Country coverage

[rpm]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Cellular/980.html

 

[stix]

"Sitting in a picturesque setting in the forests outside Haenertsburg, I dialled up to the Internet using GPRS"

Why?

All though quite frankly Vodas seem incapable of keeping their network stable for loyal customers - so i am not impressed

 

[KampfGherkin]

The moral of the story:

The cellular market, where government meddling isn't like what we have with fixed-lines, proves that competition is what drives markets. Not this f-ing government uselessnesses.

Now If cellular providers had access to international bandwidth...well, I think we all know what would've (and should've) happened a very long time ago.

 

[Debbie]

SA gsm coverage- http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_za.shtml

That got me thinking: though many people in SA’s rural communities use cellphones, they tend to be rudimentary handsets capable of little more than making and receiving voice calls. They are not suited for browsing the Web. Smartphones with Web browsers and e-mail software are expensive. Given the power of the Web as an information, education and business tool, that’s a great pity.

I expect that handset manufacturers such as Nokia and Motorola are working hard to develop more affordable handsets with large screens that can function as Internet terminals. Once available cheaply and in the hands of the poor, the mobile Web will probably uplift rural communities in ways we can’t even imagine today.

Ooh please I hope so. How cool would it be if the common way to access social services in SA was via online.

Random stats about telkom's services-
-It cost 62c for a three minute local call in 1998. This same call currently costs R1,14.
-Line rental fees have doubled since 1999.

 

[antowan]

According to intl trends they should be getting cheaper Debs...

 

[Debbie]

According to intl trends they should be getting cheaper Debs...

yup...

 

[dominic]

The moral of the story:

The cellular market, where government meddling isn't like what we have with fixed-lines, proves that competition is what drives markets. Not this f-ing government uselessnesses.

Now If cellular providers had access to international bandwidth...well, I think we all know what would've (and should've) happened a very long time ago.

it seems that by the end of this year the two and a half mobile companies will have exactly the same licence as Telkom....

& without a doubt it is Vodacom that is aggressively and best positioning itself for convergence proper and the fact that its licence will allow it to roll out fixed and mobile networks + international gateways etc etc etc