A funny (real) newspaper letter

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Cape Argus l Letters Page

I smell a rat every time some organisation says it is reducing the cost of the services it provides or giving you something extra for free.

My guess is that upper management levels in every government and quasi-government department pre-budget their "performance bonuses", which they allocate to themselves whether they perform well or not.

If overall revenue were to decline, they would have to take a smaller "bonus" in future. So how will they balance the books? Slip in some way of increasing the costs of services by devious means?

Take a careful look at every bill which you receive from Telkom. I signed a contract for their ADSL internet connection with the transmission rate of 1Gbps, because that speed and the cost fitted my needs and my pocket. I was totally satisfied with the performance of the service provided.

Included in the contract was a free router/modem and there were no installation costs.

When I received my first bill for the new service, everything which should have been free had been included.

To add to my concern, the charge for the modem was duplicated. If I had not scrutinised the bill and insisted on a refund, I wonder if the accounts department at Telkom would have corrected it.

Within a week of getting connected, Telkom stepped up the service to 4Gbps, without an increase in cost because it was being tested. Its existing clients, on a live service, were unaware of becoming guinea-pigs.

Most of them probably thought that the tooth fairy had waved a magic wand. But beware of Telkom's de- vious motives.

When the test period is past, the subscribers will not be able to complain if the tariffs are increased be-cause they are already getting four times their "value for money".

This also increases the rate at which you can use up the data bandwidth from your internet service provider. In many cases this is also Telkom.

Whatever Telkom decides, I have contracted it to provide a connection at 1Gbps, which will serve my purposes adequately. [ I would hope so...1Gbps for R516/month would place us high-up on the broadband rankings ]

Does anyone believe Telkom will continue to provide me with that service at a reduced rate when and if the 4Gbps service becomes a permanent option?

B I Louw

Rondebosch

 

[Equinox]

Lol

 

[Gunny]

I want a 1Gbps service for R516 per month !

Sounds like my dad could have written that letter Mb MB Gb GB are just as confusing to him

 

[terencevs]

"1Gbps" LOL

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

4 Gbps! OMG, that like better than America, wait and better than Asia, wait we are the best in the world!

Well, time to close down the site then RPM, its over, we won.

 

[dabouncer]

No wonder this country is in the pits, the public and press are misinformed or just plain ignorant. The average joe on the street reads this and the snow ball begins to role and become bigger and bigger and before u no it, we are the 2nd Zimbabwe. Very sad. Pack ur bags boys and girls, time to find that greener grass.......

 

[Sapphiron]

apart from his technical shortcomings, he makes some very valid points

 

[vampirotoothus]

I can think of a lot of damage I can cause SA bandwidth if I had a 4Gbps connection! That would be a nice toy!

 

[bekdik]

Ok so let's ignore the point he is making and attack him on trivialities. All the posters know exactly what he was trying to say re speeds, so let's ignore that.

The importent point that he makes is that a Telkom contract is worth nothing as Telkom seems to think that it has some G_d given right to alter the contents of its contracts at will, without informing the other intereste parties in its contracts on an ad hoc basis, normally to its total advantage.

As there are no alternative landline alternatives it is allowed to get away with practices which are probably illegal, but are certainly unacceptable.

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

No wonder this country is in the pits, the public and press are misinformed or just plain ignorant. The average joe on the street reads this and the snow ball begins to role and become bigger and bigger and before u no it, we are the 2nd Zimbabwe. Very sad. Pack ur bags boys and girls, time to find that greener grass.......

Me nad most others were just joking about the trivialaties, we know what he was trying to say, im just not that worried cause im not even on ADSL.

But this post is a bit glum.. come now someone mistook mbps for gbps, so our coutry is doomed and we should all leave? I think im missing the link in your logic, im not realy shure how these are related.

Hes not that misinformed, infat he is rather infomrmed compared to most others, he just screwed up the technicalaties, so would you if you have never really worked with technology before.