Mobile bandwidth tax must die

jes

jes

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Mobile bandwidth tax must die


If you look at the cost of bandwidth, it is abundantly clear that there is a massive gulf between the cost of bandwidth for mobile users and that for fixed line users.
 
Judging by the lack of response, nobody here did higher grade maths
 
I cant read the article, blocked at work, but from this line: "If you look at the cost of bandwidth, it is abundantly clear that there is a massive gulf between the cost of bandwidth for mobile users and that for fixed line users."

all i have to say is: I went from paying ~R270 for an MTN 2GB bundle per month, to paying R299 for uncapped ADSL and i am at 7GB in just two weeks
 
getafix33 said:
Judging by the lack of response, nobody here did higher grade maths
Click to expand...
Nay, it's little to do with math, you see, it's difficult to answer a question on the cost of a 3G network setup, maintenance, marketing and running costs when we're not privy to that kind of information to begin with.
Besides, the article seems to be directed at Cell C.
 
No one needs higher grade maths to figure out that the cell phone "Syndicates" are ripping us off.You just need higher grade in "Greed" to justify it, like they do.
 
SIDE NOTE:
If you look at this logically, once 3G becomes less expensive, GSM will die because everyone will switch to running the far cheaper and user friendly VOIP applications instead, killing the GSM cash cow dead, and it will be so dead that you cannot even use it to make biltong with.
 
I think the ultimate test will be whether Cell C introduces this or similar data bundle pricing across its network. That will produce an interesting anomaly in the many areas where Cell C customers are actually served by a Vodacom tower, in that in essence they will be downloading data via the Vodacom system, but at a fraction of the price Vodacom itself charges! Curious to see how this plays out....
 
:D I just have to compliment the writer of this article!

Stepping on toes is the only way to get a good reaction from the money grabbers!

Nice job and keep them coming!

I long for a time similar to the US's cellular providers unlimited data plans for $30 a month.. It must be possible soon.
 
Cost

Its not the Per gig thats killing us at the momment. Its The line rentals, That you need, to get the services. Mobile ISP's works the line rentals into the price.
 
Shebam said:
:D I just have to compliment the writer of this article!

Stepping on toes is the only way to get a good reaction from the money grabbers!

Nice job and keep them coming!

I long for a time similar to the US's cellular providers unlimited data plans for $30 a month.. It must be possible soon.
Click to expand...

True, I especially like this bit:
Now apparently Neotel were a little unhappy about what I wrote last week (Neotel slap in the face column here) and are busy formulating a rebuttal as we speak,....
Click to expand...
 
waynerau said:
Its not the Per gig thats killing us at the momment. Its The line rentals, That you need, to get the services. Mobile ISP's works the line rentals into the price.
Click to expand...

+1. Mobile operators do work the line rental into the price, but they also work it into the topup and out-of-bundle prices.

I would like to see them start charging for line rental seperately, and for data bundles seperately. With the current situation, they are really screwing the public, and charging for line rental multiple times over.

Scum of the Earth! (except Cell C, for now at least).

UPDATE: Great article. Thanks to the author. Would be nice to see more articles/colimns like this on MyBroadband - opiniated and unafraid to spill the beans.
 
Na-iem said:
I think you mean 2c/MB, or R0.02/MB. That would equate to R20.48/GB
Click to expand...

You do know there are 1000MB in 1GB right? I think the article writer was asking for someone with higher grade maths skills, not someone with absolutely no maths skills.
 
robgun said:
You do know there are 1000MB in 1GB right? I think the article writer was asking for someone with higher grade maths skills, not someone with absolutely no maths skills.
Click to expand...

Depends on whether you're using decimal or binary units. Assuming binary units for units of data storage, 1GiB == 1024MiB, which makes Na-iem's maths correct.

(EDIT: Although, in these cases, one should really use the MiB, GiB suffixes instead of the MB, GB ones - although the decimal prefixes are now so firmly entrenched in our society that they'll likely always be used for binary units where they really shouldn't be.)
 
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robgun said:
You do know there are 1000MB in 1GB right? I think the article writer was asking for someone with higher grade maths skills, not someone with absolutely no maths skills.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure they were just being pedantic, ie 1024MB per 1 GB...
 
robgun said:
You do know there are 1000MB in 1GB right? I think the article writer was asking for someone with higher grade maths skills, not someone with absolutely no maths skills.
Click to expand...

Actually, you are wrong - there are 1024Kb in 1Mb, 1024Mb in 1GB, so Na-iem's maths was spot-on.
 
davemc said:
SIDE NOTE:
If you look at this logically, once 3G becomes less expensive, GSM will die because everyone will switch to running the far cheaper and user friendly VOIP applications instead, killing the GSM cash cow dead, and it will be so dead that you cannot even use it to make biltong with.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, Dave, there you nail the REAL issue on the head. All incumbent telecom operators fear canabilizing their voice revenues by data and VOIP applications. Telkom via its copper infrastructure charging for a voice line and MTN and Vodacom via its GSM infrastructure. That is why a new mobile operator probably has a competitive advantage by building a pure IP network and why the incumbents don't want to interconnect to such a player cheaply!

But the pressure is building ... tick , tock ..
 
I'm no expert but doesn't it seem logical that wireless networks should be CHEAPER than fixed-line networks to run, not more expensive? It doesn't make sense. There's less infrastructure to maintain, no trenches to dig up, no copper to steal, no ongoing maintenance costs for the last-mile connection. Your major costs are backhaul capacity (which fixed-line services have to pay for too) and the costs of maintaining your base stations.
 
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