Vodacom versus Telkom

It's such a pity Vodacom did not do this 5 years ago. MTN sorely needed competition in that space, and obviously competing against Telkom would have been great.
 
Vodacom’s CEO, Alan Knott-Craig, said yesterday that the lines between fixed and mobile telecoms are fading and that they are looking to expand into areas which could traditionally be considered the fixed line domain.
Click to expand...

Nope, lines are still quite clear. The one has a line the other one does not.
 
Wyzak said:
Nope, lines are still quite clear. The one has a line the other one does not.
Click to expand...

No, any connection that is not portable can be considered "fixed". So a wireless connection that is reliant on an aerial and modem installed at your home is in fact a "fixed line connection" - look ma, no physical line.
 
WOW !! This sounds too good 2 b tru. Everyone is always complaining about nothing happening in the Telecoms space ... but if you take everything that has happened in the last 6 months, and throw them all at a person in a timeframe of a week, you would be stunned.

However, I think Vodacom needs to tackle poor cellphone signal performance, before they spend cash on new ventures.

The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.
 
Nick333 said:
No, any connection that is not portable can be considered "fixed". So a wireless connection that is reliant on an aerial and modem installed at your home is in fact a "fixed line connection" - look ma, no physical line.
Click to expand...

"There is no line" :p



"Wireless" means "without a wire", a "line" is commonly understood to also be a synonym for a "wire". It may be a fixed-point or non-mobile wireless connection but it sure as hell aint fixed-line...
 
supersunbird said:
"There is no line" :p



"Wireless" means "without a wire", a "line" is commonly understood to also be a synonym for a "wire". It may be a fixed-point or non-mobile wireless connection but it sure as hell aint fixed-line...
Click to expand...

Semantics dude.:p The fact is that Vodacom is going after Telkoms "fixed-line" market. The end-user, by and large wants a consistent "broadband" service at home and is not going to care if theres an actual piece of copper leading into his home or not.

We can use inverted comas every time we talk about "fixed-lines" if it keeps the nitpickers happy though. :D
 
KirPlunk said:
WOW !! This sounds too good 2 b tru. Everyone is always complaining about nothing happening in the Telecoms space ... but if you take everything that has happened in the last 6 months, and throw them all at a person in a timeframe of a week, you would be stunned.

However, I think Vodacom needs to tackle poor cellphone signal performance, before they spend cash on new ventures.

The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.
Click to expand...

I agree. The thing is that Vodacoms desire to always be first with new products and services is a winner as a business model.

On the bright-side any upgrades to accommidate fixed-line (sorry "fixed-line" :p) customers should benefit mobile users as well.
 
But I've seen how laggy (high latency) all the peeps on Counter Strike Source SGS and Gamezone servers are with thier iburst and other wireless technologies...
 
supersunbird said:
But I've seen how laggy (high latency) all the peeps on Counter Strike Source SGS and Gamezone servers are with thier iburst and other wireless technologies...
Click to expand...

Latency on 3G can even be a major irritation when surfing sometimes (though not to often). Anyway thats the joy of having a choice. If you're not a gamer latency is generally not an issue so why not go for "fixed-line" 3G or wireless or whatever instead of waiting months for ADSL. If you're a gamer, well, you'll have to stick with copper for now. At least its potentially some serious competition for Telkom.
 
Telkom split from Vodacom?

So will Telkom sever all ties with Vodacom?

It'll go something like:
- Telkom: We wish to concentrate on our core 'fixed line' business. We will agressively upgrade our networks and provide a truely next generation IP based network. Most effective, best value blah blah blah.
- Telkom sells Voda stake, makes big pile of money, spends like mad on new network.
- Telkom then forms all kind of alliances and forms bundles with MTN, Cell-C and whomever realising that a cell offering is necessary.

Happened in Europe (e.g., BT sold off then Cellnet and then offered bundles with Vodafone and T-Mobile) etc. etc.

The bundled offerings remain difficult to compare, service is shocking because you don't know who you are actually dealing with (neither do the companies themselves). Fabulous... The bankers, financiers and lawyers make a huge pile of money, and everyone else is left wondering what happened. The whole thing is badged as a massive success for everyone.

And the price that I, the consumer, pays generally goes up slightly. It always goes up. I may get additional bundled services (whether I need or want them). The point is to get me to buy as much I can stand.

Don't get me started... :)
 
well 3G has 3x as much latency on the 1st hop as hsdpa and even that is like 5 times? more than ADSL on 1st hop(20ms vs 100ms) and there after it depends on who's network u connecting to.

Almost mid month, 16? days for Icasa's ruling on the interconnect charges and that profit will take a hit.
 
I think that Telkom is definitely going to cut the umbilical cord with Vodacom. Vodaphone has already relaxed its ban on Vodacom expanding into other African countries north of the equator. Previously, Telkom has had a few spats with Vodaphone over this ban. Vodacom has not supported Telkom's expansion into Africa either. The number of Telkom lines in operation dropped 1.4 percent as more people hang up their lines and take up mobiles and Telkom's costs are going up with it's capital expenditure on the NGN. On top of it all, Vodacom intends taking on Telkom in the fixed line space. I think that Telkom is beginning to feel the heat as it sees competition for the first time.

Telkom has a limited influence on Vodacom's affairs and is outnumbered on Vodacom's 12-member board of directors: it has three, while Vodafone has four and Vodacom management has four. If Vodacom is going to go fixed line, then Telkom needs to go mobile to maintain it's revenue streams. It will need boodles of cash to realise such aspirations and the sale of Vodacom would provide that. Apart from Vodacom contributing 28% to Telkom's overall profits, there would be no love lost between the two if they parted ways.
 
It's kinda like a cheeky son disrespecting u in ur own house :) Damn that boy can back-chat but u gotta think twice b4 u kick him out cause he is helping to pay the rent :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X