Dear mr White,
One of the golden threads running through the discussions on this forum is the expectation that Telkom should offer a World Class service at World competitive rates.
Telkom seems to reply to all such requests that it is the cost of International bandwidth that is driving the ADSL pricing.
From links published on this website, it is clear that ADSL is offered elsewhere in the world at rates lower than what Telkom is charging for the "ADSL line rental". Obviously this does not fit the expectations of clients for a world class service at world competitive rates.
Instead of just griping, I will offer my 2cents' worth of a product proposal.
A advises a client to use ADSL for one reason only: The lack of a better offering by Telkom or anyone else and won't be surprised if it is a general market attitude.
From the meeting notes with RPM it seems as if Telkom is preparing an even more expensive product, while I'm of opinion that the real need is in a "Feather lite" product.
May I suggest the following product:
"Featherlite Telkom ADSL":
All costs included at R230 per month (roughly USD 30 at which ADSL can be purchased in the USA)
This package comprises the following:
Telkom line fees for ADSL
Telkom internet access with email etcetc
Local traffic: Unlimited - contention ration 1:50 (See Demon in the UK's offering for home)
International traffic: Unlimited BUT contention ration of 1:200 or worse ( Yes, I know this will be a virtually useless service!! But it virtually eliminates the cost of international bandwidth from the equation)
You may purchase International access at R???? per 100 MB INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC at you local Telkom branch / elsewhere and upgrade your account for that amount of international traffic to a suitable contention ratio via the web. (Telkom is already offering a similar approach on prepaid phones)
This way Telkom can offer World Class Internet access at World class rates for local access. Those who need better International access know they will have to pay for it - and can budget accordingly.
This proposed package will increase the interest in local internet services such as Aardvark and increase the advert income from that source. I'm sure it could offer an kick start to many other webservices locally due to encouraging people to surf in a "local-is lekker" mode. Also, local ISP's will have to supply the required bandwidth to feed there servers - another source of income for Telkom
No more complaints about being expensive
No more complaints about the cap
Still complaint about bandwidth priorities.
