bb_matt
Executive Member
It is great that Vodacom are listening - after all, it's good market research to see what "the IT geeks" are saying about product pricing.
Unfortunately, I don't see a reduction of the 3gig package cost, but rather an introduction of more packages. It is very good to see Vodacom actively seeking to lower the cost per MB however. (I think - see end of this post)
As so many people have pointed out, South Africa is one of the most costly places for broadband and I find it hard to believe all the excuses that are bandied about - it's difficult to believe when less advanced countries with less advanced infrastructure are getting broadband cheaper and with better packages !
I feel that this will fall on deaf ears until a company manages to have the guts to bring true competition into the market - to bring South Africa in line with international pricing trends. I don't expect us to ever compete with the Far East, or USA or parts of Europe, but there's definately TONS of room for improvement.
I can see no other justification for our high costs except for rank profiteering - the market level has been set by Telkom and all the other players fall in line. Don't you just love the way Telkom pats itself on the back for making such huge profits, while the rest of the countrys IT/communications develpment gets held back by inflated costs !
Do Vodacom do the same ? It would seem so judging by the 3G offering.
My hope is that companies will be forced into lowering prices due to market saturation and competition. The fact of the matter is, to afford broadband access in this country requires a very good salary. How much of a market is there considering this fact ? How much more of a market would there be if costs were halved ?
It may well be that there isn't enough market to sustain lower costs, due to lack of interest or education ? - who knows ? I don't think so. I know many people who would ditch dial-up if broadband was actually affordable.
Feedback and discussion is good - ACTION is far better.
Vodacoms 3G pricing does NOTHING to change the fact that we're being charged way too much for broadband - there's really nothing about it that's attractive because of this.
Perhaps you could clarify this for us ?
I was under the assumption, possibly incorrectly, that Vodacom would buy bandwidth for thier customers in bulk and then resell it ?
If, with the 1G package, the customer is getting a Mb of data at 60c, why is it currently R10 for an extra Mb ? - surely Vodacom isn't buying bandwidth in this manner, that's patently absurd ?
Is there some regulation that stipulates that a company that buys bandwidth "in bulk" has to sell a single Mb of data at that rate ?
In addition, if companies such as iBurst can offer a Mb at around 20c, where's the justification of a price of 60c for the 1G package ? - do you buy your bandwidth at different rates to iBurst ?
And why would an extra Mb be more than 60c - is there more work involved in offering on a per Mb basis ? - I would assume bandwidth measurement and cost is all running on the same automated systems, so why wouldn't you simply charge the same per Mb ?
I have an "answer" to that, but it's pure conjecture. It is my opinion that the 1gig is very easy to use up and that many users will go over that cap without realising it = a nice little earner.
Unfortunately, I don't see a reduction of the 3gig package cost, but rather an introduction of more packages. It is very good to see Vodacom actively seeking to lower the cost per MB however. (I think - see end of this post)
As so many people have pointed out, South Africa is one of the most costly places for broadband and I find it hard to believe all the excuses that are bandied about - it's difficult to believe when less advanced countries with less advanced infrastructure are getting broadband cheaper and with better packages !
I feel that this will fall on deaf ears until a company manages to have the guts to bring true competition into the market - to bring South Africa in line with international pricing trends. I don't expect us to ever compete with the Far East, or USA or parts of Europe, but there's definately TONS of room for improvement.
I can see no other justification for our high costs except for rank profiteering - the market level has been set by Telkom and all the other players fall in line. Don't you just love the way Telkom pats itself on the back for making such huge profits, while the rest of the countrys IT/communications develpment gets held back by inflated costs !
Do Vodacom do the same ? It would seem so judging by the 3G offering.
My hope is that companies will be forced into lowering prices due to market saturation and competition. The fact of the matter is, to afford broadband access in this country requires a very good salary. How much of a market is there considering this fact ? How much more of a market would there be if costs were halved ?
It may well be that there isn't enough market to sustain lower costs, due to lack of interest or education ? - who knows ? I don't think so. I know many people who would ditch dial-up if broadband was actually affordable.
Feedback and discussion is good - ACTION is far better.
Vodacoms 3G pricing does NOTHING to change the fact that we're being charged way too much for broadband - there's really nothing about it that's attractive because of this.
Perhaps you could clarify this for us ?
I was under the assumption, possibly incorrectly, that Vodacom would buy bandwidth for thier customers in bulk and then resell it ?
If, with the 1G package, the customer is getting a Mb of data at 60c, why is it currently R10 for an extra Mb ? - surely Vodacom isn't buying bandwidth in this manner, that's patently absurd ?
Is there some regulation that stipulates that a company that buys bandwidth "in bulk" has to sell a single Mb of data at that rate ?
In addition, if companies such as iBurst can offer a Mb at around 20c, where's the justification of a price of 60c for the 1G package ? - do you buy your bandwidth at different rates to iBurst ?
And why would an extra Mb be more than 60c - is there more work involved in offering on a per Mb basis ? - I would assume bandwidth measurement and cost is all running on the same automated systems, so why wouldn't you simply charge the same per Mb ?
I have an "answer" to that, but it's pure conjecture. It is my opinion that the 1gig is very easy to use up and that many users will go over that cap without realising it = a nice little earner.
Last edited:
