AK65
Well-Known Member
Hi
New user, but a regular reader and keen follower of the broadband debate. I can't justify spending 500+ bucks a month for an always on connection. I would like, however, to make some suggestions and lay some facts down regarding the way we are being exploited by Telkom.
1. Campaign of media embarrassment. Telkom is a fixed line monopoly. Plain and simple. However they would like to spin around this by sugar coating, fancy worded press releases and glossy ad campaigns, this remains a fact. The media, should therefore, in EVERY article they write, or every time they deal with Telkom, conciously and deliberately refer to Telkom politely as "the fixed line telecommunications monopoly, Telkom." That will really let listeners/readers know exactly what they are, as well as cause extreme embarrassment to their erudite, well paid, smug PR people.
2. I work for a power company, which also is a monopoly. Nuff said. But some facts here: The cable that supplies power to my house, is much fatter and more expensive to maintain and stick in the ground than the piddly little twisted pair of 0.5mm Telkom copper, and I am charged no rental at all for this. kWh consumed only. YMMV, depending on your supplier. Telkom, on the other hand charges 85 bucks a month for this piece of old copper crap. Chew on this: my average electricity bill is much lower than my average phone bill. Yet the infrastructure required to bring electricity to homes is billions of rand and orders of magnitudes higher than the amounts needed for telecommunications. Granted the period of return on investment is longer, but fundamentally something doesn't make sense here. Until the local loop is unbundled, Telkom have us by the throats. Consider also that the local loops were installed when Telkom was the Post Office, and they were a State Department which was owned and financed by the taxpayer, so technically the local loop should also be public domain.
How far away are we: my brother is a CEO of a British ISP. Their latest offering is always on broadband (don't know the speed) plus unlimited free UK National Calls (I presume VOIP, but who cares) all for 20 pounds a month.
So the little reduction in the ADSL 'rental' is like only stealing three quarters of what they stole last month.
But hey, continue to embarrass embarrass and humiliate with the same pr slickness that they do with their sugar coated lies. And Rudolph, you do it like a real pro.
New user, but a regular reader and keen follower of the broadband debate. I can't justify spending 500+ bucks a month for an always on connection. I would like, however, to make some suggestions and lay some facts down regarding the way we are being exploited by Telkom.
1. Campaign of media embarrassment. Telkom is a fixed line monopoly. Plain and simple. However they would like to spin around this by sugar coating, fancy worded press releases and glossy ad campaigns, this remains a fact. The media, should therefore, in EVERY article they write, or every time they deal with Telkom, conciously and deliberately refer to Telkom politely as "the fixed line telecommunications monopoly, Telkom." That will really let listeners/readers know exactly what they are, as well as cause extreme embarrassment to their erudite, well paid, smug PR people.
2. I work for a power company, which also is a monopoly. Nuff said. But some facts here: The cable that supplies power to my house, is much fatter and more expensive to maintain and stick in the ground than the piddly little twisted pair of 0.5mm Telkom copper, and I am charged no rental at all for this. kWh consumed only. YMMV, depending on your supplier. Telkom, on the other hand charges 85 bucks a month for this piece of old copper crap. Chew on this: my average electricity bill is much lower than my average phone bill. Yet the infrastructure required to bring electricity to homes is billions of rand and orders of magnitudes higher than the amounts needed for telecommunications. Granted the period of return on investment is longer, but fundamentally something doesn't make sense here. Until the local loop is unbundled, Telkom have us by the throats. Consider also that the local loops were installed when Telkom was the Post Office, and they were a State Department which was owned and financed by the taxpayer, so technically the local loop should also be public domain.
How far away are we: my brother is a CEO of a British ISP. Their latest offering is always on broadband (don't know the speed) plus unlimited free UK National Calls (I presume VOIP, but who cares) all for 20 pounds a month.
So the little reduction in the ADSL 'rental' is like only stealing three quarters of what they stole last month.
But hey, continue to embarrass embarrass and humiliate with the same pr slickness that they do with their sugar coated lies. And Rudolph, you do it like a real pro.