Telkom fixed line subscriber bleed unabated

Telkom's loss in fixed line subscribers is totally can only be blamed on themselves. We can no longer get fixed lines in our area, which also means no ADSL. We can only get an 8TA wireless phone now, but are limited to 10GB data per month at R199 on contract.

I have seen this mentioned on many other forums, facebook and Twitter - even here where people complains about the same problem. There are thousands of people who need fixed lines, especially for ADSL, but Telkom uses the same excuse - too many cable theft in the area - and they are declined a phone line.

I know of about 30 people in our neighborhood who will jump to get lines installed with ADSL. We all use 8TA. And, I know this is a problem countrywide.
 
CeeBee said:
Or at least refund you for your internet costs incurred while its off... an incentive to get their **** in order as quick as possible.
Alas, ... no.
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Oh but they do, just call accounts with your ref(s) and they will credit you,
cr.jpg
 
Telkom and Eskom... 2 companies with a client base available, and more people who WANT their service and products, and they actively push it away.
amazing in this day and economic climate, where you actively encourage people not to buy into your business :D
 
ponder said:
Oh but they do, just call accounts with your ref(s) and they will credit you,
View attachment 167981
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I still have the ADSL line with Telkom, and the internet data is with Afrihost.
Telkom ONLY refunds me for the telephone service while the line was not working.... but not for my Arfihost data account i could not use, not for Netflix subscription i had no use of, not for the Vodacom data i've had to buy, to get work done (connecting by VPN to the office)
the ADSL line itself is only part of the monthly internet expenses, but if the line's not working, all the other subscriptions are wasted.
 
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CeeBee said:
Telkom and Eskom... 2 companies with a client base available, and more people who WANT their service and products, and they actively push it away.
amazing in this day and economic climate, where you actively encourage people not to buy into your business :D
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Lol :D True.

We were caught with sly one by Telkom.

Our phone lines in the neighbourhood went down. After 2 days I called Telkom and they confirmed there were cable theft and it could take 2 - 4 weeks to restore services. 2 months later we still had no telephone services.

One afternoon a guy from Telkom knocked on our door and informed us of the cable theft. He said that Telkom management will have a meeting in 2 months to decide if they will repair the cables. They have blocked all installation of new landlines in our neighbourhood. He said that he could offer us an alternative.

We could go for a wireless phone with 8TA at the same price we are currently paying - with all benefits. If we choose this option he will install the device immediately, else we could wait for another 2 months and see what Telkom's decision is. If they refuse, we need to re-apply with 8TA, but will then loose our current benefits.

Well, we jumped in, but then had to sign a contract. We had to waive our rights to ever apply for a fixed line or ADSL line ever again, anywhere in SA. We needed our phone, so we signed. 10 minutes later we had a new number and is now on 8TA.

4 weeks later the landlines were restored. However, they blocked the new installation of landlines. If new people moves into our neighbourhood, they can only get 8TA wireless phones. I thought I would take a chance and applied for a landline with ADSL. I was declined and they called me explaining that I signed an agreement waiving my rights to a fixed line and ADSL.
 
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Visser said:
Lol :D True.

We were caught with sly one by Telkom.

Our phone lines in the neighbourhood went down. After 2 days I called Telkom and they confirmed there were cable theft and it could take 2 - 4 weeks to restore services. 2 months later we still had no telephone services.

One afternoon a guy from Telkom knocked on our door and informed us of the cable theft. He said that Telkom management will have a meeting in 2 months to decide if they will repair the cables. They have blocked all installation of new landlines in our neighbourhood. He said that he could offer us an alternative.

We could go for a wireless phone with 8TA at the same price we are currently paying - with all benefits. If we choose this option he will install the device immediately, else we could wait for another 2 months and see what Telkom's decision is. If they refuse, we need to re-apply with 8TA, but will then loose our current benefits.

Well, we jumped in, but then had to sign a contract. We had to waive our rights to ever apply for a fixed line or ADSL line ever again, anywhere in SA. We needed our phone, so we signed. 10 minutes later we had a new number and is now on 8TA.

4 weeks later the landlines were restored. However, they blocked the new installation of landlines. If new people moves into our neighbourhood, they can only get 8TA wireless phones. I thought I would take a chance and applied for a landline with ADSL. I was declined and they called me explaining that I signed an agreement waiving my rights to a fixed line and ADSL.
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That does not make sense. Not that I don't believe you but that its soooo unbelievable!!
 
Visser said:
Lol :D True.

We were caught with sly one by Telkom.

Our phone lines in the neighbourhood went down. After 2 days I called Telkom and they confirmed there were cable theft and it could take 2 - 4 weeks to restore services. 2 months later we still had no telephone services.

One afternoon a guy from Telkom knocked on our door and informed us of the cable theft. He said that Telkom management will have a meeting in 2 months to decide if they will repair the cables. They have blocked all installation of new landlines in our neighbourhood. He said that he could offer us an alternative.

We could go for a wireless phone with 8TA at the same price we are currently paying - with all benefits. If we choose this option he will install the device immediately, else we could wait for another 2 months and see what Telkom's decision is. If they refuse, we need to re-apply with 8TA, but will then loose our current benefits.

Well, we jumped in, but then had to sign a contract. We had to waive our rights to ever apply for a fixed line or ADSL line ever again, anywhere in SA. We needed our phone, so we signed. 10 minutes later we had a new number and is now on 8TA.

4 weeks later the landlines were restored. However, they blocked the new installation of landlines. If new people moves into our neighbourhood, they can only get 8TA wireless phones. I thought I would take a chance and applied for a landline with ADSL. I was declined and they called me explaining that I signed an agreement waiving my rights to a fixed line and ADSL.
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How can you waive your right to apply for a fixed line anywhere in SA? So even if you move house you can't apply? That sounds like a situation lawyers would make quick work of.
 
MartyMarts said:
There's less than a million ADSL subscribers in SA :wtf:
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Now you know why it''s so stupid comparing us to UK ADSL pricing where last I heard they had over 12Million ADSL lines.

There's just not enough lines to get proper economies of scale going.
 
For me at the moment it's like all the parastatal companies.
Lack of maintenance causes down time and a moer of a effort to get back online.
Difficult to communicate with.
Prices are monopolistic.
Speeds fluctuate.
And the thought of supporting a cANCer driven entity gives me the cold shivers.
 
Voice strategy for growth

Telkom believes that if you have a place to land a telephone line, you are loaded with cash which they should extract from you, if it happens to be convenient for them.
 
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Telkom is purposely trying to close down it's fixed-line business. They are refusing to replace stolen copper lines and are refusing to install new lines in new estates and developments. It's pretty obvious that Telkom has all but given up on it's fixed-line business. It costs far less for them to service mobile base stations than it does to keep a telephone exchange running.
 
deweyzeph said:
Telkom is purposely trying to close down it's fixed-line business. They are refusing to replace stolen copper lines and are refusing to install new lines in new estates and developments. It's pretty obvious that Telkom has all but given up on it's fixed-line business. It costs far less for them to service mobile base stations than it does to keep a telephone exchange running.
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nothing wrong with that, if you cant do a job properly, or provide a decent service, rather give it up and let somebody else, more capable of doing it, tackle it, than continue doing a sh-tty halfassed job of it. BUT, then at least tell people upfront that you don't offer the service, .... really, companies should stop boolsitting people.
 
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As long as Telkom's actual call costs are so high, people have no reason to retain a land line.

Termination rates for fixed and mobile have come down, so calls could be a lot cheaper. Calls to mobile, even with 100% markup on the termination rates, should only be 40c/minute. Telkom is going all-out for margin, but losing volumes
 
You pay a high rental cost, while cellphones have none. Call costs are almost the same, fixed line costs are rising, while cell costs are dropping. Cell calls only cost you if the person picks up, Telkom charges you even if no one picks up.


It's easy to see while fixed line numbers are dropping.
 
These landlines are now necessary only because of ADSL
 
Visser said:
Lol :D True.

We were caught with sly one by Telkom.

Our phone lines in the neighbourhood went down. After 2 days I called Telkom and they confirmed there were cable theft and it could take 2 - 4 weeks to restore services. 2 months later we still had no telephone services.

One afternoon a guy from Telkom knocked on our door and informed us of the cable theft. He said that Telkom management will have a meeting in 2 months to decide if they will repair the cables. They have blocked all installation of new landlines in our neighbourhood. He said that he could offer us an alternative.

We could go for a wireless phone with 8TA at the same price we are currently paying - with all benefits. If we choose this option he will install the device immediately, else we could wait for another 2 months and see what Telkom's decision is. If they refuse, we need to re-apply with 8TA, but will then loose our current benefits.

Well, we jumped in, but then had to sign a contract. We had to waive our rights to ever apply for a fixed line or ADSL line ever again, anywhere in SA. We needed our phone, so we signed. 10 minutes later we had a new number and is now on 8TA.

4 weeks later the landlines were restored. However, they blocked the new installation of landlines. If new people moves into our neighbourhood, they can only get 8TA wireless phones. I thought I would take a chance and applied for a landline with ADSL. I was declined and they called me explaining that I signed an agreement waiving my rights to a fixed line and ADSL.
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wut... waive your rights for a landline... that is nuts.
 
deweyzeph said:
Telkom is purposely trying to close down it's fixed-line business. They are refusing to replace stolen copper lines and are refusing to install new lines in new estates and developments. It's pretty obvious that Telkom has all but given up on it's fixed-line business. It costs far less for them to service mobile base stations than it does to keep a telephone exchange running.
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1. Not replacing stolen lines is common sense.
2. The estate issue is the developers fault, not Telkom's.
 
Chevron said:
1. Not replacing stolen lines is common sense.
2. The estate issue is the developers fault, not Telkom's.
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Be that as it may - the fact that they refuse to unbundle the local loop and remove the voice component from the rental really rustles my jimmys =/
 
TelkomUseless said:
wut... waive your rights for a landline... that is nuts.
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It is nuts, but if you are without telephone lines and Internet for 2 and a half months and get this offer on the table or wait another 2 months.... I have a business to run, so I pretty much did not care to sign away my rights to a fixed line.

Besides, when they told and explained the agreement to me it was clear that this was Telkom's move in the future - that they are doing away with landlines and ADSL. Might as well be the first one to fall into this new thing of theirs.

And this is true today. In many neighbourhoods you no longer get fixed lines or adsl installed. The same for most new complexes as well.
 
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