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Question of the Day: Do you think Bafana Bafana will win tonight?
Broadband Pricing: How does SA compare?
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
ToxicBunny
Oi! Leave me out of this...
But you can't use those countries... they're all developed nations according to Telscum.
Reality is that SA doesn't compare in the slightest, we're being raped by telkom and !c@sa and the DoC....
Reality is that SA doesn't compare in the slightest, we're being raped by telkom and !c@sa and the DoC....
noswal
Executive Member
But Telkom is continually reviewing its prices, so don't worry.
And half their [-]loot[/-] [-]profit[/-] operating expenses goes into buying Flying Pig Feed?
Juice
Expert Member
I wonder if Telkom executives or government policy-makers are ever embarrassed when they read about these kinds of surveys and see just how backwards our poor country is. Probably not, since they've probably bookmarked a whole list of convenient excuses as to why this may be so and why it is inevitable, unavoidable and, God forbid, even necessary.
Let's take a look at Telkom, who is often accused of price-gouging, with a sheltering hand of the government thrown in. They argue economies of scale and the distance from everywhere in the world to here. And then, paradoxically, they argue that forcing the price down on the international connection will stifle competition. Only, Telkom's sheltered monopoly is largely to blame for the lack of international connectivity. Because there has never been any competition, they have never had the incentive to invest in more international infrastructure. They never had to, because their captive audience would pay whatever they had to to get the international bandwidth they needed.
Reading articles like this enrages me no end. Because it should be a damn national embarrassment, but the people with the egg on their faces are too stupid to notice.
Die Telkom, die. And take the DoC with you when you go.
/spit
Let's take a look at Telkom, who is often accused of price-gouging, with a sheltering hand of the government thrown in. They argue economies of scale and the distance from everywhere in the world to here. And then, paradoxically, they argue that forcing the price down on the international connection will stifle competition. Only, Telkom's sheltered monopoly is largely to blame for the lack of international connectivity. Because there has never been any competition, they have never had the incentive to invest in more international infrastructure. They never had to, because their captive audience would pay whatever they had to to get the international bandwidth they needed.
Reading articles like this enrages me no end. Because it should be a damn national embarrassment, but the people with the egg on their faces are too stupid to notice.
Die Telkom, die. And take the DoC with you when you go.
/spit
Well spotted young peduin.
Question is how do we get rid of this embarrassments and incompetence?
boswald
Senior Member
I am not really sure if this is valid here, but here goes anyway.
Does anyone really believe that this will get better, ever, not even thinking about 2010.
In my mind, we will never have a 1st class service until something drastically changes and the way it is looking at the moment it just seems to be getting worse.
I remember the good old days when local was uncapped. Can't we at least go back to that and start from there rather than starting from 20 steps behind where we started?
*sigh*
Does anyone really believe that this will get better, ever, not even thinking about 2010.
In my mind, we will never have a 1st class service until something drastically changes and the way it is looking at the moment it just seems to be getting worse.
I remember the good old days when local was uncapped. Can't we at least go back to that and start from there rather than starting from 20 steps behind where we started?
*sigh*
Roo!
Expert Member
This assumes that these 'people' can actually read. From the evidence apparent in the regulations, bills and statements made, I believe we're dealing with a bunch of idiots that neither have the power of literacy nor arithmetic (Chinese maths anyone?).
So everyone is really suffering through this attitude
If SA had a different setup, with fair product, price and service, so many companies would start Internet businesses and other would grow their Internet businesses and this would off course create jobs. Not only 1 but thousands, even more.
I have no idea how much a job costs nowadays to create, but I suspect these jobs would cost less. But they would cost the telecos; and maybe not, because of economies of scale if they dropped their prices and provided fair products, at reasonable rates and services, they'd probably make more profit.
So everyone is really suffering through this attitude.
And unfortuantely, the other side of the coin is not seen by those with the decision making responsibility.
If SA had a different setup, with fair product, price and service, so many companies would start Internet businesses and other would grow their Internet businesses and this would off course create jobs. Not only 1 but thousands, even more.
I have no idea how much a job costs nowadays to create, but I suspect these jobs would cost less. But they would cost the telecos; and maybe not, because of economies of scale if they dropped their prices and provided fair products, at reasonable rates and services, they'd probably make more profit.
So everyone is really suffering through this attitude.
Mike_De_Lange
Senior Member
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Same old story 
gregmcc
Honorary Master
We've seen this price comparison a good few times before - and yet each time our prices still suck!
Rooi Willie
Active Member
We are comparing first world (OECD) with third world (SA & Telkom) ...
We are comparing billions of broadband users with only a few hundred thousand...
We are comparing high population densities to low population densities ...
We are comparing short distances with long distances ...
We are comparing the value of the Euro value against the value of the Rand ...
Everyone seems to acknowledge this, without considering the implications.
Why not compare apples with apples? Compare SA broadband prices to that of countries with similar challenges, similar broadband coverage and market penetration, similar economic and political conditions, similar international connectivity costs, then we can really expose Telkom for the BEAST it is.
Then Telkom will no longer have any excuses but to adapt (like that will ever happen anyway without competition). Embarrassment will become real and the reality inexcusable!!
Expose the reality fairly and their excuses will not hold water, they will have to face up to it...
We are comparing billions of broadband users with only a few hundred thousand...
We are comparing high population densities to low population densities ...
We are comparing short distances with long distances ...
We are comparing the value of the Euro value against the value of the Rand ...
Everyone seems to acknowledge this, without considering the implications.
Why not compare apples with apples? Compare SA broadband prices to that of countries with similar challenges, similar broadband coverage and market penetration, similar economic and political conditions, similar international connectivity costs, then we can really expose Telkom for the BEAST it is.
Then Telkom will no longer have any excuses but to adapt (like that will ever happen anyway without competition). Embarrassment will become real and the reality inexcusable!!
Expose the reality fairly and their excuses will not hold water, they will have to face up to it...feo
Honorary Master
Rooi, the comparison to 1st and 3rd world broadband has been done to death, SA lags behind on both fronts.
Which countries did you compare SA with?