SAIX resellers - feedback please?

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Highflyer_GP

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It's a little disconcerting that we've had ZERO feedback from any of the SAIX resellers as to what what sort of packages we can expect now that the hard cap has effectively disappeared.

Do we get the same allocation of local data during this "promotional period"? And how would it affect the pricing of local-only accounts?

Please guys, we want to support you instead of the beast, but you're not really leaving us with much choice by being silent on the issue.
 
I'd expect WA and Openweb to be first to give feedback, maybe Axxess as well. But yeah, I was also wondering the local only accounts and how that's gonna work from now?
 
Maybe they have nothing and are simply trying to avoid a mass end of month exodus?
 
Spoke to a TI agent earlier today and he said while in the trial phase local will not be billed for. Maybe the resellers can add some meat to that?

Proff
 
I mailed WA yesterday along with some other questions. They haven't replied so far, but I'm not in a big hurry so thats cool.

I'm guessing the ISPs are getting zero info themselves and are still trying to figure out what to do and what will be financially viable.

The R25/gig talk is not cool.
 
Well, TelkomInternet are now issuing set amounts of local with their international at no extra cost. (10GB local for every 1GB international). This is similar to what IS has been doing.

Maybe other SAIX resellers will follow suit.
 
This is the response i got from WA.

Code: 
Hi

Thanks for your query,

Firstly the bad news is that Telkom appears at this stage to 
be ready for "uncapped" local, however you still pay for each 
MB you download. It appears this is done to comply with the 
letter of the law (ICASA regulations) but not the spirit of it 
as consumers understand uncapped.(IE fixed price for 
unlimited downloading).

Thus it is unlikely that anything is going to change significantly
 in the near future with regards to this latest development.


Regards, Faizel Ismail
 
Resellers still have to pay for the local usage. TI has an obvious advantage.
Their "testing" phase is actually just a marketing campaign.
"Join TI and get free local (for a limited time only - subject to signing your soul over to telkom)"
 
With all due respect to WA, that's kind of a weak response. How is it that TI is able to include that much free local and nobody else is? If that response is indeed true then TI clearly has an unfair competitive advantage, because they are actually marketing it as a promotion. If it were just a testing phase, then testing would be carried out by SAIX, not TI, and would therefore apply to all SAIX resellers. So what's being done to level the playing fields?
 
How is it that TI is able to include that much free local and nobody else is?
Click to expand...

Because Telkom charge the other ISPs for SAIX bandwidth that they resell.

Conflict of interest much? Anti-competitive practices you say? Tell it to ICASA. :rolleyes:
 
Highflyer. Unfortunately TI and SAIX are the same company they just the retail and wholesale arms. TI never actually pays for anything so as for this "trial period" it costs them nothing really.

WA would love to be able to do a "trial" - but Telkom bills us every single penny.
 
Hi Matt thanks for the feedback :)

If I recall Telkom previously claimed that TI is billed by SAIX for the same amount as other ISP's. I think they mentioned this when the issue of the relaxed cap emerged, when they said that they use a pooling system which allows people to go over their cap.

So if that is the case then surely there should be some form of recourse, perhaps the members of ISPA could try and convince ISPA to take it up with the CC or something?
 
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The way I see it, 1 November came and nothing really changed. ISP's still pay SAIX x rand per gig of local, so if they couldn't give it away for free before 1 November how could they possibly do it now ?!

TI selling 1 GB + 9 GB (or 10 GB Im not sure of exact figures) local of SAIX for R79 is not even covering the bare cost of the bandwidth from SAIX ( I do not know exact wholesale prices, but the local 9 or 10 gigs alone would be more than R79, at cost) let alone staff pay cheques, equipment payments/maintenance, offices etc.

ISP's cannot subsidise this loss through income from high telephone bills and other exorbitant charges :)
 
My question to Mr Beep:

I have a 10gb SAIX account. Given that Telkom/SAIX is trialing local usage after capping, will my Openweb account behave in the same way?

His reply:

Thank you for your PM.

I'm afraid we have not been given the option of offering this yet.

Thus we are unclear of our current position.

I am so sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Click to expand...

I think we will only get the free local promotion on a TI account.

I've canceled my my SAIX local only account with Axxess, and will get a 3gb TI account on the first.
 
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Gatecrasher said:
I've canceled my my SAIX local only account with Axxess, and will get a 3gb TI account on the first.
Click to expand...

and there you have it.
TI's "testing phase" bears fruit.
marketing spam....

the changes that SAIX has implemented to make this a possibility do NOT require extensive live testing.
 
ajax said:
posting pm's is a violation of forum "law" AFAIK...
Click to expand...


i think we can agree that the forum law was not designed to protect the publishing of the type of info that MrBEEP has provided. I am sure MrBEEP would post that openly in any thread. Also of course you cannot be sure that he didn't get consent from MrBEEP.
 
ajax said:
posting pm's is a violation of forum "law" AFAIK...
Click to expand...

You can report the post. If the mods feel it is inappropriate they are welcome to remove it.

I only posted it because I felt the information given by Mr Beep was useful to forum members and not of a personal nature at all.
 
Highflyer_GP said:
Hi Matt thanks for the feedback :)

If I recall Telkom previously claimed that TI is billed by SAIX for the same amount as other ISP's. I think they mentioned this when the issue of the relaxed cap emerged, when they said that they use a pooling system which allows people to go over their cap.

So if that is the case then surely there should be some form of recourse, perhaps the members of ISPA could try and convince ISPA to take it up with the CC or something?
Click to expand...

I'd take there "pooling" system with a large grain of salt. ;) We ran the numbers across our userbase and we'd be out of business within a month if we tried that. Isn't it odd that only TI can offer this special pooling business. I can't possibly believe its average customer usage profile is so completely different to all the other ISPs out there that it makes it possible for them.

Also I doubt any money changes hands or they pay VAT etc. How does a company invoice itself?

Regarding ISPA, we have a discussion going and legal counsel looking into it and will advise when we have clarity.

Cheers
 
yup just to confirm that there is no local bandwdith on webafrica SAIX accounts. Just capped my 10gig int SAIX account and there is no local access.
 
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