I just want to solve my problem... So please if anyone could help me and explain how I can solve my International download speed that is so slow I will be the happiest person in the world.
Maybe if you post in the correct sub-forum or create a new thread you will get assistance far quicker!

[Gloudine]

New to this ... will try that.. thanks

[Wimbo]

Its not a small company like CellC. Change is a slow process due to Telkom's sheer size and ICASA's constant need to approve every product change

Rubbish. They provide 7 days notice to ICASA of pricing or product changes, like everyone else.


If it wasn't for ICASA, we would have our cellphone and telephone on the same account. Using our 10GB DSL bandwidth on our cellphones. However ICASA said they could not do that because it would be so competitive that it would be uncompetitive.

And you have what proof for this statement?