Vodacom BlackBerry PR disaster
Summary: Vodacom endured harsh criticism from consumers because of their BlackBerry speed throttling plans, but it may simply be poor communication which set it all off
When Vodacom announced on Monday (12 September 2011) that they will throttle the speed of BlackBerry users from 3G to 2G if they exceed 100MB of data usage per month, all hell broke loose online.
Vodacom was lambasted for their decision by BlackBerry subscribers using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and MyBroadband. One of the main themes of the complaints was that Vodacom is punishing the majority of their BlackBerry subscribers because a small minority of users ‘abuses’ the system.
Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys was in London when this mess occurred, and when calling MyBroadband on his return to South Africa it was clear that he was equally agitated by the situation as most of Vodacom’s BlackBerry subscribers.
Uys was in fact surprised that any mention of BlackBerry speed throttling and a 100MB usage cap was ever communicated as “no final decision has been made on how to handle the Blackberry abuse problem”.
So where did it all go wrong?
Uys explained that he instructed Vodacom’s communications department to let the media know that they have made numerous improvements to their Gauteng network which resulted in fewer dropped calls and a far better overall experience.
These improvements included rolling out more 3G base stations, upgrading 2,335 base stations to 43.2Mbps HSPA+ technology, the replacement of all base station equipment in Gauteng and fibre connections to more sites.
This message was however lost because of the BlackBerry speed throttling plans which were included in the press statement. The fact that speed throttling was only one of the options which were considered, and hence should have not been communicated at all, makes the situation ever worse.
It was up to Uys to try to remedy the situation, and the Vodacom CEO used Twitter to inform users that no BlackBerry throttling is taking place.
Pieter Uys Twitter Announcement
Uys highlighted that their plan from the start was to ensure that their BlackBerry users can enjoy a great service, and that only the users who download large files through questionable means are affected by any intervention by Vodacom.
The damage was however already done. Even after Uys’ Twitter announcement and clarification in the media, consumers remained angry, with comments like “Can the lies go any further?” and “this company doesn’t deserve loyal customers”.
Not only Vodacom
It was not only Vodacom which fell victim of bad PR and subsequent reputation damage.
When 8ta was asked whether they have plans to implement a usage limit on their BlackBerry Internet Service users, the company evaded the question and simply said that it “[aims] to provide our customers with the best experience and service quality on our network”.
8ta’s unwillingness to answer the question gave the impression that they may also be planning a similar usage limit and/or speed throttling on their BlackBerry network.
This was however only bad PR.
Instead of making sure that clear a message is communicated which highlights the strengths of 8ta in this regard, the PR department provided an evasive answer (like a school kid which does not really know the answer to an exam question) which in turn hurt 8ta more than the simple truth.
Zoltan Miklos
It was up to 8ta’s engineers to highlight that have no plans to impose any usage limit on BlackBerry users or shape BlackBerry traffic in any way. In fact, 8ta does not shape or throttle any data on its network (8ta BlackBerry article here).
8ta also recently implemented a high capacity international IP (layer 3) VPN connection to RIM. “We are proud of this design as it gives us a ‘diverse-active-active-scalable’ connection to RIM, as opposed to most other operators that implement international private circuit connections in a simple active standby configuration,” said Telkom Mobile Executive Zoltan Miklos.
Cell C and 8ta win
The winners in this BlackBerry speed throttling debacle were Cell C and 8ta.
Cell C provided a simple and concise answer: “We have no plans to limit the data usage on [the] BlackBerry Internet service”.
Amidst all the Vodacom bashing were comments like “Well done Cell C. Here I come” and “Cell C FTW [For The Win]” – great news for Cell C.
8ta also gained the high ground after Miklos’ clarification, with very positive comments appearing online.
Original Vodacom press release
Vodacom takes steps to improve user experience
At its annual results presentation earlier this year, Vodacom announced that it would be spending more than R6 billion enhancing the network in South Africa. The company also committed to a longer term target of doubling the number of 3G base stations on the network. Updating customers on progress, Chief Technology Officer Andries Delport said, “Increasing network capacity and signal coverage has been a major focus and since the beginning of the year, we’ve added over 250 new 3G base stations. Additional capacity has also been added by upgrading 2335 base stations to more efficient double-speed 43.2Mbps technology. Our overall aim is to continue upgrading and improving the network in order to give all our customers a good data experience.”
In addition to increasing network capacity, Vodacom has been hard at work implementing measures that are aimed at improving the user experience. Examples of improvements made include the following:
• Software upgrades on equipment that transmits and receives data via optic fibres have been performed to improve stability;
• Several actions were taken to improve the overall voice quality on the network;
• The replacement of all base station equipment has also been completed in Gauteng. KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo are currently in progress, with Western and Eastern Cape and other regions to follow. The main reason for the replacement of the base stations is to enable a seamless migration to new technologies such as LTE in future, without having to replace any equipment. The new equipment is also more environmentally friendly, uses less power and improves network performance;
• The project to connect 2000 base stations with fibre by the end of the financial year is also progressing;• Implementation of additional fibre routes in the core network in Gauteng to improve capacity and redundancy; and
• The re-architecture and the upgrading of the core transmission network.
Vodacom also studied usage patterns to better understand the causes of congestion at peak times and one surprising finding was that more than 95% of BlackBerry data usage was attributable to less than 5% of users. Speaking about this, Delport said, “We need to ensure that all BlackBerry users are able to enjoy the service that they pay for. When we realised that such a small minority was using the bulk of the capacity, we decided to implement measures that will ensure that Blackberry users will enjoy a better browsing experience overall.”Steps have been taken to ensure that the 95% of the BlackBerry users who are currently using the service fairly are not impacted by those who are abusing the service. The 5% of the base who are not using the service for what it was intended will have their connection speed reduced from 3G to 2G levels.
Vodacom will continue with its efforts to provide a superior quality of service and will always monitor and implement measures to ensure good service quality for all its customers. For more information please dial 111 from your Vodacom handset or 082111 from any other handset. More information on Blackberry terms and conditions is available from:
http://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/misc/terms+and+conditions/BlackBerry+Terms+and+Conditions/BlackBerry+Usage+Policy?selected=3_a_Bla_1_Bla_1227&ciFormat=default&ht=tEnds
Editor’s notes:
1. Only Blackberry Internet Service users who have reach the 100MB threshold per month will have their connection speed reduced from 3G to 2G levels.
2. Blackberry Enterprise Users will not be affected.
Loading ...