Be careful what you wish for with #DataMustFall

The #DataMustFall campaign, which is calling for lower mobile data prices, gained traction in September.

The campaign even made it to hearings into high mobile data prices at Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services.

It was successful enough to convince the committee’s chairman, Mmamoloko Kubayi, that data prices should be reduced within weeks.

“Either [the networks] trim data costs [by November], or the National Assembly will order them to do so,” said Kubayi.

In the political and activist utopia, the result of the campaign will be a great network which offers 100% coverage at low prices.

However, the reality looks very different. In the real world where reality drives decisions, the choice is simple:

• Have a great network (coverage/performance) with higher prices.
• Have a poor network (coverage/performance) with lower prices.

Vodacom has made a business decision to invest billions in its network each year to ensure it offers the best possible service to its customers.

Telkom, in comparison, decided to focus on certain areas to contain costs and offers “better value”.

Consumers now have the choice between great coverage at a higher price, or limited coverage at a lower price.

With competition, consumers will always have a choice. If you do not like your current mobile provider, you can move to a competitor.

The reality, clearly illustrated

Many #DataMustFall campaigners pointed to lower data prices in Namibia and Nigeria. What they failed to mention is the network quality and coverage in these countries.

In Nigeria, network quality is so bad that the Nigerian Communications Commission fined all four GSM operators for failing to meet Quality of Service standards.

Another thing which costs money is coverage. If you compare the coverage of Vodacom in South Africa and MTC in Namibia, the difference is striking – as shown below.

To provide wide coverage and a solid network is difficult and costly. Unless it makes financial sense, operators will not invest to make it a reality.

If there is one thing worse than paying R149 per GB for data, it is not being able to connect to the Internet when you have to.

So be careful when you tell a network what its prices must be, and remove the option of having a great network and 100% coverage at a higher price.

MTC 3G Coverage in Namibia

Vodacom 3G Coverage in South Africa

More on data prices

How expensive South Africa’s mobile data prices really are – #DataMustFall

Expiring mobile data bundles prejudice consumers: ICASA

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