Sign up with GoogleThis sentech saga is not about 1% or whatever the numbers of users may be that are ignored by sentech. This is about an overregulated telecoms environment that we as the user ultimately have to pay for.
If you have signed up for wireless, cancel your contract and if you have access to a lawyer, sue them for fraudulent misrepresentation. It may even be possible to do this in a class action style sincle it seems that a large number of customers are affected. Regardless of the short term remedy I want to focus on the longer term effects of this saga.
Wireless being a relatively new technology has huge potential. Instead of leaving this field open to ISP's in general sentech has monoploized this area to the point that my local ISP in Stellenbosch is longer able to supply me with wireless connectivity. I had a four months struggle with my local wireless company to get their service on scratch and just as we were making headway they dropped the bombshell that they are suspending their wireless operation due to ICASA regulations. So after four months and R 6500 for the equipment I am calling it a day and reverting back to good old dial-up. So much for progress, right ?
Even if sentech rolled out to Stellenbosch tomorrow with a service that is working I would not do business with them because they are screwing up a perfect technology. If this is not a case of monopolistic bahaviour I don't know what is. If your care about free and open markets in South Africa you should boycott sentech even if their service starts working again.
In the long run we would all do this country a huge favour I we boycotted sentech by encouraging local ISP's to supply wireless services. In Cape town Uninet (uninetwork.co.za) seems to have stand firm against the harassment from government interests.
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If you have signed up for wireless, cancel your contract and if you have access to a lawyer, sue them for fraudulent misrepresentation. It may even be possible to do this in a class action style sincle it seems that a large number of customers are affected. Regardless of the short term remedy I want to focus on the longer term effects of this saga.
Wireless being a relatively new technology has huge potential. Instead of leaving this field open to ISP's in general sentech has monoploized this area to the point that my local ISP in Stellenbosch is longer able to supply me with wireless connectivity. I had a four months struggle with my local wireless company to get their service on scratch and just as we were making headway they dropped the bombshell that they are suspending their wireless operation due to ICASA regulations. So after four months and R 6500 for the equipment I am calling it a day and reverting back to good old dial-up. So much for progress, right ?
Even if sentech rolled out to Stellenbosch tomorrow with a service that is working I would not do business with them because they are screwing up a perfect technology. If this is not a case of monopolistic bahaviour I don't know what is. If your care about free and open markets in South Africa you should boycott sentech even if their service starts working again.
In the long run we would all do this country a huge favour I we boycotted sentech by encouraging local ISP's to supply wireless services. In Cape town Uninet (uninetwork.co.za) seems to have stand firm against the harassment from government interests.
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