Australian Broadband Uptake Shows the Way for SA
“This represents an increase of over 1 million customers, or 122 per cent, over the preceding 12 month period,” ACCC commissioner Ed Willett said.
Other interesting figures reveal that whilst cable uptake rates have remained stable at around the 10 per cent mark, ADSL penetration has increased sharply to the point where ADSL now out numbers cable users nearly three-to-one.
The number of ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) has also increased by over 3000 per cent in the past 10 years, another indication of the great growth in this industry.
The question regarding how Australia has managed to get the issue of uptake right looms over the head of the South African Telecoms industry.
According to the ACCC report growth in broadband indicated that this market was important in its own right and that broadband services were crucial to competition in other telecommunication sectors.
Consumers getting a new broadband connection were more likely to switch their telephone provider creating intense competition to grasp broadband market share.
South Africa’s broadband uptake currently sits at 100 000 subscribers with approximately 70 000 of those users Telkom ADSL subscribers.
With Telkom dominating the broadband market, with a market share of around 70%, a key concern regarding slow uptake is the lack of competition in the fixed line broadband market.
In most developed countries ADSL form the backbone of broadband services and South Africa is no exception.
The fierce competition in the local wireless broadband market is already benefiting customers. Our 3G rates are of the lowest in the world while other wireless services like MyWireless and iBurst are also competitively priced.
From the ACCC report it becomes evident that one way to stimulate growth in the telecommunication industry is to encourage competition. Without competition in the ADSL market it is unlikely that South Africa will experience the massive uptake we are seeing internationally.
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