Emails to ICASA

Aren't Debbie2's comments posted on the following thread valid in raising concerns regarding the Nov 1 changes ,with ICASA?

http://www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=28200&page=3

Where do we go from here? RPM, is this position something you can validate with ICASA directly and then make an official statement to the public? At least that way more people will be stirred up BEFORE November 1st, essentially amassing the disgruntled South African broadband "army".

If this is ICASA's official position on the matter then I have lost all incipient faith with them. I'm a working IT professional dependant on the internet for livelyhood. A 700% increase in costs is completely out of my budget! "Hmmm.... now I have to decide on buying a car or having the internet. " If this scenario comes into play I will have no option but to renew my H1B visa with my US company and migrate along with local web hosting that will go overseas to cheaper alternatives. However, I'm going to try remain optimistic that this will not go unnoticed and will do everything in my power to fight this thing along with my broadband "brothers" till the last moment! Now is not the time to give up.
 
I knew it had to be somewhere

'As a South African consumer I’d like to complain about the proposed per gig billing and hard capping, I believe that the current extortionate amount I am charged by Telkom and my ISP is more than enough to satisfy user demand without resorting to these desperate measures.

Furthermore I believe that by hindering internet access to all South Africans Telkom is contributing to the widening of the gap between rich and poor.'
 
There must be a way to fight this, SAIX would then have market rule over ADSL in this country. Time to treat SAIX and Telkom as two seperate entities. Get ADSL to support different ISP backbones like UUNET, IS, etc. I may not be in the field of ISPs but this is really not good news for ISPs.
 
In a twisted way

Isn't is funny that the people that are complaining are the ones that already have ADSL?
:rolleyes:
 
This is what i sent to ICASA...hope it helps :-(

==Hi..Apparently there are rumours that a price structure will be applied to a per-GIG billing...Is this true??..I was under the impression prices are comming down....but it seems like a hoax.
If the structure is per-gig @R60-00, SURELY the costs involved for using ADSL is going to be higher?? ie 10GIG =R600-00, compared to a +- figure of let say
R300-00/10GIG in the past ( just an average ).
No guys...this is one of the biggest "scams" i've ever heard of...No wonder TELKOM will never survive....And they still think people are to stupid to realise their scheme??....Their rates are too high, thereby decreasing the popularity of their service, thereby receiving less monies.....Drop the price, get more subscribers, and, at the very end, they will receive more money due to the fact that they charge less, but has 10 times as much clients....
ICASA, i realy hope you guys can do something....Accordingly to the Government....as far as i know, they want to educate ppl....How are they ever going to educate ppl
if the PEOPLE can't afford to go study on the NET due to ridiculous pricing??..I say this because i am a computer specialist by trade.....and MOST of my knowlege i have gained.....was via Internet......I'm sure you will agree...

Makes you think eh??==
 
Daaru said:
Isn't is funny that the people that are complaining are the ones that already have ADSL?
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Isn't it sad that the people that should be complaining have no idea what DSL is? Why? Because according to Telkom's marketing department they're too poor.

And yes we 'lucky one's' that are being scammed by a monopoly have every right to complain about the price and conditions attached to a service that we cannot choose to get somewhere else and for less.
 
Prehaps ICASA should be reminded of their ADSL REPORT that was issued in the government gazzette.
 
This is my e-mail to ICASA.

Good Day D Ngoasheng (Senior manager consumer affairs)
Email: [email protected] (liaison)

As a person that has been down the line of South Africa Constitution TELKOM is braking every point in it. If I make a telephone call and talk slow or fast I am charged for the time I use which is totally acceptable, if I send a fax and there is only one word on it or there is a Million words I get charge for the time. The point is controlling what and how much I say is "TOTALLY UN-CONSTITUTIONAL".

As it is TELKOM is over charging every South African with ADSL and even the standard call charge.

If TELKOM made all there call charges free if one phoned a person on the same prefects e.g. 475-0000 to 475-0001 then say 20c cost if one called any one with out having to dial 01X before the number. TELKOM would make way more money, because more people would use the telephone.

It is time that ICASA opened up the field so that other players can start helping people to get connected to the world. The ADSL needs to be fixed from the "BULL" of control "CAP" and the prise must come down more. I pay R600 for my 384 ADSL which is total bull.

ICASA must open up the 802.11 / .22 & .44 service, because there is 100's of people that can then help people get connected at a much lower cost.

Please tell me how can South Africa sell to the world if we are prevented from doing so.

Thanks you for your time.

Alan D Munro
 
Welcome to the Family dude.

Nice Email. I have sent two emails to ICASA so far and no response. Prehaps I was being too forceful in my approach but Nov 1 must not be allowed to happen.
 
ICASA has no Brain or BALL'S.

From the days of the IBA to now ICASA.

I have been there and only BRAIN DEAD people can work for them.

I was part of the IBA Act and opening up the air ways for all which now thanks to ICASA has closed that one down and I see that 802.11 / .22 / .44 are also been controld bye ICASA which do not know A from Z at the best of time.

ICASA makes all kind of control rules with broadcasting so why can they not do the same with the "vans" licenses which then could stop the bull.

When I was doing the broadcasting thing I was told that the "Air ways" belong to the public the SIAX and or the net belongs to the public.

The biggest problem is that ALL South African are to s**t sceard to get up and SHOUT NO.

We need to get all 40 million people to say NO.
 
Peoples problem

The problem with ppl now days is that if it doesnt concern them directly then they are not interested.

This comes from a new train of thought that if you dont hear from me you will forget me.


This is bollocks. If each person that is directly affected would say no
then things would start rolling.

I have heard many ppl complain on this forum. but yet we only have a handfull of ppl that have email ICASA with complaints..

Please guys even if its a short and direct email please do it. and post it here.

Many thanks
 
my email i sent havnt had reply

To whom it may concern.



I have a problem I am currently connected through webafrica, and I have a issue, which is not their fault but SAIX. I have a 30gb account which is R570 a month which I have now been using. But with the new pricing structure from SAIX, I will have to either cancel my account or go down to a 10gb at the same price of R570 a month. In the UK its 2mb connections on uncapped accounts for about R320 a month if you calculate the equivalent =/- of 20 pounds a month. Now if you look at this problem it is becoming quite out of hand. I don’t see why people like myself or others using a service like that should have to suffer. It is not right and is unfair. I do not have 800 – 1350 a month for a uncapped account. I would seriously recommend looking into this problem as it is going to have huge affects on certain markets and things like that. If there is any hope left, I would like you guys to look into this and find a solution to this problem. Why should SA suffer like this. it is a inconvenience to a lot of people using this service and will have no where else to turn other then spending huge amounts of money for something which is not even guaranteed in the first place. Then theres speed issues that come into the play aswell. Why should we be so far behind on the technology string, when there are companies like SAIX holding end users such as myself and other back. We have the 2010 coming, what is our excuse going to be when tourists see such degraded technological services. What are people in other countries going to think of us. Its going to influence business overseas aswell as local. I don’t think enough is being done to get the technology in communications side things to a international standard.

Please could you inform me of what is going to be or is currently being done about this. It is unsatisfactory that we have a service like this.



Many thanks
 
We're talking to the wrong people

Hi there,
I personally think we're talking to the wrong people, it's getting near the 1st of November and there's no changes. Go to the papers, involve the media, there we will be reaching millions...here we're reaching hundreds or maybe thousands...if people read it in the papers or it's on TV in the news then that will cause a "public outcry", the LAST thing telkom want's with the new SNO coming in.
So let's contact the papers, the media, anyone you can think of.
Cheers!
 
Voidy, I agree. The one internet cafe I went to in my town didn't even now about the Nov 1 changes.

Maybe Hellkom/Antitrust could stick up a brief PDF/DOC on their websites for people to download and take to their newspaper editors regarding Nov 1. I think some of the newspapers would even sponsor the ad.

How would you briefly word the Nov 1st situtation that will get people aware and protesting?
Price comparisons with other countries on similar offerings?
 
Dear Sir or Madam:

RE: ADSL PRICE CHANGES ON THE FIRST OF NOVEMBER 2005

It is with great sadness that I see the consumer once again being trampled on while the fat cats keep getting fatter. The price structure changes as being implemented by telecoms monopoly Telkom on the 1st of November is an utter outrage.

Telkom is holding South Africa back from achieving developed country status by hampering our economic growth. They are lessening the purchasing power of South Africans by charging what can only be described as exorbitant prices for their, by comparison, low class product offerings.

To make matters even worse, Telkom is laughing in the face of ICASA and openly implementing the opposite of what ICASA recommended. This CANNOT be allowed. ICASA, as regulator, has to stamp its authority on the telecoms sector or be made a joke.

A journalist once remarked in a column that Telkom is “a fat kid sitting on a pile of sweets”. I find this description most apt. Currently Telkom gets everything it wants, like a spoilt child whose parents don’t discipline it.

Please ICASA, stop Telkom from holding the entire country hostage. Help South Africa break free of the shackles that Telkom is placing on its economy and development. Give South Africa the telecommunication network worthy of South Africa: the best network on the continent for the most developed and powerful country on it.

The current state of affairs reflects badly, not only on South Africa, but also on the regulator and Government. It makes South Africa the laughing stock of telecoms in Africa instead of its envy.

It is time that bullying monopolies like Telkom learn that South Africa comes first and profits second. That it is not okay to ignore Government, ICASA and the South African public. Therefore I add my voice to the many others that cry out against this change. It is a step backwards. It makes South Africa a worse place to live in, not a better one, and therefore should be fought against by any means possible.

Yours sincerely,
 
MrSmith said:
Sorry last one before getting back to topic:

I would be interested to know who the ISP’s are contracting with, I bet it is Telkom SA Ltd and not SAIX.

Now back to topic.
Click to expand...

Almost... Telkom Wholesale!

D
 
Times Prety much finished

Ok guys, Listen up, time is finished so to speak. If we dont do sumthing NOW, SA is pretty much skewered :P
So here is an Idea. (just a random thought, bear with me)

I Totally agree with Voidy. We go to the Press. As starters, go to Die Son/The Sun. Its cheep, free and they want to make crap :)
Tell Also add this website, and also hellkoms websites info in the paper. This way we will be able to reach more people than at the moment.

This is just a suggestion, I see SON publishing all kinds of crap anywayz, so why the hell not? Ask them to put it front page, then it will get put on lamposts and street signs :P

Later,
Piggy
 
It will be pointless to e-mail Thabo Mbeki if you have his address. He has been capped during his research on the causes of AIDS and will not be able to retrieve his e-mails until next month
 
I e-mailed ICASA and did not even get a read receipt. Maybe ICASA got capped or its e-mail server is down
 
pimal3 said:
I e-mailed ICASA and did not even get a read receipt. Maybe ICASA got capped or its e-mail server is down
Click to expand...

Or maybe they're just clever and turned off "send read receipts" option to save on bandwidth :D
 
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