leonardharley
Active Member
Again I am probaly putting my foot in it but here goes....
It is clear that the real problem in SA is that there is no free market competition in the telecommunications sector and that the deregulation process as published in the Govt Gazette dated 24 May 2002 has been an absolute joke!
ICASA, or should I say The Toothless Wonder, is utterley ineffectual and cleary biased, or should I say in Telkom's pockets! Take a look at http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1277325-6078-0,00.html Even the Minister of Communications, who by the way is a self-confessed technophobe - go figure, has no faith in them.
After RPM's meeting with Telkom and the expected outcome I made contact via email with Dene Smuts of the DA who is responsible for Communications. Clearly Telkom is being protecetd via a political agenda at play and the only way we are going to see meaningfull change is by exerting pressure on govt. She responded with "they have actually done a U turn and we are already engaged on preparing the ground for a converged environment". Although encouraging what does "preparing the ground" mean - how long is this going to take before meaningfull change starts to happen? How much more revenue is Telkom going to be allowed to extort from us?
The DA's policy on Communications is clearly in line with the thinking of a number of members to these forums. Take a look at http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1340557-6078-0,00.html Also take a look at http://www.da.org.za/DA/Site/Eng/Policies/Docs/New/Communication.htm for the official DA position.
Don't get me wrong as far as the deregulation issue goes I am totally apolitical. Anyone with the political clout to table issues on our behalf would suffice - so I am not punting the DA at all - they just seem like a logical vechile to achieve our purposes.
Although there are a number of interest groups currently "fighting the great de-regulation war" (good one Martin), to date I have not found a place for end users to voice their opinion.
Although Myadsl was started primarely for ADSL users, a number of us feel the answer to the problem does not lie in forcing Telkom to up the service etc. As users of communications services we DEMAND a deregulated telecommunications industry.
I would like to suggest that a forum be created where issues pertinant to deregulation may be discussed. I also think it would be a good idea to make the special interest groups and others (such as the DA) aware of the forum.
Hopefully there would be enough interested parties submitting to the forum to show that deregulation is not only on the minds of the special interest groups and polticians but also on the minds of consumers.
Anyaway just a thought - flame away is you wish....
It is clear that the real problem in SA is that there is no free market competition in the telecommunications sector and that the deregulation process as published in the Govt Gazette dated 24 May 2002 has been an absolute joke!
ICASA, or should I say The Toothless Wonder, is utterley ineffectual and cleary biased, or should I say in Telkom's pockets! Take a look at http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1277325-6078-0,00.html Even the Minister of Communications, who by the way is a self-confessed technophobe - go figure, has no faith in them.
After RPM's meeting with Telkom and the expected outcome I made contact via email with Dene Smuts of the DA who is responsible for Communications. Clearly Telkom is being protecetd via a political agenda at play and the only way we are going to see meaningfull change is by exerting pressure on govt. She responded with "they have actually done a U turn and we are already engaged on preparing the ground for a converged environment". Although encouraging what does "preparing the ground" mean - how long is this going to take before meaningfull change starts to happen? How much more revenue is Telkom going to be allowed to extort from us?
The DA's policy on Communications is clearly in line with the thinking of a number of members to these forums. Take a look at http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1340557-6078-0,00.html Also take a look at http://www.da.org.za/DA/Site/Eng/Policies/Docs/New/Communication.htm for the official DA position.
Don't get me wrong as far as the deregulation issue goes I am totally apolitical. Anyone with the political clout to table issues on our behalf would suffice - so I am not punting the DA at all - they just seem like a logical vechile to achieve our purposes.
Although there are a number of interest groups currently "fighting the great de-regulation war" (good one Martin), to date I have not found a place for end users to voice their opinion.
Although Myadsl was started primarely for ADSL users, a number of us feel the answer to the problem does not lie in forcing Telkom to up the service etc. As users of communications services we DEMAND a deregulated telecommunications industry.
I would like to suggest that a forum be created where issues pertinant to deregulation may be discussed. I also think it would be a good idea to make the special interest groups and others (such as the DA) aware of the forum.
Hopefully there would be enough interested parties submitting to the forum to show that deregulation is not only on the minds of the special interest groups and polticians but also on the minds of consumers.
Anyaway just a thought - flame away is you wish....
