"Africa needs its own Facebook"

[akuma]

Hey guys,

Have you seen this article? :

http://www.fin24.com/Tech/Opinion/Africa-needs-its-own-Facebook-20141119

Poorly written and the author comes off like a mouthpiece for MTN's agenda. Are we ready for a Net Neutrality debate in SA? It's interesting to note that MTN is pushing this agenda, and MTN has a controlling stake in Afrihost.

Time to rethink your ISP.

 

[Ninja'd]

Too bad MySpace is taken. That name just screams entitlement.

 

[Fulcrum29]

This begs the question: apart from providing free communication access, what have OTTs such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype and Twitter done for the continent in the past decade?

Mark made Internet.org available to the third-world, so are their many other similar programs. The issue though, our local cellular operators don't participate in these programs. MTN even has a rebranding partnership with Opera to bring Wikipedia to the people while Wikipedia Zero is an open option. It is more a question why our operators are seeking alternatives in order to seek income opportunities than provide value to the continent.

 

[TelkomUseless]

What are OTTs contributing to Africa’s GDP?

The answer is absolutely nothing – they are simply enjoying a free ride on African operators’ networks.

Some people are daft. They saved you a CRAP load of money (by not using voice/sms), which means money you can spend somewhere else in AFRICA. Just to name one scenario, lets not forget about money spend on adverts etc...

Edit: x2. Nobody is forcing anyone to use whatsupp (OTTs). You can still SMS (and pay thru your nose)

Have to agree.... entitlement 101.

 

[Vrotappel]

Greed. The consumer pays for every Kb to access these services. Mostly at astronomical rates.