MTN warns on cellphone price rules

[kb]

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2633228&fSectionId=552&fSetId=304

If the government wanted to force down prices it should issue a fourth licence to operate a cellular network, Manyatshe said at the launch of MTN's first service centre in Soweto. "I believe in cutting prices through competition, not regulation."

How is the introduction of a 4th operator going to change anything. Your track record iro compeing leaves much to be desired. Now if you had shown the slightest inclination to initiate some real competition through meaningful price cuts, we may not be in the situation that we find ourselves now where we are looking at some form of price controlled regime.

 

[Sneeky]

If the market was saturated then the 3 players would be competing for overal market share. As it stands now though, new customers are still signing up everyday, so all they do is just fiddle the packages to try and lure the new subsribers, but the base line prices remain very high. Prepaid especialy. Because people cannot afford contracts, they are being further penalised by going prepaid and then having to pay inflated rates per minute when doing so. This is taking advantage of the poor imho. Another proudly Souh African business tradition it would seem.
I reckon that only when the steady flow of new subsrcibers/first time users starts to slow down will they actualy start competing.
A 4th operator/provider wont help at all now, regulation is needed to reign these mofo's in and they can only look at themselves and blame their greed for it when (not if) it does happen.

 

[shane101]

The cellphone companies seem to set minimum prices up between each other so that none of them are that much cheaper than the others. If a fourth one were licensed it would be exactly the same. It's the companies themselves that are keeping the prices up. The only way I can see that a fourth cellphone operator could help is if it was a foreign company that comes from a country with healthy competition and will not play along with our current three cellphone operators and their price fixing games. It would probably need foreign executives too as the local ones would steer it straight into the hands of the existing three operators. A bit of a loose cannon if you will

 

[mbs]

If the government wanted to force down prices it should issue a fourth licence to operate a cellular network, Manyatshe said at the launch of MTN's first service centre in Soweto. "I believe in cutting prices through competition, not regulation."

How is the introduction of a 4th operator going to change anything. Your track record iro compeing leaves much to be desired. Now if you had shown the slightest inclination to initiate some real competition through meaningful price cuts, we may not be in the situation that we find ourselves now where we are looking at some form of price controlled regime.

Yeah, this fellow was the head of the Post Office. Must admit he had a taste of the impact of competition while he was there, from the Postnet franchises. At least he went some way towards ensuring that the Post Office met their service obligation, as well as turning it around towards profitability. Seems as if his head-set is at least part-way right - all he should do is adopt a pricing model focussed on reduced tariffs accompanied by volume growth, methinx...

 

[kb]

This is one of those classic FUD articles that those with vested interests use to pull the wool over the eyes of a generally uninformed public.

The article is generally devoid of any facts and plays on unproven speculative outcomes should any attempt be made to change the status quo. We need to make sure that these articles are countered in the strongest possible manner and the public be made aware of the true agendas behind such articles.