Broadband for all in SA?

I have not yet seen anyone in our Gov with the drive to make something like this happen. Lots of announcements, about announcements about intentions, but not much on the action side.
 
MFour said:
I have not yet seen anyone in our Gov with the drive to make something like this happen. Lots of announcements, about announcements about intentions, but not much on the action side.
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Let's have a meeting to decide when we are going to have a meeting to decide when to announce our intention to make things better.
 
employing 15 - 20 MILLION people?

Surely that would be a world record?
 
Oh thanks for another article to spoil ones mood..

Don't have to tell us about other countries that have no effect on us....
 
The easiest way to make this happen is for a large telecoms company to suggest to government that they would like to do this and suggest (behind closed doors) that there will be a bit of change on the table, say 10%, like a tip at a restaurant.

The roll out would make the Aussie rollout look like a Sunday school picnic!
 
DeathStrike said:
Oh thanks for another article to spoil ones mood..

Don't have to tell us about other countries that have no effect on us....
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Contradicting yourself there...if the articles are spoiling your mood then off course it has an effect?
These articles are trying to show us that we shouldn't just accept current standings concerning our connectivity.
 
Podcast said:
Contradicting yourself there...if the articles are spoiling your mood then off course it has an effect?
These articles are trying to show us that we shouldn't just accept current standings concerning our connectivity.
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We KNOW the rest of the world is awesome and it sucks nuts here in SA, jeez stop reminding us.
 
weather is upside down but their heads are at least steady.....
 
These articles are trying to show us that we shouldn't just accept current standings concerning our connectivity.
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Pray tell then what the acceptable route is to make government sit up and notice?

It's by far not the first article discussing our laughable position of lagging behind most of the world, its also not the first time the blame is laid at government's inability to see the benefits or realize the potential growth this could lead to. Government seems intent on purposefully NOT getting it right, look at all the articles just on here discussing their dismal failure at managing anything telecoms related. We know their idea of upliftment is to reward failure with promotion like with our ex comms minister Nyanda. We all know the only growth they're interested in is the one involving their own bank balance and since as we all heard they're planning to rule until kingdom come there's no real hope of anything changing anytime soon, so what exactly are we to do?
 
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luxe said:
employing 15 - 20 MILLION people?

Surely that would be a world record?
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Just Hans doing what Hans does best. Writing articles without contemplating the 'facts' he pushes onto us.

Reminds one of the old definition of lecturing: "The process of transferring the lecturer's notes to the student's notes without passing through the brains of either."
 
Everybody just needs to calm down. Our government's plan is to give us 256kbps speed by 2018.

Now who said we don't have any vision?

Puke!
 
Employ about 20 million people?! Australia only has a population of 22 million!!! Wish people would think before writing.
 
seeing that 384kb/s passes for broadband in this country I think it's pretty achievable.
 
Feel-good PR campaigns aside, experience has shown over and over in every single country, especially those that are broadband leaders, that broadband is better left in the hands of a competitive free market, and that government's role should be to facilitate an optimal free market and then stand back. (In SA, we do NOT have a free market, never have had.)

This is just another money grab from politicians, another excuse to tax more heavily and get the state into more industries.

And STILL we wonder why Western economies are suffering, while Asian economies, who have been doing the precise opposite --- open up their economies and make them more free --- have been showing incredible and sustained solid growth at much higher rates, for years. Duh.

An advertisement headline in Australia’s main newspapers reads "Imagine exploring a museum in Europe and being back in time for the lunch break."
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Um, yeah, something the free market already delivered in many other places, but thanks government. In South Korea 95% of homes have broadband and broadband penetration is virtually (for all intents and purposes) 100%, and they've led the world for years --- know how they did that? They facilitated a system of free market competition.

Meanwhile in Aus, well my sister moved to Aus a few years ago and told me she couldn't get ADSL because the Telco wanted to charge - get this - R1800 just for installation!
 
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Australia: Government uses R300-bn of tax-payer's money to bring about QUALITY SERVICE. Broadband as a human right to all. Imagine that!

South Africa: Our telecoms monopoly is crippled by corruption and currently useless, just like its parent: our government, the ANC. Our government expects to collect about R300-mil a year from Gauteng freeway tolls to 'improve the quality of our freeways' over and above the Co2 emissions tax and ridiculously unjustified exorbitant fuel costs, plus they can't seem to see the obviousness that by charging so much to use those freeways, the number of people using them will decline and those cars will be forced to use side roads which are already in a pathetic state thanks to all the potholes, some huge (and judging by how long some have been there, apparently no incentive to fix them either...?) - most importantly, with the reduced cars on the freeway all I can do is wish them the best of luck in actually obtaining that R300mil that they've probably calculated based on current vehicle counts on the highways - a figure which will be greatly reduced, and the cost of maintaining the destroyed side-roads will far outweigh this modest profit... not to mention the damage done to the economy as a result of people being delayed by traffic for taking these alternative congested routes (late for work - less productivity) to save money. Smells like a Negative nett balance to me!

So ask yourself: Reasonably now, where would you prefer to live if you had the choice?
I strive to be patriotic, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to be proud of my country the longer the present government controls its fate.

Conclusion? Broadband for all in SA, far from being a sensible dream - is more like a paradox of irreconcilable terms, never-mind a manifested reality...
 
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Improving the quality of our freeways is a good idea. It's not cheap to build and fix roads. Especially not in a huge country like ours with a dearth of Civil engineers.
 
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