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Question of the Day: Will you be subscribing to the new Disney+ R49 streaming package?
Local wireless broadband providers can learn from Vodafone NZ
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
Guilty as chargedbwana v.10 said:Now someone just the other day lambasted me for saying SA prices weren't all that competitive and here comes Vodafone NZ offering R183-00 per gb.
I must however say that our mobile providers are (were?) competitively priced, but I see more and more countries dropping their prices substantially. I am really surprised that one of the wireless guys don’t follow the NZ example. What are they waiting for…the timing can not be better for a similar move…
Regards,
RPM
Here's me being a pain but when you say wireless broadband providers doesnt that have to include the likes of iBurst who provide the wireless access for as little as r122 per gb. Granted thats price per gb for a 9gb package but at a cost of a little more than 2gb with vodacom.
Sentech premium costs R1449,00/month with a soft cap of 40gb. (price per gb = r36)
Why do the cellular companies feel they should charge so much more? The way I see it local cellular providers have a lot to learn from local wireless providers.
Sentech premium costs R1449,00/month with a soft cap of 40gb. (price per gb = r36)
Why do the cellular companies feel they should charge so much more? The way I see it local cellular providers have a lot to learn from local wireless providers.
No worries - you were just one of severalrpm said:Guilty as charged
armitage
Expert Member
what shoulda been said and prbly implied there
Hi Kilo39kilo39 said:
I am not only referring to the cellular guys…also Sentech & iBurst. I am fairly certain that they follow a very conservative business model which dictates certain prices according to capex and running costs. As they can not accurately predict the take-up with a truly affordable option they are hesitant to launch such a service. When we look at competitive broadband environments in other countries however we often see some company/ISP taking the plunge…usually very successfully. Why not here?
But as I said above the cellular guys seem to be much more expensive than iBurst and Sentech yet we lump them (unfairly IMO) with the likes of Vodacom and MTN.rpm said:
We also assume Vodacom wants to be competitive. Why should they bother - they have a virtual monopoly in the majority of the country where iBurst/Sentech/Telkom cant be bothered to offer any service.
We're living in a country of niche service providers.
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kaspaas
Expert Member
As long as Telkom drums the wholesale bandwidth prices, chances as slim that the wireless guys will be able to drop rates.
Purchasing bandwidth (with Telkom's claws somewhere in the chain) is expensive, and I guess, the main prohibitor in dropping rates substantially.
Purchasing bandwidth (with Telkom's claws somewhere in the chain) is expensive, and I guess, the main prohibitor in dropping rates substantially.
I don't see how it prohibits them greatly, fact is that they are in a sense the isp and access medium provider so they don't have the additional profit margin like adsl has with isp/bandwidth + provider/rental yet are alot more expensive. In that sense their charge is alot, maybe the working it on a ratio of users they can squeeze per base station and/or bandwidth of those compared to offereing etc? Which could explain why charge remains high per gig rather than in adsl where your rental bit is a fixed amount reguardless of usage. what is the costs comparisons like in other parts of the world btw?
More kidding right?
... what's that old tech adage: build it and they will come? Wireless such a small footprint - and no interest in major investment (my thumbsuck) - because need to maximise profits always... and anything further decreases this option until the long term - and no company prepared to take the chance on a long term outlook. No vision and no balls (who can blame them.) - And yes, ultimately all roads lead to telkom - so unless there is a massive change of heart from the giant we will be stuck indefinitely.kaspaas
Expert Member
krycor said:
Telkom is the only company allowed to sell "internet access" to the other ISP's to provide bandwidth beyond their internal systems.
Eg If you are on Vodacom 3G and want to read News24, the traffic goes from your 3G modem to the Vodacom tower, into the Vodacom network, from there into the SA network to end at News24.
Vodacom, MTN, Sentech, iBurst has to purchase bandwidth from them to connect the towers to the rest of the countries and via the SAT3 cable to the rest of the world. A search for SAT3 will reveal how inefficient Telkom is in managing this essential service on behalf of the country.
I was under the impression that the changes brought into play in Feb 05 allowed them to self provide - at least locally. AFAIK Sentech is also allowed to self provide internationally and IS already does via satellite.kaspaas said:
Telkom isnt inefficient in managing access to sat3 - they're crippling the country in the quest for profit.
In Sweden....
Howdy all,
This is my first posting! Great forum here. Been following it the past two years now from Sweden. You guys keep things real. We're living in a fable here.
1GB/month over 3G costs approx 135-160 ZAR depending on the operator. Of course, for about 300-400 ZAR, you can get flat-rate 3G. You actually get 384kbps down and 64-128kbps up. We still haven't loaded HSDPA here - you guys beat us to it!
Don't ask what we pay for our 8/8Mbps CaTV or our 100/10Mbps residential Ethernet - you'd cry.
smeary
Howdy all,
This is my first posting! Great forum here. Been following it the past two years now from Sweden. You guys keep things real. We're living in a fable here.
1GB/month over 3G costs approx 135-160 ZAR depending on the operator. Of course, for about 300-400 ZAR, you can get flat-rate 3G. You actually get 384kbps down and 64-128kbps up. We still haven't loaded HSDPA here - you guys beat us to it!
Don't ask what we pay for our 8/8Mbps CaTV or our 100/10Mbps residential Ethernet - you'd cry.
smeary
bwana v.10 said:
I was also one of "them" peeps saying that the pricing wasn't competitive regarding the cellular offerings.
And I agree with bwana, that cellular and wifi should be differentiated and not grouped together under wifi. The pricing schemes are way out of whack for cellular when you compare them with wifi offerings, especially on a global scale.
smeary said:1GB/month over 3G costs approx 135-160 ZAR depending on the operator. Of course, for about 300-400 ZAR, you can get flat-rate 3G. You actually get 384kbps down and 64-128kbps up. We still haven't loaded HSDPA here - you guys beat us to it!
Don't ask what we pay for our 8/8Mbps CaTV or our 100/10Mbps residential Ethernet - you'd cry.
smeary
Hi Smeary, welcome to the forums. It's really nice to have an "outside" visitor on these forums. IMO it's good for the rest of the SA peeps to see what the rest of the world is offering while we settle for something that most SAs agree on is overpriced and inferior to other countries.
As a matter of interest how much are you paying for the 8/8Mbps CaTV and also how much for the 100/10Mbps residential ethernet. Our SNO operator is planning on offering Metro ethernet over here as well and just out of curiosity I'd like to see what a nice target price would be.
Hey Peter7 and all,
It's my pleasure to join in on this. I am a big promoter of South Africa. Have been there 4 times for in the past two years on business, but have taken the female unit this last time (last month) for a holiday in Cape Town. Beautiful country, friendly nationals, great food and ambitious plans. That's how I'll always remember it. I must say that for each time I visit South Africa, there's a big change, and that's only within a 2 year time frame.
Back to your question. For an 8/8Mbps, I pay at current something like 280 ZAR (uncapped) and for a 100/10 (a friend of mine has it), it's about the same. The CaTV operators are however going to upgrade in 2007-2008 to 100Mbps bi-directional. I don't know the price, but I can tell you right now that it's not going to be off the charts. The broadband environment here is a cut-throat competitive business, but mostly on the wireline side. Most of the people who sign up for ADSL will go for 8 to 28Mbps if availalble. You can even get a ADSL connection (capped) for about 40 ZAR/month.
We have several 3G operators and way too many ISP's. Most 3G users sign up because of the low-tariffed telephony, music downloads, MMS, some video, but also because the 3G phones have a lot of cool new stuff. You won't find too many PC-card owners in the big cities, however this isn't South Africa.
I do however believe that where we have come with wireline broadband, South Africa will surprise the world with mobile broadband. I don't see much point in further investments of copper now that wireless can carry both broadband and voice - you can also relocate without paying any fees, which is a big plus, let alone the whole mobility/portability factor. Every meter of buried copper is money that can be spent on buying subscribers the computers or phones so they can end up spending their money on data and voice traffic instead of the infrastructure. A copper line takes decades to pay off. A wireless connection doesn't. Those are my two cents.
Many thanks
It's my pleasure to join in on this. I am a big promoter of South Africa. Have been there 4 times for in the past two years on business, but have taken the female unit this last time (last month) for a holiday in Cape Town. Beautiful country, friendly nationals, great food and ambitious plans. That's how I'll always remember it. I must say that for each time I visit South Africa, there's a big change, and that's only within a 2 year time frame.
Back to your question. For an 8/8Mbps, I pay at current something like 280 ZAR (uncapped) and for a 100/10 (a friend of mine has it), it's about the same. The CaTV operators are however going to upgrade in 2007-2008 to 100Mbps bi-directional. I don't know the price, but I can tell you right now that it's not going to be off the charts. The broadband environment here is a cut-throat competitive business, but mostly on the wireline side. Most of the people who sign up for ADSL will go for 8 to 28Mbps if availalble. You can even get a ADSL connection (capped) for about 40 ZAR/month.
We have several 3G operators and way too many ISP's. Most 3G users sign up because of the low-tariffed telephony, music downloads, MMS, some video, but also because the 3G phones have a lot of cool new stuff. You won't find too many PC-card owners in the big cities, however this isn't South Africa.
I do however believe that where we have come with wireline broadband, South Africa will surprise the world with mobile broadband. I don't see much point in further investments of copper now that wireless can carry both broadband and voice - you can also relocate without paying any fees, which is a big plus, let alone the whole mobility/portability factor. Every meter of buried copper is money that can be spent on buying subscribers the computers or phones so they can end up spending their money on data and voice traffic instead of the infrastructure. A copper line takes decades to pay off. A wireless connection doesn't. Those are my two cents.
Many thanks
Gooku
Senior Member
Hi Smeary,
very welcome to Myadsl .
Thanks for these price informations
"The broadband environment here is a cut-throat competitive business "
I would like to konw if Telecoms operators can be stil be profitable in Sweden ?
This is a very valuable opinion indeed ,Thanks again
"Every meter of buried copper is money that can be spent on buying subscribers the computers or phones so they can end up spending their money on data and voice traffic instead of the infrastructure. A copper line takes decades to pay off. A wireless connection doesn't. Those are my two cents."
very welcome to Myadsl .
Thanks for these price informations
"The broadband environment here is a cut-throat competitive business "
I would like to konw if Telecoms operators can be stil be profitable in Sweden ?
This is a very valuable opinion indeed ,Thanks again
"Every meter of buried copper is money that can be spent on buying subscribers the computers or phones so they can end up spending their money on data and voice traffic instead of the infrastructure. A copper line takes decades to pay off. A wireless connection doesn't. Those are my two cents."
smeary said:
Now if only we could get that kind of pricing and speed over here.
I reckon the R40 (capped) ADSL connection is what we have over here and what we should be paying, especially everything under 1Mbps.
Thanks again Smeary for sending us the much valued information from Sweden.
Much appreciated!Hi Gooku,
Operators are profitable here. The profit comes with the volumes of subscribers and running a smooth network. We don't experience outages in service, which is one way costs are kept down for the operators.
Of the 9M people in Sweden, I believe 75% of us have broadband. Also, just to give you an idea, 10% of the population are sharing files around the clock. People are still awaiting for the operators to spoon-feed them the hot apps such as video-on-demand offering the latest features so they won't have to worry about being charged for piracy. I mean, you give a guy 24Mbps ADSL.....there's only so much email and chat he's gonna do until he feels that he's paying too much for an unused pipe.
This is one major idea why the operators are banking on broadband. The demand is there, and the government is also behind it.
For those of us who don't use copper lines for our ADSL, by using alternatives such as CaTV, Ethernet or some form of wireless/mobile broadband, we use IP Telephony (VoIP) hence not depending on our incumbant for that service. VoIP is growing well as the prices are very low and the quality is as it was with the regular phone line.
The future is ALL-IP and with it, you get more for less.
Operators are profitable here. The profit comes with the volumes of subscribers and running a smooth network. We don't experience outages in service, which is one way costs are kept down for the operators.
Of the 9M people in Sweden, I believe 75% of us have broadband. Also, just to give you an idea, 10% of the population are sharing files around the clock. People are still awaiting for the operators to spoon-feed them the hot apps such as video-on-demand offering the latest features so they won't have to worry about being charged for piracy. I mean, you give a guy 24Mbps ADSL.....there's only so much email and chat he's gonna do until he feels that he's paying too much for an unused pipe.
This is one major idea why the operators are banking on broadband. The demand is there, and the government is also behind it.
For those of us who don't use copper lines for our ADSL, by using alternatives such as CaTV, Ethernet or some form of wireless/mobile broadband, we use IP Telephony (VoIP) hence not depending on our incumbant for that service. VoIP is growing well as the prices are very low and the quality is as it was with the regular phone line.
The future is ALL-IP and with it, you get more for less.