Paradox with Telkom's pricing Methodolgies

ScrnScrm

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Mar 18, 2005
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Ok, hear me out here.
Telkom have recently claimed a number of things wrt ADSL pricing that need rebuttal :

They say pricing is high because :
a. They need to recover their Capex expenses for the ADSL rollout.
b. The cost of maintaining the local leads.

Now, ADSL pricing consists of two components :
a. The backhaul network and access service.
b. The local leads and DSLAM service.

Given that the cost of maintaining local leads is already covered in your normal line rental (its the same wire), this leaves us with a cost consisting of two components :

a. The support, maintenance and depreciation of the DSLAM itself
b. The support, maintenance, depreciation and line rental for the access network routers and lines.

Now, Telkom offer a 192kb/s service for about R330 per month. This charge included cost from a and b above, plus a profit margin.

I think therefor that its safe to assume that the DSLAM costs are less that R300 per month, with the balance of the costs coming from the access network. The same infrastructure is used for all speed services that they offer.

This brings me to my point :

a. telkom are charging exorbitant fees for both the access network AND internet connectivity. They own the lines - surely it cant be THAT expensive? Blatant profiteering.

IMHO - ADSL should cost sub R300 for everyone, and let the ISP charge for the bandwidth being utilized.

just a thought - use it, dont use it. If i have missed something here, please point it out!
 
RPM proved in his presentation yesterday that the Line Rental (R599) is pure profit for Telkom. He showed the panel that Telkom are the only ones worldwide where a Line Rental is charged for over and above the R85 we pay for the telephone line in the first place!

An interesting point was brought up by MTNNS who presented after RPM. They said that they thought the ISP cost (approx. R300) was not enough, and then used this to prove that Telkom were cross subsidizing their business.

The louder we shout to have the line rental abolished, the more people will join the cry.
 
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