Autopage weighs into Icasa cellphone hearings with plea on tariffs

[Sneeky]

04 August 2005

COMPETITION in the cellphone industry will not be achieved by scrapping subsidies on handsets, but by giving service providers the flexibility to adjust tariffs, which are now fixed by the network operators, industry players say.

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/economy.aspx?ID=BD4A76612

 

[ernstn]

Autopage is one of the company's that hide the true length of their contract in the small print. As can be seen by the numerous complaints about them, not really a very ethical company.

 

[Kei]

Yep... see Hellopeter.com and various private blogs

 

[Raithlin]

Hey, I'm no lover of Autopage [esp. as an ex-employee], but I got an extra line for my wife, and was surprised to see the total cost per month right there on the advert. Go figure. Anyhow, my 2c: subsidies work as described. The contract, however, is too long. 12 months for a subsidised phone should be enough - and in line with international standards.

 

[qdada]

Hey maybe they are onto something here, this to me sounds a lot like what Pick 'n Pay wanted to do but were prevented from doing so by "baba Government". They want to sell at a lowe rate but the powers that be said now.

This says to me the Operators dictacte prices to these service provider whom I perceive as resellers.

I wonder if this is the exact scenario that is keeping car prices high ? I should be able to shop around for a better price package for "MyCall 300". Better yet, why can't I have my own unique price plan. I should be able to go to a portal or service provider and as for a unique package...

- 137 airtime minutes
- 148 sms
- 33 sms

On a month to month contact, at a reasonable prices. Surely there are sophisticated billing systems that can handle customized price plans so i dont think billing is a problem ?

Am i suffering from paint fumes (they are painting in our offices) or do i make a little bit of sense.

 

[Raithlin]

Hey maybe they are onto something here, this to me sounds a lot like what Pick 'n Pay wanted to do but were prevented from doing so by "baba Government". They want to sell at a lowe rate but the powers that be said now.

This says to me the Operators dictacte prices to these service provider whom I perceive as resellers.

You've hit the nail pretty much on the head. The Network negotiates profit percentages with the SP, who resells the package to you, the consumer. The SP has no say over price per minute, etc, as well as packages. All they can do is put a phone with the package - and even that is restricted by the network.