Carte Blanche Letter

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snoopy_inc

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The following was send be me to Carte Blanche:

To whom it may concern.

Telkom is threatening our society. Are we as citizens going to let them threaten us and win? I am certainly not going to let them do that. That is the reason i am writing to you pleading that you help us out. We need a face and presence to show the country that there are people doing something to help our society. This is a URGENT matter!!
I am part of an ADSL Forum www.myadsl.co.za which looks out for the public’s interest when it comes to free speech and challenging monopoly organizations

We are seeking to let the public out there know what is going on and what they can do to make a difference. That is where Carteblanche comes into the picture.

Please note that yes this may seem like a petty matter to the normal person but there are reasons that are beyond what you can't see at the moment and I am more than willing to share that information with you, and so is the community at myadsl.

If we can get the media involved and make a stand today it will benefit our economy not only now but for future generations.
Not only does it benefit the IT industry but the whole nation on a whole different level.

Sorry but if I was to get into the details in this message you would be reading for the next 2 days :)

PLEASE O PLEASE could you help out our country with the following problems we are facing at the present moment.

Please just get someone onto the forum and open up a thread so we can talk to someone who actually cares for this country.

We have taken matters into our own hands and managed to get ICASA to give out a report on TELKOM. To which we have the links and proof.

The following emails are contact people that can help you out with any information you require.

[email protected]
[email protected]

Thanks in advance
Daniel
 
Here is mine

Hi there

I am a 25 year old professional. I recently aquired ADSL with Telkom. As with any commitment i make, i research it through and through.

This led me to become an active and informed member of MyADSL forums. MyADSL in conjunction with ICASA submitted a comprehensive memo exposing Telkom’s gross misuse of it's monopoly, especially regarding ADSL.

In an extreme case of defence, Telkom responded by being arrogant, abrupt and condescending to ICASA and it's huge support base. It made threats as well as defended itself in ways that does not make sense.

Here is a link to the ICASA report (summary of points):
http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=519

Here is a link to their (Telkom's) response
http://www.finance24.com/articles/default/display_article.asp?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-24_1748196

Here is a great response from a so called "uninformed" MYADSL user:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=24634

I am sure that this is one of many requests.
Please consider this topic. ADSL, broadband and communication is an important pillar in a country's infrastructure and ability to be competitive globally.

Kind Regards
Nazeem Ryklief (nrg_wp on forums)
 
Thought i'd add in support.


To whom it may concern.

Last year a group of online activists (www.myadsl.co.za) submitted
complaints to the Independant Communications Authority of SA (ICASA)
about Telkom's ADSL Service.

(ADSL is a high speed method of connecting to the internet).

The nature of the complaint was the pricing of the ADSL Product.

Telkom charges subscribers a mandatory R87 Line Rental with ADSL.
Telkom then charges you an additional R250 -> R550 for the ADSL line Speed.

This we believed was Telkom exploiting the public by DOUBLE charging subscribers for the same line rental (the piece of copper between your house and Telkom's Exchange).

ADSL Users are restricted to a 3GB Cap.

GigaBytes are a measure of how much information you send and receieve whilst on the internet. When you browse to a website such as ww.carteblanche.co.za you are sending and receiving information.

ICASA found that telkom's 3GB is insufficient and must be addressed.

Their were many more complaints and these can be found on www.myadsl.co.za.

Recently ICASA who is the government apopointed watchdog to protect consumers found that Telkom was not justified in "double charging" customers for the same piece of copper and is against practices found in international markets.

Today Telkom is threatening the country & government that if ICASA forces them to do away with the ADSL line rental they will withdraw their ADSL product which services 100 000 citizens. (see www.finance24.co.za / www.news24.co.za )

I am appalled that this behemoth called Telkom who makes enormous profits from South African citizens (R6.8 Billion lasy year) can hold the country to ransom in such a manner. I want to know what government is doing to
ensure that companies such as this cannot hold an entire nation at ransom and over charge the general public. We have been hearing about the Second National Operator for years (since 2001 in fact) and the Second Network Operator to date still does not even have a licence to operate yet. What is the government doing to protect the South African consumer ? What is the government doing to ensure companies like Telkom cannot cripple a nation ?
How can we call this over charging company "Proudly South African". The Proudly South African Status should have been stripped from them long ago had they not been a major fund source of the brand.
 
Done, here's mine:

Hi,

I have been an ADSL subscriber for a year now, and I've joined the many Telkom customers who believe that the internet and communications sector in this country is being stifled by a small group of profit-hungry individuals. Specifically, the cost of ADSL in this country is too high and is preventing the general public (save those who can actually afford it) from gaining access to proper internet services. Countries like the USA, Mauritius and Ethiopia have better offers at lower prices and higher speeds.

With these thoughts in mind the members of MyBroadband.co.za, a consumer interest group focused on broadband and ADSL services in South Africa, presented their concerns to ICASA, Telkom's regulator and our consumer representitive. The hearings were released a few days ago here: http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=519 . The report clearly states that Telkom's double-tariff practice is unjustified, and that they unjustly apply restrictions on the service that removes ADSL's "broadband" status - limits on the amount of data downloaded and restrictions on what services you can use on the connection. Stock trading, for instance, is considered abuse of service.

The findings are being heavily rebuked by Telkom, who are threatening to switch off the ADSL service (see here: http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=535 and here: http://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/tech_stocks/468802.htm ). This is blatant blackmail and is the opposite of what we expect from the one carrier of communications in this country: The body responsible for ensuring that we as a country can all benefit with technology like ADSL and the internet.

See this response from one of our members on the statements made by Mr Xolisa Vapi of Telkom on the ICASA findings. http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=24634

Please, we appeal to you, help expose Telkom for what it is and put a stop to our communications being held ransom in return for profiteering for a small elite few.

Many Thanks,
Luke Venediger.
 
Please do not forget to ask Special Assignment and Third Degree as well. Many people as possible need to know that the public is taking a stand.
 
Special Assignment: Done.
Carte Blanche: Done.
ICASA: Done.

Quite a busy activism day today.
 
Im just worried i that i will be reprimanded for excessive net use at work today :)
 
the more the better

we should start a project group on this forum.

Ie project media and under project media should be the respective ppl to contact a short summary of what we need to include to get the picture across etc.

This would help the ppl to focus.

This would be excellent to implement within the focus of what peapod has been suggesting.

We whack them in one week ALL of the media with the implecation that it gets out all at the same time.
 
I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but this has been done allready. Carte Blance allready did a program on Telkom, myADSL, Hellkom etc. some time last year. Or was that the previous year, I forget. The subject matter was very much the same as it is now, so I really doubt if CB will do anything about it.

The previous CB program went down well, but alas, Telkom is still with us, and still acrting in exactly the same monopolistic way. What you need is a new angle, and then CB will maybe look at it. Just my opinion.
 
but the thing is that the sno is here.

So now with CB we can make a difference by getting most of the country informed about the sno and how they can help us all out!!..

remember ppl arnt as informed as the ppl on the myadsl site!,

Even if they do a recap of the telkom issue it will show some light on the matter
 
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