Affordable broadband: what is it?

R400 for 4mbit including either uncapped or 30Gb usage, then we would be on par with international standards.

Not R420 (4mbit) + R150 (line rental) + R3000 (uncapped) that is simply not affordable, and no 4mbit is not high speed, it's standard in EU and USA, if not a little bit slow for those zones.
 
Axxess Fibre 4Mbps after hours, uncapped, with thresholds, is already only R999.

That same type of uncapped service, all hours, without thresholds, should be brought down to about R400 per month, including line and ADSL service rental costs.

For every drop of 1Mbps in speed, the price should drop R100.

IE: 384k uncapped at R38.40, 512k at R51.20, 1Mbps at R102.40 etc.
 
Always on and capping are mutually exclusive.
At the lowest speed qualifying as broadband, the connection should be uncapped. Capping could apply for higher speeds.
 
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/me puts on South African accent according to Black Diamond :
I don't know hey bru.

You cannot prescribe the price of corn, and you cannot dictate the size of a man's helping at dinner time.

What you can do is make sure that that man can get hold of corn from a market that is competitive, and leave it up to him to decide on the size of his helping.

Government is supposed to be encouraging competition, and creating sustainable jobs, so that's where the focus should be. Worrying about the size of a mans helping of corn is an unwelcome distraction.
 
they don't want to put down any values as this might affect their gravy train
 
Affordable for the masses?

We need to differentiate between the different levels of broadband so that there is a very basic start up package for entry level, occasional users.

Entry level:
1. R25 for up to 384kbps and 1Gb usage on a voucher type system that can be used on any ADSL enabled line. Pay as you go - no contracts. This is the most basic method to access the internet and is the dial-up killer.

2. Scrap double line rental. Ensure that all lines are ADSL enabled and charge a flat rate of R150/m that includes free off-peak local calls.

Total entry level cost for basic ADSL in your home will then be R175 for line, 384kbps and 1Gb usage plus free off-peak local calls. Or R25 if you use a voucher and someone else's line...

Basic level:
1. R300/m all inclusive cost for up to 1024kbps and 30Gb usage with no differentiation between local and international usage.
2. Includes Line rental at a flat rate of R150/m with free off-peak local calls.

Add some more usage based levels with 1024kbps here, but end up with --->

Extreme level:
1. R1000/m all inclusive cost for max bandwidth available and unlimited usage.
2. Includes Line rental at a flat rate of R150/m with free off-peak local calls.

Installation cost:
Flat rate first time installation cost of R300 across the board as all lines must be ADSL enabled. This also covers as a deposit for contract subscribers and is refundable on termination. No self install option as the new user then pays R300 in lieu of installation and deposit.

Note: This only applies to Residential users.

The grey area will be in the Extreme level where criteria will need to be set to prevent abuse. This has become a global problem and I won't even enter this debate as there are plenty of threads on this topic already!!!
 
@moggie, I do not thing your proposal is implementable. Perhaps if you changed your focus away from ADSL to a cellular provider and then prescribed data pricing and hardware pricing?

Forcing a company to install DSLAM's in a place where people are struggling to get bread on the table is simply going to result in the DSLAM being looted.
 
Most exchanges are already ADSL enabled (over 90%). Remaining ones are mostly in rural areas that Telkom will try and cover with internet enabled wireless technologies, not limited to W-CDMA.

Problem is the state of the copper network, not the exchanges!
 
moggie why would you suggest something like a 1 gig cap? Have you been so brainwashed that you believe this kind of thing to be good practice?

This capping and shaping thing is absurd, plain and simple. DON'T FORGET people, come on why should we "settle" for sub-standard products and services just because we live in Africa? If they really are so desperate to cap things, how bout only starting caping / shaping only once an user has reached 100 to 200 gig usage in a month. Then after that maybe some shaping could be implemented, but in my view it is criminal to stop people from using a service which they have paid for.
 
MFour, how would you make the internet accessible to all citizens?

Please expand on "which they have paid for"? We have an unemployment rate of around 40% and anyone earning less than R120k/year does not pay income tax. So what have they paid for?

How do you make the internet available to a shack dweller?
 
Affordable would be when all citizens of this country have internet access at a tiny fraction of their meager income. Imagine what a lively place this forum could be like :D
Discussions here on the state of the nation, plan of action etc.
...now that's the democracy I would like to invisage.
 
Imo internet won't be affrodable for everyone in this country. The gap between lower middleclass and poor is already huge, not even talking about the rich.

The poor doesn't worry about internet access, more about what to eat today.

It doesn't mean that the lower middleclass - middleclass must pay 1/4 of their income for basic internet access and half their income for uncapped.

I for one don't believe i will have true uncapped internet in this country in my lifetime.
 
moggie said:
MFour, how would you make the internet accessible to all citizens?

Please expand on "which they have paid for"? We have an unemployment rate of around 40% and anyone earning less than R120k/year does not pay income tax. So what have they paid for?

How do you make the internet available to a shack dweller?
Click to expand...

Hmm I'm not sure you read my post quite right.

The "which they have paid for" = montly payments paid by everyone who currently has some form of internet access...not so hard to understand if you try...

As for making internet access available to everyone is probably a very unlikely thing to have happen in SA, seeing that the coprporates / Gov would rather make bundles of profit than help the country grow stronger. In countries like Bolivia for instance you have free unlimited wi-fi hotspots everywhere, in parks, business centre's, malls, etc. So don't tell me it can't be done. Telkom and Gov has been making excuses and trying to protect their profits for so long we the public are simply expected to toe the line and be thankfull with what we get.
 
I believe a base set of prices should be stipulated according to international standards, SA can only really come in cheaper since we have lower HR costs. So take the US or UK for example and ensure all broadband provided in the country meet these standards and priced on par or lower then these overseas offerings.

If telkom IPconnect is artificailly keeping prices high, kick telkom and force them to drop it, if line rental is the culprit, scrap it. Leave no stone unturned and make sure everyone adheres to the policy.
 
The DoC defines broadband as an ‘always available, multimedia capable connection’. It looks like the Communications Department tried to avoid stipulating a minimum downlink speed associated with a broadband service, but this vague definition may cause problems in future.
Click to expand...

Not may.... Will.... Has already....

I'm looking forward to seeing more half-hearted regulations similar to the ADSL regulations from ICASA. Completely useless waste of time.
 
moggie said:
Please expand on "which they have paid for"? We have an unemployment rate of around 40% and anyone earning less than R120k/year does not pay income tax. So what have they paid for?
Click to expand...

income tax is not the only tax?
 
Kawak said:
I believe a base set of prices should be stipulated according to international standards, SA can only really come in cheaper since we have lower HR costs. So take the US or UK for example and ensure all broadband provided in the country meet these standards and priced on par or lower then these overseas offerings.

If telkom IPconnect is artificailly keeping prices high, kick telkom and force them to drop it, if line rental is the culprit, scrap it. Leave no stone unturned and make sure everyone adheres to the policy.
Click to expand...

How do you get that our HR costs are lower? The costs of HR are actually quite horrendous. HR costs are not just the sum of all salaries paid. You have to consider productivity per rand spent and you'll probably find that we're a pretty expensive emerging market country.
 
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