New Telkom ADSL numbers impress
Telkom released its latest financial results, which show strong growth in ADSL subscribers
Telkom released its latest financial results, which show strong growth in ADSL subscribers
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New Telkom ADSL subscriber numbers impress
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deweyzeph
Honorary Master
How is that possible when fixed line numbers have been declining every year and half of Gauteng can't even get a fixed line because of cable theft? Something doesn't seem right about these numbers.
Kelerei
Expert Member
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I would guess that, these days, the primary reason for having a fixed line is for ADSL: people that can get ADSL and want it are getting/retaining fixed lines, whereas the people that won't/can't get ADSL that do have fixed lines are ditching them in favour of mobile, and that's 1) a larger group than the ADSL group and 2) declining faster than the ADSL group is growing.
Of course, this is just a guess; I'd be keen to know if there's any hard statistics out there either proving or disproving this.
LCBXX
Honorary Master
With the price of ADSL Data vs that of 3G, coupled with people realizing there is more than just DStv when it comes to watching what you want, the growth is encouraging! Pity that the weakest link in the whole video-content-via-broadband still is Telkom, especially when it comes to fixing line faults.
elvis_presley
Expert Member
While more subscribers is always nice, they're adding at the same rate that they have been for years. We need MILLIONS more people on fixed-line to make IPTV, etc an enticing prospect for providers. Netflix isn't going to be interested in ZA with <1mil potential target market. We need a healthy fixed-line market to keep the mobile operators data offerings honest.
At this rate it'll take 15+ years to get another million fixed-line subscribers. That's depressing.
At this rate it'll take 15+ years to get another million fixed-line subscribers. That's depressing.
MickeyD
RIP
ADSL accounts for 926k of Telkom's total fixed line services of 3,6mil. - just over 25%.
Mobile prepaid voice has eroded the need for a standalone Telkom fixed voice service in many homes and it is cheaper and more convenient, especially if the customer does not make many calls (no need to pay for line rental).
Telkom has obviously realised this and no longer go out of their way to provide fixed line services in certain areas, e.g. they are busy dismantling many of the DECT systems in the rural and deep rural areas and will rather offer 3G or LTE services there.
From a cost perspective it also makes sense as it is cheaper to maintain a mobile/wireless network.
MickeyD
RIP
So where are the other network operators and why are they not rolling out millions of fixed lines?
elvis_presley
Expert Member
I'm with you man. Private companies have failed just as badly as Telkom. But we're moaning about Telkom now - the failure of the free market is a topic for another discussion
MickeyD
RIP
FTFYI'm with you man. Private companies have failed just as badly as Telkom. But we're moaning about Telkom now - the failure of a badly regulated is a topic for another discussion
Now imagine in Telkom unbundled the local loop that number would be well over the million mark
elvis_presley
Expert Member
Much as we'd all love to, I don't think you can blame this on the government or regulation. Operators have been able to trench neighborhoods and wire up gated communities for years and years now, and Telkom's still the best option for pretty much everyone. When you have an incumbent that's overpriced and provides bad service, that's exactly the kind of problem that a free market's supposed to solve, and I can't see any things from a regulation point of view really standing in the way of it happening; exhibit A is Vuma.
I do agree that LLU will help though - even if it only brings prices down a little bit, the extra margin and control the ISPs get, and the real free market dynamics that exist in the ISP space will ensure prices are pushed down and marketing is ramped up.
Except that the Minister chooses how many individual licences and to whom they can be issued and ICASA have made as much movement on facilities leasing in the last 2 years as the operators have made in delivering fiber to my premises here in Jbay - and in that particular vain exhibit A is Broadband Infraco and exhibit B is Sentech both of whom have severely disrupted things. When you don't have a situation where the dominant operators have an incentive to buy the minister of the day luxury shoes then you can move away from holding the regulatory capture is the core problem.
I mean I am literally sitting with an email from the DoC indefinitely postponing a roundtable meeting because the president has changed cabinet, I am waiting for feedback on where the facilities leasing workshop process has stalled off to - all the while knowing that Telkom is literally going to be switching off exchanges that will survive if other operators step in an lease facilities, and this is particularly the case if smaller localized operators step in (if a cECNS holder wraps fiber to replace the diginet connection Telkom is running to the businesses in the 5 horse town)
Hundreds of jobs are going to be shred from the sector and yet there is no real movement towards satisfying the massive demand for broadband.
Moreover despite the ECA the extent to which municipalities obstruct the infrastructure roll out programs is despicable and makes any suggestion of "failure of the free market" disingenuous. A cECNS licence holder will battle to obtain capital to construct a network sufficient to cover the civils costs involved in a normal environment which is why facilities leasing is built into the system, now add the municipal corruption and uncertainty factor and you have the answer as to why we don't have 20-30% of high density commercial and residential property with last mile connectivity in excess of 40Mbps.
The entire business model of the MNOs is to depend on regulatory arbitrage in their favour - look at the petulance of the MNOs on the entire CTR saga, in a free market the shareholders would not be faced with the principal-agent crisis that exists here.
So no we have a absolute failure of government and the minute ICASA actually start functioning well other nonsense comes in to destroy things.
I don't think LLU will bring down prices especially not on the entry side of the market, the line access costings don't change because of LLU (LLU will aid to reveal inefficiencies in the costings by Telkom) and lets face it nobody has enough infrastructure in the ground to break off dependency from Telkom - Vodacom's claims on the extent to which fees paid to Telkom are a massive costing in their business is testimony to this. So the use of IPC as the primary national backhaul system is going to continue with Infraco carrying more traffic but still fundamentally being the second fiddle. What LLU will do is to get the value in the proposition up and it will drive an increase in the utilization of the copper infrastructure. Businesses and individuals who refuse (or are refused) to do business with Telkom will be able to take up DSL based options.
Except that the Minister chooses how many individual licences and to whom they can be issued and ICASA have made as much movement on facilities leasing in the last 2 years as the operators have made in delivering fiber to my premises here in Jbay - and in that particular vain exhibit A is Broadband Infraco and exhibit B is Sentech both of whom have severely disrupted things. When you don't have a situation where the dominant operators have an incentive to buy the minister of the day luxury shoes then you can move away from holding the regulatory capture is the core problem.
I mean I am literally sitting with an email from the DoC indefinitely postponing a roundtable meeting because the president has changed cabinet, I am waiting for feedback on where the facilities leasing workshop process has stalled off to - all the while knowing that Telkom is literally going to be switching off exchanges that will survive if other operators step in an lease facilities, and this is particularly the case if smaller localized operators step in (if a cECNS holder wraps fiber to replace the diginet connection Telkom is running to the businesses in the 5 horse town)
Hundreds of jobs are going to be shred from the sector and yet there is no real movement towards satisfying the massive demand for broadband.
Moreover despite the ECA the extent to which municipalities obstruct the infrastructure roll out programs is despicable and makes any suggestion of "failure of the free market" disingenuous. A cECNS licence holder will battle to obtain capital to construct a network sufficient to cover the civils costs involved in a normal environment which is why facilities leasing is built into the system, now add the municipal corruption and uncertainty factor and you have the answer as to why we don't have 20-30% of high density commercial and residential property with last mile connectivity in excess of 40Mbps.
The entire business model of the MNOs is to depend on regulatory arbitrage in their favour - look at the petulance of the MNOs on the entire CTR saga, in a free market the shareholders would not be faced with the principal-agent crisis that exists here.
So no we have a absolute failure of government and the minute ICASA actually start functioning well other nonsense comes in to destroy things.
I don't think LLU will bring down prices especially not on the entry side of the market, the line access costings don't change because of LLU (LLU will aid to reveal inefficiencies in the costings by Telkom) and lets face it nobody has enough infrastructure in the ground to break off dependency from Telkom - Vodacom's claims on the extent to which fees paid to Telkom are a massive costing in their business is testimony to this. So the use of IPC as the primary national backhaul system is going to continue with Infraco carrying more traffic but still fundamentally being the second fiddle. What LLU will do is to get the value in the proposition up and it will drive an increase in the utilization of the copper infrastructure. Businesses and individuals who refuse (or are refused) to do business with Telkom will be able to take up DSL based options.
elvis_presley
Expert Member
None of which are actually relevant to delivering last-mile solutions to the millions of high-income users in gated communities with massive DFA pipes running past them. Many have infrastructure in (SmartVillage, etc), negating most the "can't do it" points in your reply. Clearly that's not a problem. But they can't even beat Telkom on pricing or value proposition. And that's sad.
Private business has failed. And they can't all blame the government for everything. I'd agree with you if they'd had success in the many many MANY places they don't have the issues you mentioned, but they haven't. Sorry man.
We should be able to get naked DSL once LLU happens, so that's a good start. Although in many LLU territories, the 3rd party providers still force you to take a voice service, I think it's just a price gouging opportunity too good for ANYONE to pass up!
And seriously dude.... Try and go for quality over quantity in your posts.
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Chevron
Serial breaker of phones
People are cancelling their phone lines faster than people get adsl.
Chevron
Serial breaker of phones
Source?
Problem isn't Telkom.
It's education of the population. Not enough tax payers. Also people would rather have DSTV than a proper internet connection at home.
if OLOs (of whatever shape or form) had the means to tap into the lines in the ground which are unutilized at the moment the marketing machinery of MWEB etc ... would kick up 200k subscribers who are not considering ADSL because of their aversion to Telkom
The DSTV angle is a very very important one and just think how many people who've dumped a phone but spend a fortune on DSTV and their substitution of voice on a mobile phone would be in the market to have their copper last mile used as part of a smartTV upgrade
The DSTV angle is a very very important one and just think how many people who've dumped a phone but spend a fortune on DSTV and their substitution of voice on a mobile phone would be in the market to have their copper last mile used as part of a smartTV upgrade