Lower telecom costs 'only talk'

[Sneeky]

http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/bus...?Nav=ns&lvl2=buss&ArticleID=1518-1786_1853631

 

[ShaunSA]

Sneeky n Me... Sitting ina Tree.... making Duplicate Threads!! lolol. Will a Mod care to merge/delete please. Thanks.

 

[Highflyer_GP]

Sneeky n Me... Sitting ina Tree....

*cough* *cough*

The recently-licensed SNO, which is controlled by the Indian conglomerate Tata Group and indirectly 30%-held by the SA government, plans to launch before next Christmas.

wtf now its next christmas? the deadline just keeps extending more and more. first this christmas the corporates were supposed to be having services, then it got shifted to before 2nd half 2006, now (insert french here) next christmas??? i don't know whether to laugh or cry at these incompetent fools anymore

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Ai tog. Let's go home.

 

[BandwidthAddict]

Some comments:

Although the telecommunications sector was opened up on February 1, basic telephony and broadband costs remain high by international standards, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has asserted.

The telecommunications sector was not opened up on Februrary 1st. Only VOIP was legalised and cellphone operators were authorised to wire up their towers without going through Telkom.

The recently-licensed SNO, which is controlled by the Indian conglomerate Tata Group and indirectly 30%-held by the SA government, plans to launch before next Christmas.

I wonder why the SA government wants a 30% holding in the SNO? Could this be a hint as to why prices are so high?

That is more than four years after Telkom's exclusivity period expired in May 2002.

Although Telkom's guaranteed exclusivity period is up, it has enjoyed defacto exclusivity since then and will continue to enjoy such until anyone can start their own PSTN without needing licences or government approval.

On why South Africa still fared poorly when it came to pricing despite the government's stated agenda to use the sector to bolster economic growth, the Communications Users Association of South Africa (Cuasa) felt that Mbeki, Minister of Communications Matsepe-Casaburri and her deputy Roy Padayachie were discovering that lowering prices was more difficult to achieve than they had imagined.

"The problem, I believe, is that we have very wealthy and strong network operators who have huge resources to fight and delay these attempts," Cuasa spokesperson Ray Webber argued.

This is a very interesting statement. It states that the government does not have the ability to perform it's duties. I always thought that when the government wanted to open up the market, it only needed to remove the monopoly and select regulations clauses from the Telecommunications Act. I was not aware that anyone could actually fight such a move. Can anyone enlighten me?

The Democratic Alliance spokesperson on communications, Dene Smuts, said it did not matter how many colloquia the government hosted because such gatherings were just talk shows that failed to produce any results.

Well said.

"For us, the greatest achievement for the year was the passing of the Electronics Communications Act (ECA) which will put the country on a totally new playing field as it creates a new competitive environment, brings in new players and also gives Icasa the tools to do the necessary market analysis," Smuts said.

Only time will tell but I can always hope.

Peace.

 

[mavx]

Failure in Leadership

Chosen by the people of this country and entrusted to listen to our needs yet you have failed to deliver. Why the hell are we subjected to this rubbish, I feel like having a tantrum and stamping my feet, I'm on my way outside to shout at the birds in the trees (Feathered ones).

 

[Sneeky]

Sneeky n Me... Sitting ina Tree.... making Duplicate Threads!! lolol. Will a Mod care to merge/delete please. Thanks.

LOL
My bad

 

[Vice]

This is not about introducing competition -which results in price reduction- it's about profiteering and expanding the market for the mammoth government. The SNO already has it's clients and if they want to succeed in the next ten years do you think they'll dare take uncle Telkom on? You don't want to piss your powerfull uncle off in case he turns on you. For one I have never believed in the introduction of just one more player, we need at least five. Just open up the market and let industry sort itself out. Those with business sense and are customer focused will make it to the top. But alas here at home it's all about share holders, irrespective of the people (consumers) who sustain those profits. Telkom is not making it big beacuse they have a good business, but because they realise that communication has become the most basic need. It's like water in the desert and desolate place, nor matter how poor you are you still need to get your hands on. You will dig deep in your pocket to get to it.