What is holding broadband back?

sat 3 isnt owned by telkom

Telkom has excusive landing rights for sat 3 but only owns 13 percent of it. One wonders how much of S Africas bandwidth costs are related to sat 3 and how much of each Rand goes to the other 87 percent owners. Saw a list of shareholders once and I can assure all that they know they are onto a good thing and will not allow the payments for their Mercs to be reduced! Just look where the cable lands on it's way to Europe.
 
In A Word - Unavailability!!

I live in Centurion, within 25 km from the centre of the capital city. I have copper to my house and the exchange is only a few kms away.

However, Telkom have no plans to equip my exchange with a DSLAM!! I know other people elsewhere in Centurion who are in the same position.

You cannot take up a service that is not offered!!
 
I don't think that it would be a good thing for ICASA to regulate Telkom's prices at this moment in time, as Neotel is just around the corner. Neotel and other competition should bring prices down over time. I think the key is local loop unbundling and access to international bandwidth for ISPs. It will happen over time. They over regulated the telecoms in Germany, and while the prices came down the telecoms became much weaker, financially speaking. Telkom is going the spend billions on NGN network. The telecoms industry seems to be at a turning point. I think there's no looking back from here. They say there is a potential market for broadband, of about 6m people, in South Africa. Have you seen the satellite photo of North Korea and South Korea at night. South Korea is full of light but North Korea is pitch black. I'm just glad I don't live in a country like that.
 
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56kMan said:
I don't think that it would be a good thing for ICASA to regulate Telkom's prices at this moment in time, as Neotel is just around the corner. Neotel and other competition should bring prices down over time. I think the key is local loop unbundling and access to international bandwidth for ISPs. It will happen over time. They over regulated the telecoms in Germany, and while the prices came down the telecoms became much weaker, financially speaking. Telkom is going the spend billions on NGN network and they did not factor in regulations from ICASA, regarding price. The telecoms industry seems to be at a turning point. I think there's no looking back from here. They say there is a potential market for broadband, of about 6m people, in South Africa. Have you seen the satellite photo of North Korea and South Korea at night. South Korea is full of light but North Korea is pitch black. I'm just glad I don't live in a country like that.
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We don't have time. People want decent fast affordable broadband before retirement...these telco companies need their asses kicked into gear not people giving them advice to their time about sorting this mess out.
 
Windmill said:
Telkom has excusive landing rights for sat 3 but only owns 13 percent of it. One wonders how much of S Africas bandwidth costs are related to sat 3 and how much of each Rand goes to the other 87 percent owners. Saw a list of shareholders once and I can assure all that they know they are onto a good thing and will not allow the payments for their Mercs to be reduced! Just look where the cable lands on it's way to Europe.
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Based on a recent discussion [IIRC in this very same forum], that VNSL|Tata recently bought out another SAT-3 shareholder, and VNSL now owns more shares in SAT-3 than Telkodemonopolies does, but 13% sounds a bit low...

Anyways, I strongly doubt that much of Telkodemonopolies' profits from SAT-3 get distributed amongst the other SAT-3 shareholders.
 
Windmill said:
Telkom has excusive landing rights for sat 3 but only owns 13 percent of it. One wonders how much of S Africas bandwidth costs are related to sat 3 and how much of each Rand goes to the other 87 percent owners. Saw a list of shareholders once and I can assure all that they know they are onto a good thing and will not allow the payments for their Mercs to be reduced! Just look where the cable lands on it's way to Europe.
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I don't think this is relevant. The article says it all. Broadband is being held back. Do you really think the paltry amount of data that goes through SAT-3 is making a difference on the profits of VNSL, if they ever get anything? I doubt it. I rather think VNSL CEO's and major sharholders drives around in Porches and Ferrari's (not that I don't like Mercs, but you get the idea).

Is the reason people are not excited about the ending of exclusive landing rights for Telkom the (big) possibility that government WILL intervene to have it make a minimal effect or is perhaps because of the cloudy nobody knows anything concrete about SAT-3 atmosphere?

Heh, sorry can't sleep :mad:
 
Paul_S said:
Not true.
If no one does anything about Telkom's SAT-3 license then it will expire and competitors like Neotel will jump at the opportunity. Government would have to interfere in order to extend/renew the license but either way something will happen.
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and we the cash cow will get charge the same, so hence the nothing much new.
 
Sat 3 cannot be controlled by Icasa

Neither S Africa nor Telkom owns SAT 3. Don't get confused about the monopoly Telkom has on the landing rights. This essential service, Sat 3, is owned by someone else who sets the tarrifs. Imagine if someone overseas had sole rights to fly to S Africa and could set airticket prices as they feel fit. South Africa would controll the runways but some monopoly else the airways. R50,000 airticket to London anyone?
 
Windmill said:
Neither S Africa nor Telkom owns SAT 3. Don't get confused about the monopoly Telkom has on the landing rights. This essential service, Sat 3, is owned by someone else who sets the tarrifs. Imagine if someone overseas had sole rights to fly to S Africa and could set airticket prices as they feel fit. South Africa would controll the runways but some monopoly else the airways. R50,000 airticket to London anyone?
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Um no. Telkom has a 13% (?) investment in SAT3 (or rather the sa public has a 13% investment, as WE paid for it.) And exclusive landing rights. Telkom set their own rates on traffic coming into the country or leaving. They control their little bit of SAT3 and we pay for it (over and over and over and over again.)
 
Windmill said:
Neither S Africa nor Telkom owns SAT 3. Don't get confused about the monopoly Telkom has on the landing rights. This essential service, Sat 3, is owned by someone else who sets the tarrifs. Imagine if someone overseas had sole rights to fly to S Africa and could set airticket prices as they feel fit. South Africa would controll the runways but some monopoly else the airways. R50,000 airticket to London anyone?
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Telkom is in fact a Sat3 shareholder - second in size only to VSNL (known locally as Neotel). Telkoms monopoly on the landing rights means that even the other shareholders (a la Neotel and Verizon) are prohibited from landing. ICASA/DoC could declare the landing point an essential service but for some reason :rolleyes: choose not to.
 
bwana v.22 said:
Telkom is in fact a Sat3 shareholder - second in size only to VSNL (known locally as Neotel). Telkoms monopoly on the landing rights means that even the other shareholders (a la Neotel and Verizon) are prohibited from landing. ICASA/DoC could declare the landing point an essential service but for some reason :rolleyes: choose not to.
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Cause telkom pays them well
 
Nigerian Conspiracy?

I guess the West African landing point shareholders of Sat 3 make up the majority ownership. West Africa is dominated by Nigeria. If our government wants to knuckle under to the West African's thats OK.Maybe we should give them our seat on the UN security council as well, they allready controll our Telecoms.
(ps thats called stooking) :)
 
Nothing to do with Nigeria (they have their own nightmare.)

Telkom all the way baby, icasa wouldn't have it any other way.

Though we wait with bated breath for NeOtel (but even then NeOtel has no right to landing stations.)
 
In a marketing perspective I am sure Telkom is decades behind and I mean ancient!!!. In many first world environments customers are the ones who rule the market. And it has been proven that this is the way to go, particularly in competitive environments. I hope to see our telecoms industry become very competitive one day as it will truly spell the end for Telkom.

They have lost all form of customer loyalty and should be taught a huge lesson. And government too....they all a bunch of PRICKS!! :D

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And on another note....New York, particularly Wall Street area has more cell phone service providers available than the entire South Africa, or so Im told :)
 
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Jonny Two Shoes said:
Question -- would you be loyal to Telkom in say 3 years time???
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As a savvy consumer, the answer goes a bit further: do not be loyal to any service or network provider - leave your options open so you can switch from one to another provider whenever you want to :).

Perhaps a more direct question to ask, would be:

Would you ever deal with Telkodemonopolies if there were better providers & services available?
 
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