Portability the key, says caged Branson

Remember Paris offered to resign come 10 November if MNP doesn't happen
To bastardise Shakespeare
For Paris is an honourable man;
So are they all; all honourable men


The chances of him resigning? Slim to none imo. Just another promise to b e ignored.
 
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The chances of him resigning? Slim to none imo. Just another promise to b e ignored.

Ja I know, but we can always hold our thumbs, squeez our eyes closed tightly and wish and wish and wish...

if that doesn't work, why not embarass the cr@p out of him?
O wait he won't get embarassed, hmmmm lets think about this one

Branson should request his resignation, he should have enough clout!
but i guess that wouldn't be good business for him, upsetting the regulator and all, hmmmm...
 
Branson said the Virgin Money credit card, launched at the same time as Virgin Mobile in June, showed the difference free-market competition made. With no restrictions on switching credit cards, Virgin Money took well over 1% of the market in three months — “unheard of anywhere in the world”, he said.
1% of the market, i think not ... i think th@ more than 1% of 1% owns more than 1 credit card ;)
variety is the spice of life ... options are good for .US
 
Branson said he was sure dominant operators MTN and Vodacom stalled as they could go on charging a captive audience high prices

What I dont understand is that Virgin Mobile is just as expensive as the other three. How in Branson's mind is offering such a cheaper service?

On the Virgin V100 plan - R1.95 per minute (1st 5 min then R1.50 pm)
On the MTN MYcall plan - R1.80 per minute (MTN TO MTN)

While Virgin gets cheaper after 5 min, their prices are nothing to attract me. They are virtually the same.
 
MTN TO MTN R1.80
MTN to Other R 2.75
MTN to Telkom R 2.00

Changes the picture somewhat doesn't it. It all depends on your (or company) calling habits and trends really as to what will save you money and what wont.

Arthur Goldstruck and his crew are quick to point out that MNP will not render massive migrations and that it will have a negligible affect on pricing. They also point out that interconnection charges are the 'prime evil'.

To a large extent they are correct, but what they fail to say is that at the end of the day, the consumer will have a choice and the freedom to move without any major hassle or disruption to themselves which they never had before really. This is specifically speaking contract customers, who are a regular guaranteed (and highly sought after) source of revenue.

MNP will have a very positive impact on service and how these big companies see and treat these customers. How these companies interact and communicate with these people will have to change overnight and be dynamic in nature as the opposition will be very innovative in their marketing campaigns to lure new customers in what is fast becoming an increasingly saturated market locally.

There will be a barrage of offers from the smaller providers as soon as MNP is available. Thinking bigger, families, big corporates etc will be sought after business now that nobody has a 'number noose' around their necks.

Monetary savings might be negligible, sure, but MNP will empower the user and that's all good.
:)
 
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MTN TO MTN R1.80
MTN to Other R 2.75
MTN to Telkom R 2.00

Changes the picture somewhat doesn't it. It all depends on your (or company) calling habits and trends really as to what will save you money and what wont.
:)

One could at length over who is the cheapest:

VM's V100 package includes does not include the following, which MTN's Mycall does:
15 AnyTime Local SMSs
15 Peak Minutes
85 Off-Peak Minutes

Then MTN's off peak call Rates are:
MTN TO MTN R 0.88
MTN to Telkom R 0.95
MTN to Other R 1.15

While VM stays at R1.55.

The point you make that it depends on an individual's usage that will determine who is the cheapest is correct, but my point is that Branson repeatedly accuses the others of excessive and expensive call rates BUT VM's is really not that much better.

HENCE the SLOW 'start' as they call it. Even with MNP his prices simply do not attract customers, certainly not myself. The only reason to change for me is his customer care which he claims is so good.

THEN I look at www.hellopeter.co.za and see all the complaints from extremely pee'd off people. 133 complaints to 80 compliments.

The whole point I am trying to make is that Virgin Mobile has simply not had any competitive effect on the prices we pay for communication in this country. Branson must stop bragging he is our saviour when his actions do not match his talk.
 
THEN I look at www.hellopeter.co.za and see all the complaints from extremely pee'd off people. 133 complaints to 80 compliments.
Those numbers dont even begin to touch Vodacoms 295 complements vs 2180 complaints or MTNs 256/1718 record.

EDIT - That works out at a ratio of 1.66 complaints to each complement for Virgin, 7.4 for every one to Vodacom and 6.7 complaints for every MTN compliment.

BTW - virgins v100 package includes the first R100 of calls.
 
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Point taken and well understood. I agree and this is where the interconnection charges play a significant role in driving up the cellular call costs.
I agree that their is a negligible difference in pricing and in some cases it could work out even more expensive with Virgin.
I don't however see the bosses of MTN and VODACOM standing on platforms campaigning for increased freedom in the market like he does though. They seem content with the status quo and for that Branson must be commended.
He can only do so much and is at the end subjected to the same insane pricing structures as everyone else. He does seem to challenge the process rather than accept it and that I do admire.

I will migrate from Vodacom to another provider for no other reason than I don't want my money (any of it) going to Telkom which is where it ends up being on Vodacom. Vodacom is the money spinner for Telkom.
I don't know which provider just yet, but it wont be Voda (50% Telkom owned) that's for sure and with my calling habts and Branson's attitude, Virgin is leading the race. But hey, that's just me.;)
 
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BTW - virgins v100 package includes the first R100 of calls.

So on V100 you get about 50 to 60 odd peak minutes "free" for your R100 per month. This is not bad. Similar "peak time" contracts on MTN and VC are much more expensive.
 
So on V100 you get about 50 to 60 odd peak minutes "free" for your R100 per month. This is not bad. Similar "peak time" contracts on MTN and VC are much more expensive.
I also dont like calling them 'free' but essentially yeah. The V100 and V500 plan is just a commitment to spend at least r100 or r500 respectively.
 
True but with MTN and Voda you do get a phone included in the price, definitely not free, but you have to factor it into the cost.
 
Last week MTN’s chief technical office, Karel Pienaar, said number portability would benefit whichever network offered the best customer service.

err to put it bluntly...bollocks!! The majority of the cellphone users are prepaid. They're going to go to the network with the lowest rates not best customer service.
 
True but with MTN and Voda you do get a phone included in the price, definitely not free, but you have to factor it into the cost.
And the privilege of paying it off over the next 24 months. There are always catches to every selling point.
 
The days of 24 month contracts are coming to an end. There is a place for contracts but for shorter periods.
 
The other factors I think may have impact are that both VIrgin and Cell C charge per second?? And with the MNP you can change your contract to suit your needs at the time. Some months I need a Business talk 120 package and others I need a My call type account, I generally dont have the same usage pattern for 2 years.
Im with you Sneeky re ditching Telkom..errrr Vodacom. To be honest I think the whole service side is over rated. I dont need loads of service, I think Ive called maybe 3 times for service in about 5 years. In fact I dont trust companies with great after salles service, it implies you are going to need it coz they have dodgy service. What people want is a phone that works and the lowest prices possible.
 
The days of 24 month contracts are coming to an end. There is a place for contracts but for shorter periods.
Odd - the rest of the worlds norm is 12 month yet SA is so unique that both MTN and Vodacom decide 24 month is the way to go - definitely no collusion there.

Still - never seen a country where the consumer is so happy to BOAGYA.
 
One could at length over who is the cheapest:

VM's V100 package includes does not include the following, which MTN's Mycall does:
15 AnyTime Local SMSs
15 Peak Minutes
85 Off-Peak Minutes

Then MTN's off peak call Rates are:
MTN TO MTN R 0.88
MTN to Telkom R 0.95
MTN to Other R 1.15

While VM stays at R1.55.

The point you make that it depends on an individual's usage that will determine who is the cheapest is correct, but my point is that Branson repeatedly accuses the others of excessive and expensive call rates BUT VM's is really not that much better.

HENCE the SLOW 'start' as they call it. Even with MNP his prices simply do not attract customers, certainly not myself. The only reason to change for me is his customer care which he claims is so good.

THEN I look at www.hellopeter.co.za and see all the complaints from extremely pee'd off people. 133 complaints to 80 compliments.

The whole point I am trying to make is that Virgin Mobile has simply not had any competitive effect on the prices we pay for communication in this country. Branson must stop bragging he is our saviour when his actions do not match his talk.
My feelings exactly. For a new startup the number of complaints is HUGE. They are no worse than Vodacom in their customer service attitude. I just wish they would leave out their 'pseudo cool' jingoistic language in their ads & literature. It's a load of BS - basically a con!

The fact that they can't even get their VRewards programme working properly after so long is very telling.:rolleyes:
 
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