Dear Ed
I have been a loyal subscriber to your service since launch, in fact since the 'beta' days with no caps. I have been largely satisfied with the performance of Iburst and have been a vocal supporter among my peers. You have 5 additional subscribers directly due to my recommendations.
Downloading files has always been a great pleasure on your network while browsing has been very satisfactory. I do, however, also play online games and use VOIP, and although I am able to (just) get away with games like Guild Wars, I am aware that I could not play any FPS games with an international ping of around 600ms. VOIP is certainly acceptable, although is obviously not as good as through a fixed line. A lower ping is, I understand, an inherent shortcoming of the wireless technology, and as long as Iburst remained an excellent value for money service, I was willing to overlook this.
I have, however, been astonished that in the ever-advancing landscape of internet providing, the offering from Iburst has not changed in any way over the last 2+ years. The cost of my subscription, the speed of the service and the monthly usage cap has stayed exactly the same. Clearly your costs will have come down with both the cost of bandwidth having reduced and your increased client base bringing you greater economies of scale. To make matters worse, your competition has increased.
It is important to be aware of your competitors. My impression is that Iburst seem to be blinkered to the threat of competitor products offered today. As much as is my dislike for the state owned monopoly, I am having to seriously consider moving to them. This will require me to sell my iburst modem, to get a fixed line in my house, and to go through the hassle of installing ADSL. However, in return I will have a service provider who DOES seem to be moving forward with ever-improving products and a much improved ping for online gaming and VOIP. Of course, I lose the ability to travel with my internet. In reality, however, my modem has never left my house. I would argue that this would probably go for the majority of your clients.
By means of this letter, I am asking you to please assure me that Iburst is, in fact, considering upgrading their products. Your relative value compared to your competitors has dropped substantially over the last two years, and I will make a decision before the end of this month whether or not to apply for a Telkom line.
While the cancellation of my account is no doubt of little import to your business, I would seriously consider that there must be many people in a similar position to mine. I want to stay with Iburst. I would like to support you as the underdog who entered the market in a progressive and aggressive manner. However, at this stage you are giving me the impression of only knowing how to roll over when the big dog starts barking.
I would much appreciate your reply to this letter. Without disclosing Ibursts specific strategy moving forward, your assurance that things are shortly going to improve, will certainly go a long way. At this stage I am concerned that nothing has been done, nothing has been promised, and Iburst seems to be unaware or unconcerned that in this fast paced segment, standing still is suicide.
Yours sincerely
Anton.
I have been a loyal subscriber to your service since launch, in fact since the 'beta' days with no caps. I have been largely satisfied with the performance of Iburst and have been a vocal supporter among my peers. You have 5 additional subscribers directly due to my recommendations.
Downloading files has always been a great pleasure on your network while browsing has been very satisfactory. I do, however, also play online games and use VOIP, and although I am able to (just) get away with games like Guild Wars, I am aware that I could not play any FPS games with an international ping of around 600ms. VOIP is certainly acceptable, although is obviously not as good as through a fixed line. A lower ping is, I understand, an inherent shortcoming of the wireless technology, and as long as Iburst remained an excellent value for money service, I was willing to overlook this.
I have, however, been astonished that in the ever-advancing landscape of internet providing, the offering from Iburst has not changed in any way over the last 2+ years. The cost of my subscription, the speed of the service and the monthly usage cap has stayed exactly the same. Clearly your costs will have come down with both the cost of bandwidth having reduced and your increased client base bringing you greater economies of scale. To make matters worse, your competition has increased.
It is important to be aware of your competitors. My impression is that Iburst seem to be blinkered to the threat of competitor products offered today. As much as is my dislike for the state owned monopoly, I am having to seriously consider moving to them. This will require me to sell my iburst modem, to get a fixed line in my house, and to go through the hassle of installing ADSL. However, in return I will have a service provider who DOES seem to be moving forward with ever-improving products and a much improved ping for online gaming and VOIP. Of course, I lose the ability to travel with my internet. In reality, however, my modem has never left my house. I would argue that this would probably go for the majority of your clients.
By means of this letter, I am asking you to please assure me that Iburst is, in fact, considering upgrading their products. Your relative value compared to your competitors has dropped substantially over the last two years, and I will make a decision before the end of this month whether or not to apply for a Telkom line.
While the cancellation of my account is no doubt of little import to your business, I would seriously consider that there must be many people in a similar position to mine. I want to stay with Iburst. I would like to support you as the underdog who entered the market in a progressive and aggressive manner. However, at this stage you are giving me the impression of only knowing how to roll over when the big dog starts barking.
I would much appreciate your reply to this letter. Without disclosing Ibursts specific strategy moving forward, your assurance that things are shortly going to improve, will certainly go a long way. At this stage I am concerned that nothing has been done, nothing has been promised, and Iburst seems to be unaware or unconcerned that in this fast paced segment, standing still is suicide.
Yours sincerely
Anton.
. There is no sense in making a deadline, but I will say that I hope that none of the decision makers at Iburst are under any illusions that you are behind the game and need to react, and react soon.
