Vodacom is breaking SA subscriber records

Vodacom signed up its 20 millionth subscriber this morning reaffirming their position as the leader in the South African cellular market.
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I wonder how much that number will decrease after 1 July 07 when all the PAYG registrations have to be completed. I'm betting by at least 1/3.
 
Cellpphone companies in SA have a tendancy to over exaggerate these kinds of numbers. In most markets "subscribers" refers to contract customers. Vodacom includes pre-paid customers in its tally of subscribers. It is no secret that Vodacom has far more pre-paid customers than contract customers.

Furthermore, is this 20 million active users on the network or is it all contract customers plus all pre-paid sims that have been sold?
 
Gunny said:
By the wording "signed up" it suggests contract subscribers only.
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not if you want to get picky about it - prepaid users also "subscribe" to a service and they also enter into contracts or "sign up" to do so...

wouldn't this kind of specific info be in their annual report........
 
A dude from another cellular company said a while back the "subscriber count" includes any simcards that has shown activity in the last 90 days.
 
25bln investment? Wow!
Lets do some simple math here:

(20mil users) x (average spending of R150 pm each) x (12 Months) = 36bln / year

What is the REAL reason for us paying so much for phone calls?
 
evil_bender said:
What is the REAL reason for us paying so much for phone calls?
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1) Greed
2) We don't have any choice
3) We are fools who are easily parted from our money

Take your pick.
 
rooijan said:
1) Greed
2) We don't have any choice
3) We are fools who are easily parted from our money

Take your pick.
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I can't recall any stories of the mobile companies holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use their services, so it's not 1 or 2.....

When you signed the contract you knew well what you were going to pay.

If you buy a car, you know the installment value and are quite willing to pay it. Same with any other service, for example insurance. A company offers a product at a specific price. It your right as a consumer to not buy the product.

It constantly amazes me how people take out contracts with full knowledge of the costs and then moan about the pricing.

Put your own value on the service (i.e. what it's worth to you). If the actual cost is the same or lower, use the service, if not don't.

It's as simple as that.
 
Hobson's choice

I only have two choices - take it or leave it. If I take it, I have the choice of who I want to be ripped off by. Unfortunately I really do need a cell phone so the option of leaving it is out.

The comparison with cars is a tenuous one. I can have a R5k jalopy or a R5M Bentley, or anything in between. Petrol may be expensive, but I can select a car that will ease the pain.

I may be able to choose from a wide range of cellphones, but when I sign up for a contract, the choice is limited. MTN/Vodacom/Cell-C all charge an arm and a leg.
 
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ajax said:
A dude from another cellular company said a while back the "subscriber count" includes any simcards that has shown activity in the last 90 days.
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Does that include trying to dial a number that somebody is no longer using? like the couple of sims I have lying around at home with some airtime in them?

The true results will only come out once everyone is force to verify themselves. Then there will be much less subscribers than thought!
 
Neo said:
I can't recall any stories of the mobile companies holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use their services, so it's not 1 or 2.....

When you signed the contract you knew well what you were going to pay.

If you buy a car, you know the installment value and are quite willing to pay it. Same with any other service, for example insurance. A company offers a product at a specific price. It your right as a consumer to not buy the product.

It constantly amazes me how people take out contracts with full knowledge of the costs and then moan about the pricing.

Put your own value on the service (i.e. what it's worth to you). If the actual cost is the same or lower, use the service, if not don't.

It's as simple as that.
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Not so true. Go signup for say a talk 120. You know your what your installment is, +/- R300pm. Lets say you like me and you use up your 120 minutes in the first 2 weeks. If you need to continue using your phone, you have no idea how many minutes you have used over and above your 120 minutes. You are in for a nasty surprise of a debit order at the end of the month. No comparison with a car installment! This is how they make the money. If you log into your account to view your airtime, it simply says 0 minutes remaining. The rates for out of bundle minutes are very conveniently more expensive than normal calls!
 
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