Terrible research in mobile data pricing report

[Jamie McKane]

Terrible research in mobile data pricing report

The Competition Commission recently released a provisional report on its Data Services Market Inquiry, which is aimed at understanding the reasons behind high mobile data prices in South Africa.

In its preliminary findings, the commission said international benchmarking confirmed that South African data prices are high – particularly for mobile prepaid data.

 

[DXL]

Please send your feedback to : [email protected]

Put your thoughts in on how we can change the situation in the country.

Be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

 

[quovadis]

It therefore does not have consumer mobile data products, as shown in the table above, in Egypt, Nigeria, Angola, or Albania.

Surely its fair to compare Vodafone to Vodacom where Vodafone has the controlling stake of Vodacom? No comment on Albania. The pricing however in SA is noticeably different to other markets.

 

[rpm]

Surely its fair to compare Vodafone to Vodacom where Vodafone has the controlling stake of Vodacom? No comment on Albania. The pricing however in SA is noticeably different to other markets.

It is not fair, as Vodacom does not have a network in those countries. It/Vodafone has some business presence, but it does not equate to running a network and having retail offerings.

This is just poor and lazy research - we worked in a proper comparison today and it took us 2 hours. It is somewhat challenging because the bundle sizes differ, but that is easy to overcome with a measure like cost/MB.

 

[quovadis]

It is not fair, as Vodacom does not have a network in those countries. It/Vodafone has some business presence, but it does not equate to running a network and having retail offerings. This is just poor and lazy research - we worked in a proper comparison today and it took us 2 hours. It is somewhat challenging because the bundle sizes differ, but that is easy to overcome with a measure like cost/MB.

If it were labeled "Vodafone pricing" would that really make any difference? It's not like Vodafone have a minority shareholding - its over 60%. It's essentially the same company operating in different markets with the same branding and in essence the same service offering.

 

[lotus123]

The wording of the article and rpm's post above make me seriously wonder about the relationship between VC and Mybroadband.

They can cry foul about the research and CompCom's statement, but the fact remains that these 2 network operators have been gouging SA consumers for decades without remorse or consequences.

 

[rpm]

The wording of the article and rpm's post above make me seriously wonder about the relationship between VC and Mybroadband. They can cry foul about the research and CompCom's statement, but the fact remains that these 2 network operators have been gouging SA consumers for decades without remorse or consequences.

Not sure how our relationship with Vodacom influences the quality of the research in the report. Using inaccurate and outdated information in a report should not be acceptable, independent of what the conclusions are.

I would argue that accurate research and internationally-tested interventions will do far more for consumers than poor research and populist rhetoric.

 

[yebocan]

The wording of the article and rpm's post above make me seriously wonder about the relationship between VC and Mybroadband.

They can cry foul about the research and CompCom's statement, but the fact remains that these 2 network operators have been gouging SA consumers for decades without remorse or consequences.

South African market, -consumers and regulator-, allow the entrenched Mobile Operators to do as they please. Why would Voafone jump in and stop their little cash machine..?

 

[konfab]

The wording of the article and rpm's post above make me seriously wonder about the relationship between VC and Mybroadband.

They can cry foul about the research and CompCom's statement, but the fact remains that these 2 network operators have been gouging SA consumers for decades without remorse or consequences.

Do you really trust an organisation with an Orwellian name like the competition commission?
Competition meaning what exactly?

If prices are too high, the competition commission will say they are price gouging (as you just said)
If the prices are too low, the competition commission will say they are dumping.
If the prices are the same as everyone else, the competition commission will say they are price fixing.

Oh right, the solution to this is a government monopoly, because we all know how well Telkom rolls out infrastructure and shares it with other businesses

 

[lotus123]

Do you really trust an organisation with an Orwellian name like the competition commission?
Competition meaning what exactly?

If prices are too high, the competition commission will say they are price gouging (as you just said)
If the prices are too low, the competition commission will say they are dumping.
If the prices are the same as everyone else, the competition commission will say they are price fixing.

Oh right, the solution to this is a government monopoly, because we all know how well Telkom rolls out infrastructure and shares it with other businesses

And the current leader in mobile pricing and consumer data-friendliness is?

 

[Hamish McPanji]

Do you really trust an organisation with an Orwellian name like the competition commission?
Competition meaning what exactly?

If prices are too high, the competition commission will say they are price gouging (as you just said)
If the prices are too low, the competition commission will say they are dumping.
If the prices are the same as everyone else, the competition commission will say they are price fixing.

Oh right, the solution to this is a government monopoly, because we all know how well Telkom rolls out infrastructure and shares it with other businesses

Well, I would trust them more than Vodacom for sure.

They only disabled OOB when forced to as an example. No scruples at all about that gouging. I even posted a thread where it was implemented in their other territories.

But I agree that the data provided is flawed. In Angola as an example , the networks Unitel and Movicel are owned by the Do Santos family and their Portuguese/Brazilian partners.

 

[konfab]

And the current leader in mobile pricing and consumer data-friendliness is?

I would say Afrihost/Axxess. And I have had no OOB for years.

They are about half of what Vodacon and eMpTyN offer.

 

[konfab]

Well, I would trust them more than Vodacom for sure.

They only disabled OOB when forced to as an example. No scruples at all about that gouging. I even posted a thread where it was implemented in their other territories.

But I agree that the data provided is flawed. In Angola as an example , the networks Unitel and Movicel are owned by the Do Santos family and their Portuguese/Brazilian partners.

Afrihost mobile has existed for years now with no OOB. The fact is people are happily glued to their iPhone contracts to consider alternatives, which is a market signal that OOB is fine with consumers. That is what I trust more than what any government bureaucrat says.

 

[quovadis]

Do you really trust an organisation with an Orwellian name like the competition commission? Competition meaning what exactly? Oh right, the solution to this is a government monopoly, because we all know how well Telkom rolls out infrastructure and shares it with other businesses

Err really? The Competition Commission has a mandate. Even if you discount the fact that the two largest operators in SA's prices are more expensive then many of the other markets they operate in you cannot ignore the similarity in their pricing either - if you compare the pricing of their once-off monthly data up to 20GB the average cost per GB is very similar.

 

[DailyTech]

I think you are being paid to lie

 

[konfab]

Err really? The Competition Commission has a mandate. Even if you discount the fact that the two largest operators in SA's prices are more expensive then many of the other markets they operate in you cannot ignore the similarity in their pricing either - if you compare the pricing of their once-off monthly data up to 20GB the average cost per GB is very similar.

And competition means that you ignore whomever else is operating in the country eh?

 

[lotus123]

I would say Afrihost/Axxess. And I have had no OOB for years.

They are about half of what Vodacon and eMpTyN offer.

Spot on.

I've dropped CellC after many years (no innovation there) and switched to Telkom and Rain. And like you, no OOB ever. My experiences with Telkom on fixed line were as fraught as anyone else, but on the mobile side it's been a very satisfying experience. Not what I expected from an SOE, but a happy surprise nevertheless.

 

[konfab]

Spot on.

I've dropped CellC after many years (no innovation there) and switched to Telkom and Rain. And like you, no OOB ever. My experiences with Telkom on fixed line were as fraught as anyone else, but on the mobile side it's been a very satisfying experience. Not what I expected from an SOE, but a happy surprise nevertheless.

Telkom is 40% SOE.

But nevertheless, I am very happy with my LTE from them.

 

[lotus123]

And competition means that you ignore whomever else is operating in the country eh?

I have yet to read the report, but I suspect that these 2 were singled out for a special mention because they're so far out in terms of their pricing and policies.

 

[Hamish McPanji]

Afrihost mobile has existed for years now with no OOB. The fact is people are happily glued to their iPhone contracts to consider alternatives, which is a market signal that OOB is fine with consumers. That is what I trust more than what any government bureaucrat says.

What kind of bullshit logic is that?

You have bad options A to L. If you pick one of those bad options, that is a market signal that it's fine? Lol.

Until Afrihost mobile offer decent phones with their contracts, they are not a viable alternative. And anyone who has had issues with disappearing data on Afrihost data will not trust them easily again.