South African Internet stats for 2011 revealed

jes said:

2.48 million South Africans use only their cellphones to access the Internet, Goldstuck said.

The number of ADSL connections in use in SA is 820,000, and is being limited by Telkom as the sole supplier of the service, Goldstuck said.
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You can't compare the 2 technologies - one is fixed the other is mobile. During the day when I'm roaming I use mobile. When I'm behind a PC I used fixed line because its cheaper. Obviously the mobile stats are higher because its portable. If we all walked around with extremely long ADSL cables attached to our phone, then ADSL stats would be much higher.

Most South Africans are happy to surf the net at work and do the odd bit of browsing at home on their phones (via BBIS). ie i bet this article doesn't factor fixed ADSL business lines.

If most South Africans choose to do all their browsing via mobile and pay for the ridiculously expensive mobile data compared to R499 uncapped, then most South Africans are stupid.

Even with Telkoms stronghold on the copper, the new recent drop in ISP prices, both capped and uncapped, mean that ADSL (for at least 2 years now) mean that its the cheapest broadband you can get.

I have a very comfortable income, but if I can help it i don't use my cell phone for data. It doesn't make financial sense. My phone is connected Wifi at work and at home or I look out for wifi hotspots in malls.



Unless I'm missing the point of Aurther Goldistruck's statements?
 
rogerwe said:
I have a very comfortable income, but if I can help it i don't use my cell phone for data. It doesn't make financial sense. My phone is connected Wifi at work and at home or I look out for wifi hotspots in malls.
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Even though DSL is cheaper per MB, the over all cost his high: Router price, land line install, phone line rental, DSL line rental, price per MB [or uncapped]. off the bat, you are paying R300 for ACCESS to DSL. When you have only R300 budget for internet, DSL makes no finacial sense.
 
eltherza said:
Even though DSL is cheaper per MB, the over all cost his high: Router price, land line install, phone line rental, DSL line rental, price per MB [or uncapped]. off the bat, you are paying R300 for ACCESS to DSL. When you have only R300 budget for internet, DSL makes no finacial sense.
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Fair enough. I forgot about the phone line rental which most people could do without. This adds about R100 to your bill whether you want it or not.

However the Router, Land Line install is all once off for under R1000. You can't get an Android smart phone for that price that can support the wifi hotspot function. You're looking at close to R4000 for that. Then there's your monthly subscription to the cellphone provider for your Smarthphone for at least R350 per month..and thats WITHOUT data. (cue BIS users)

I still laugh at MTN's uncapped business package (on top of your monthly subscription) of R899 p/m ...and then theres a 10GB fair usage policy. Even then you're lucky to get a trickle of speed, depending on where you are. Plumstead, one of the bigger suburbs in cape town has 2 bars of coverage if you're lucky. Its been like that for over 5 years. Forget getting anything but Edge.

Got the info here

At the same price I have true uncapped at full 4MB line speed (adsl/phone line rental included ) and get WAAAAY more than 10GB download if I wanted to.

For less fortunate people, at about R400 per month, you can get an uncapped 1MB package (line rental included ). Granted you need to fork out around up to R1000 once off for the modem/setup initially.

C'mon. If the average person in this country can afford a DSTV at R590 p/m, then they can afford ADSL. (DSTV is no longer for the privileged few...just check at the walks of life next time you go to the Multichoice offices)

Another laugh is this statement from MTN: 2GB package is best suited for advanced internet users, MTN Internet 2GB will keep you business and personal life. .
Who can get by on 2GB a month???


Maybe I'm a stubborn old schooler, but I still say ADSL makes more sense. Granted, mobile is easier to set up coz it mostly just works. ADSL has few more technicalities.
 
rogerwe said:
Unless I'm missing the point of Aurther Goldistruck's statements?
Click to expand...

Remember that the presentation was given over Twitter, so the statements were brief and not in full context. In this particular case there was no comparison, just a simple statement of numbers. Goldstuck was saying that the number of ADSL connections in SA could be higher if it wasn't for Telkom's monopoly.

That said, I don't think it would be unfair to compare mobile to fixed line connections. Both are ways to connect to the Internet and both methods have similar fee structures that can be compared.

8ta and Cell C both have/had packages that actually came in cheaper than their ADSL counterparts in total cost (DSL rental + voice rental + account).

EDIT: For uncapped, high volumes, and predictable latency I would still go ADSL, though.
 
Rogerwe,

Where can I get 1MB ADSL for R400 including line rental?

If I am not mistaken, it is at least around R550.
 
Jan said:
Remember that the presentation was given over Twitter, so the statements were brief and not in full context. In this particular case there was no comparison, just a simple statement of numbers. Goldstuck was saying that the number of ADSL connections in SA could be higher if it wasn't for Telkom's monopoly.

That said, I don't think it would be unfair to compare mobile to fixed line connections. Both are ways to connect to the Internet and both methods have similar fee structures that can be compared.

8ta and Cell C both have/had packages that actually came in cheaper than their ADSL counterparts in total cost (DSL rental + voice rental + account).

EDIT: For uncapped, high volumes, and predictable latency I would still go ADSL, though.
Click to expand...
From an infrastructure perspective it is MUCH cheaper to plonk down a tower/base station in a suburb and provide 3G service to a few hundred people than to build/maintain a fixed line equivalent.
 
would there be smartphone users who never access the internet? A bit odd that the number of internet users and smartphone users is the same, kinda implying they 100% overlap unless ppl have smartphones without accessing the internet...
 
rogerwe said:
Its R430 to be exact: http://www.webafrica.co.za/home/adsl/ (choose the "include line rne

Buy one less burger a month, then you won't feel the jump from R400 to R430 per month ;-)
Click to expand...

Not to hate on ADSL (it is my home connection of choice), but that excludes voice line rental. Add R130-R140 (or whatever it costs nowadays).

That's dinner and a movie I have to give up :p
 
Jan said:
Not to hate on ADSL (it is my home connection of choice), but that excludes voice line rental. Add R130-R140 (or whatever it costs nowadays).

That's dinner and a movie I have to give up :p
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EDIT: it's a case of beer (on special) !!!!
 
McGuywer said:
With voice rental + ADSL rental + data, it's not possible to get 1MB under R400...

Voice line is +- R140 + R279 (Afrihost 1MB ADSL) = R419 without data.
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You darn right...its not possible to get it under R400. But i didn't say under....i said very close.

rogerwe said:
Here you go...the price cuts from Afrihost will get you very close to R400 including line rental:

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/49603-afrihost-cuts-uncapped-adsl-prices.html
Click to expand...

Your quote also R100 off:

The new Afrihost 1MB package is R197
Not sure what the line rental for a 1MB ADSL line is these days.
 
Last edited:
rogerwe said:
You darn right...its not possible to get it under R400. But i didn't say under....i said very close.
Click to expand...
How close is very close?
R419 without data.... Add R29 for a mere 1GB .....

rogerwe said:
Your quote also R100 off:

The new Afrihost 1MB package is R197
Not sure what the line rental for a 1MB ADSL line is these days.
Click to expand...

Not from what I can see on their website. Have you not mistaken the line rental with uncapped ADSL?

Proof is in the pudding
 
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