Good for Telkom, bad for SA

[mas]

JUST over a decade ago, two cellphone operators were licensed, based on Ernst & Young study that a potential market of perhaps 500 000 customers could support two competitors.

Vodacom & MTN soon discovered that the market was much bigger, and enjoyed extremely successful years dividing a very lucrative market between them.

Under the slogan "managed liberalisation" , a plan to protect Telkom from competition was developed in the mid-1990s. The high tariffs that chracterised the period 1997 to 2002 were justified by the Department of Communications as a price worth paying for Telkom's obligation to install several million lines in under-serviced areas.

However, most have been disconnected for non-payment, making South Africa a rare case of declining fixed-line teledensity.

Because of its unique position, there was no rush to roll out networks in South Africa. As a result, Telkom survived the telecoms crash in great health, but SA remains hamstrung by low bandwith and high costs.

This was an article in the Sunday Times (7 August 2005), Business Times, Technology "Special Report"

 

[Silent_Bob]

Good to know they are spreading the words, TELKOM SUCKS

 

[w1z4rd]

now you know why they FORCE you to get a phone with your ADSL account... trying to get the 'line numbers' up... mean while back at the ranch, the poor people who really need the services are getting cut off!

gooooooooooooooooo telkom!