TelkomInternet confirms new ADSL capping policy

[arni1954]

Who voted no? Why? Would be interesting to hear that person's view...

Would the NO person please stand up? Only if you want to...

Telkom’s strategy is called economy of scale . They are using their size to give an interesting deal to their customers . Other ISP are using other methods .For example Cybermart is charging R100 for 192/3G ADSL Telkom is charging R249 . Cybermart will cut you off when you’ll reach 3G Telkom will cut you off using anther formula.
You can pay x amount for 1 gig to various ISP but you have to open a new account at Telkom if you have been caped.
The bottom line is that non of us like Telkom since they are abusing their monopoly status ( If you’ll look at other monopolies around the world ,they are not acting differently ).
But in this specific case I don’t see their action as uncompetitive .
They are just using a certain angle of a business strategy which is good for then other ISPs are using other angles.

 

[allyoucaneat]

Just read the article and I'm feeling seasick. Between Telkom's capping and the other BS and IS, I feel like puking. I'm not sure who flip-flops more: Telkom's capping or a certain 4-letter-association. See: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showpost.php?p=415620&postcount=36

 

[WillS]

Is it documented/proven that telkominternet get bandwidth at cheaper prices than the other isps or is it speculation ?

I don't think Telkom is obliged to say how much the bandwidth is costing them. And being sole providers in SA for local and international bandwidth, they charge other companies pretty much what they want.

 

[allyoucaneat]

Telkom’s strategy is called economy of scale.

No this is not Economics 101. It is Playground Preschool. Telkom is the big bully, the principle and your girlfriend.

Are you going to get a blue eye, a good beating or a smooch today? Well, it depends whether you are a wholesaler, a user or a shareholder.

 

[Cujo]

So it is speculation that telkominternet get cheaper rates.

Seems to me that telkominternet have a huge budget that they can purchase large amounts of bandwidth to be used as they see fit. And they see fit to run a relaxed capping policy. I dont like it and nothing can be done about it without proving that telkominternet get their bandwidth at a cheaper rate than the other isp's.

Having more bandwidth still dosnt solve my issue of not being able to afford adsl.

 

[allyoucaneat]

So it is speculation that telkominternet get cheaper rates.

How can TelkomInternet get a cheaper rate? In fact: how can TelkomInternet pay with Ronds for their bandwidth? TelkomInternet is a division of Telkom Limited. If money changes it is Funny Money. The exchange rate for Funny Money and Ronds is really favourable at the moment. I'll get me some too.

 

[MaD]

So it is speculation that telkominternet get cheaper rates.

Educated guess yes.

As you said though what's the point of more bandwidth if people cannot afford ADSL in the first place.

They should rather leave the cap at 3GB and bring the price down, because if they can offer a higher cap for the same amount then they can also offer the regular cap for less. Much less presumably.

 

[Byrd]

Who voted no? Why? Would be interesting to hear that person's view...

Would the NO person please stand up? Only if you want to...

I am another one that voted no. If TelkomInternet is indeed using their muscle as the largest ISP of ADSL accounts to distribute traffic then what is the prob?

They are simply sharing out all the traffic that they have sold. Much better than keeping it to themselves, especially for the GIG PIGS that frequent this forum.

Anybody who wants to tie Telkom's hands so that they cannot offer these sorts of benefits to SA Internet users is a nutcase. Remember that what applies to the big ISP's must also apply to the small, and they will not be able to offer these sorts of benefits either. In essence it will mean all ISPs will have a conveniant reason for having to s©rew us in the @ss. "Sorry but the law says I have to"

 

[Byrd]

Educated guess yes.

As you said though what's the point of more bandwidth if people cannot afford ADSL in the first place.

They should rather leave the cap at 3GB and bring the price down, because if they can offer a higher cap for the same amount then they can also offer the regular cap for less. Much less presumably.

The cap is still at 3Gb for the 3Gb accounts MAD. you will get at least 3 Gb. What Telkom is doing is redistributing bandwidth that is not being used but has been paid for.

 

[Byrd]

LOL @ "Ronds".

 

[Byrd]

I don't think Telkom is obliged to say how much the bandwidth is costing them. And being sole providers in SA for local and international bandwidth, they charge other companies pretty much what they want.

Being the SOLE PROVIDER in practice and having had that situation come about through law, I think that they DO have an obligation to let the public know what b@dwidth is costing them. Although it is easy to see that they have HUGE profits - ie b@dwidth costs nothing. Do you really believe that Telkom would be wanting to keep mum if b@dwidth were expensive?

 

[RolandD]

I think the point is that it is uncompetitive behaviour. If all telkomISP users manage to download 4 GB from their 3 GB accounts, it probably does not matter as Telkom as a unit will still make a profit. If all "Private"ISP users do the same that ISP will be bankrupt.

Allthough it is certainly nice for some users to get those Gigs payed for but not used by other users, it is unfair to the other ISPs because they will probably never get the amount of subscribers to do this themselfs.

Also the TelkomISP thing is somewhat like the issue of Microsoft bundling Internet Explorer with windows, an unfair advantage. I know I got asked if I wanted TelkomISP when I ordered my ADSL line, and I'm sure most of you did too.

 

[allyoucaneat]

The cap is still at 3Gb for the 3Gb accounts MAD. you will get at least 3 Gb. What Telkom is doing is redistributing bandwidth that is not being used but has been paid for.

I've heard of Redistribution of Wealth. Redistribution of Bandwidth is so tres nouvelle and so bourgeoisie. Telkom is so ahead of the SACP. Where is Sampie Terreblanche now?

EDIT: Sampie was my Economics professor many years ago. I still see him having a go on the TV every now and then. He is still saying the same phrases that I mentioned above. See: http://academic.sun.ac.za/econ/SampieTerreblanche.htm. If you had Sampie as a professor, you would understand this little gem.

 

[Vrotappel]

What Telkom is doing is to use their monopolistic position to push competitors out of the market. Simple as that. This is not distribution of excess bandwidth for the benefit of their clients. That is the last thing they care about.

 

[arni1954]

I think the point is that it is uncompetitive behaviour. If all telkomISP users manage to download 4 GB from their 3 GB accounts, it probably does not matter as Telkom as a unit will still make a profit. If all "Private"ISP users do the same that ISP will be bankrupt.

Allthough it is certainly nice for some users to get those Gigs payed for but not used by other users, it is unfair to the other ISPs because they will probably never get the amount of subscribers to do this themselfs.

Also the TelkomISP thing is somewhat like the issue of Microsoft bundling Internet Explorer with windows, an unfair advantage. I know I got asked if I wanted TelkomISP when I ordered my ADSL line, and I'm sure most of you did too.

Telkom price for 3G is R249 Webafrica price for 3G is R199 . This way Webafrica is 20% cheaper then Telkom. Different ISPs are using different methods.
Telkom is using a lot of uncompetitive metods but I don't think that this is the case here

 

[Byrd]

RolandD - You are 100% correct that

If all "Private"ISP users do the same that ISP will be bankrupt

But it is only because of the class (generally high B/W users) and low number users that other ISP's attract.

Think about it like this. If a new insurance company opened up and only targetted Hilbrow consumers. Would it be fair of them to start winging that their customers claim so much more? What Telkom does is spread the risk by being LARGE and diverse. With Telkom's system their aim is to average 3GB per user - not 4. We don't know the exact profits and therefore cannot comment on whether or not they would make money if everybody d/led 4Gb. But I would guarantee you that it would not collapse if it lost money as it is a Large company with a huge pool of reserve cash.

 

[allyoucaneat]

What Telkom is doing is to use their monopolistic position to push competitors out of the market. Simple as that. This is not distribution of excess bandwidth for the benefit of their clients. That is the last thing they care about.

You can't have a monopoly and competitors in the same market. But I get what you are saying. Telkom is using their retail strategy to force wholesalers out of the channel.

 

[mando]

Its all a con!!!

How can anyone be so stupid and talk such rubbish in one press release! And pity the poor idiots who fall for this reality distortion.

So we are supposed to believe that Telkom has a storage of bandwidth somewhere. (In batteries? Buckets????) This bandwidth is used up durin the month and sometimes they have a lot of it left over to distribute. And then on the first of the month Telkom trucks come and deliver more bandwidth and fill up the buckets.

And would anyone be dumb enough to believe that the internet outages now and again are because the bandwith truck broke down and didnt deliver on time? Make sure that you never unplug your ADSL router because the bandwidth might leak out all over the floor!

What a load of lies and bull****. The bandwidth cant get used up at the begining of the month so that there's nothing left by the end! The same bandwidth is there all the time! Get a clue people! The bandwidth that one user does not use is not sitting in a bucket somewhere waiting to be re-distributed to someone else!

Its like a highway - you cant count how many cars are on the road for the first half of the month and then say "there were less cars last week so we can allow more cars on the road this week!" If a certain amount of cars can fit on the road today then the same amount can be there tomorrow. The road doesnt get used up and recharged every month!

The telkom PR machinary is re-programming your brain!
Fight it!
Think clearly and logically!

And it is economics 101: look up "value based pricing" http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/valuebasedpricing.asp
and compare this to what most people think Telkom uses "cost based pricing"

 

[allyoucaneat]

Telkom price for 3G is R249 Webafrica price for 3G is R199 . This way Webafrica is 20% cheaper then Telkom. Different ISPs are using different methods.
Telkom is using a lot of uncompetitive metods but I don't think that this is the case here

Buzz'd. Wrong. Telkom retails 3GB (but you could get as much as 100GB - I did in November 2005) for R249. That means, if you are lucky to get 100GB before you are capped, Telkom is mos orders of magnitude cheaper than any other ISP.

 

[Byrd]

What Telkom is doing is to use their monopolistic position to push competitors out of the market. Simple as that. This is not distribution of excess bandwidth for the benefit of their clients. That is the last thing they care about.

You state this as though it were fact. Can you point us to your reasoning and proof that that is their intention? This could be considered defamation ~ Remember SAOL Antowan?

The fact that there may be other reasons behind what Telkom is doing is not important. Customers do benefit - simple as that!