Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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Consumerism – a modern movement for the protection of the consumer against useless, inferior, or dangerous products, misleading advertising, unfair pricing, etc.
The South African telecommunications consumer has had it rough. We’ve seen and are still seeing some of the worst service to price ratios on planet earth. We are stuck with a government department who cannot do what needs to be done, supported by a government who doesn’t want to get things done that needs to be done. We are left in an awkward situation where the privileged few have just enough access to information to know we are getting screwed but too little consumer leverage to get something done about it.
This can be seen as a legacy of the past because the ones who know how bad we have it happen to be largely white with a few black faces in there that know what is up. The sad situation is however that it is the masses of this country that really can get things changing. The poor masses who have been politically deprived in the past and is now again being deprived from having proper and affordable access to telecommunications by the new ANC government for reasons we can only speculate and make educated guesses about. The most obvious one being they simply don’t want the average Joe to have affordable access to communications for fear of how this may affect voting outcomes in the years to come.
Well, for the sake of this writ I shall admit that that is my opinion and I am sticking with it. If anybody else can explain to me why we don’t have lower telecoms pricing after 13 years with flat rated dialup, easy and prompt access to landline installations and competition for Telkom, be my guest. Neotel is supposed to be the holy grail of telecoms solutions to the Telkom scenario, but we have gotten nothing but promises. I am willing to bet a beer (that is all I can afford after my last Telkom bill) on it that when they finally do go live with their consumer services that it will not be earth shattering compared to the absolutely atrocious service and pricing we are getting from Telkom. I am willing to bet another beer that they will fix pricing within a R10 margin to any comparable Telkom offering for fixed line telephony (and data) when delivering to consumers.
How do I know I am right? Look at the other players in the telecoms arena, especially the mobile operators. I think it would probably be within R2 margin of difference, but hey beer is not getting cheaper either and who knows how much beer might cost by the time Neotel finally starts offering services. Judging by the time they are taking to get their act together I am placing Neotel in the CellC arena. All bark but no bite…
In the meantime the current telecoms consumer is getting as thick skinned as a coconut when we finally do have choice we will be the toughest consumer crowd in the world. Without a doubt! We deserve to become the Vikings of the consumer world taking a sword to every shop and taking the head of any telecom company clerk that just looks at us funny!
We have earned the right to become an entirely new breed of beast that demands respect gets bowed down to and offered services at cut throat prices! I want to see telecoms CEOs willing to commit Harikiri when they spot just one upset customer. Not because they are so ashamed, but because it is a more comfortable thing to go through than what us Viking Consumers will put them through!
If there are more than two people in a cue I want to see office staff at the telecoms companies break out in a sweat looking for the nearest exit or window!
We have put up with being financially raped and pillaged for long enough. The time has come for somebody to give us service or we will be willing to rough it out without it, but by God we will get what we want or to hell with it! No simple acceptance. We either get what we want or not at all, but we won’t take anything because we don’t have a choice. There is a NO SERVICE option too you know! (Yes I know not many will want this option, but damn it, it would be a sweet day if we all could stand together and just say NO!)
I am tired of living in a country where it is easier to mail a CD with content on it to a friend than it is to upload it to him via IP. We as South Africans are worth more than this government is giving us. We are people who deserve an open market where telecoms companies fight with each other to get and keep customers.
We deserve a country where the Department Of Communications is run by somebody who has studied proper telecoms degrees, perhaps spent some time in the telecoms environment and is known to be dedicated and honest. We need a minister who isn’t a known technophobe who can actually sound like he or she knows what the exorbitant billing of Telkom is doing to this country and what a difference access to affordable Internet can do for the minds of the people of this country and especially the future of its young people.
We need a country where telecoms make sense and isn’t head over heels and disturbed because of exorbitant pricing. It is cheaper to use expensive modern technology like cellular phones in this country than it is to use a landline with technology dating back a 100 years!
We don’t deserve this as South Africans yet we are getting this cruel and absolutely insane treatment! Why? The only thing that makes sense is that government simply doesn’t want the masses to have access and doesn’t mind extorting exorbitant amounts of money from the minority.
It is all so African, isn’t it?
The South African telecommunications consumer has had it rough. We’ve seen and are still seeing some of the worst service to price ratios on planet earth. We are stuck with a government department who cannot do what needs to be done, supported by a government who doesn’t want to get things done that needs to be done. We are left in an awkward situation where the privileged few have just enough access to information to know we are getting screwed but too little consumer leverage to get something done about it.
This can be seen as a legacy of the past because the ones who know how bad we have it happen to be largely white with a few black faces in there that know what is up. The sad situation is however that it is the masses of this country that really can get things changing. The poor masses who have been politically deprived in the past and is now again being deprived from having proper and affordable access to telecommunications by the new ANC government for reasons we can only speculate and make educated guesses about. The most obvious one being they simply don’t want the average Joe to have affordable access to communications for fear of how this may affect voting outcomes in the years to come.
Well, for the sake of this writ I shall admit that that is my opinion and I am sticking with it. If anybody else can explain to me why we don’t have lower telecoms pricing after 13 years with flat rated dialup, easy and prompt access to landline installations and competition for Telkom, be my guest. Neotel is supposed to be the holy grail of telecoms solutions to the Telkom scenario, but we have gotten nothing but promises. I am willing to bet a beer (that is all I can afford after my last Telkom bill) on it that when they finally do go live with their consumer services that it will not be earth shattering compared to the absolutely atrocious service and pricing we are getting from Telkom. I am willing to bet another beer that they will fix pricing within a R10 margin to any comparable Telkom offering for fixed line telephony (and data) when delivering to consumers.
How do I know I am right? Look at the other players in the telecoms arena, especially the mobile operators. I think it would probably be within R2 margin of difference, but hey beer is not getting cheaper either and who knows how much beer might cost by the time Neotel finally starts offering services. Judging by the time they are taking to get their act together I am placing Neotel in the CellC arena. All bark but no bite…
In the meantime the current telecoms consumer is getting as thick skinned as a coconut when we finally do have choice we will be the toughest consumer crowd in the world. Without a doubt! We deserve to become the Vikings of the consumer world taking a sword to every shop and taking the head of any telecom company clerk that just looks at us funny!
We have earned the right to become an entirely new breed of beast that demands respect gets bowed down to and offered services at cut throat prices! I want to see telecoms CEOs willing to commit Harikiri when they spot just one upset customer. Not because they are so ashamed, but because it is a more comfortable thing to go through than what us Viking Consumers will put them through!
If there are more than two people in a cue I want to see office staff at the telecoms companies break out in a sweat looking for the nearest exit or window!
We have put up with being financially raped and pillaged for long enough. The time has come for somebody to give us service or we will be willing to rough it out without it, but by God we will get what we want or to hell with it! No simple acceptance. We either get what we want or not at all, but we won’t take anything because we don’t have a choice. There is a NO SERVICE option too you know! (Yes I know not many will want this option, but damn it, it would be a sweet day if we all could stand together and just say NO!)
I am tired of living in a country where it is easier to mail a CD with content on it to a friend than it is to upload it to him via IP. We as South Africans are worth more than this government is giving us. We are people who deserve an open market where telecoms companies fight with each other to get and keep customers.
We deserve a country where the Department Of Communications is run by somebody who has studied proper telecoms degrees, perhaps spent some time in the telecoms environment and is known to be dedicated and honest. We need a minister who isn’t a known technophobe who can actually sound like he or she knows what the exorbitant billing of Telkom is doing to this country and what a difference access to affordable Internet can do for the minds of the people of this country and especially the future of its young people.
We need a country where telecoms make sense and isn’t head over heels and disturbed because of exorbitant pricing. It is cheaper to use expensive modern technology like cellular phones in this country than it is to use a landline with technology dating back a 100 years!
We don’t deserve this as South Africans yet we are getting this cruel and absolutely insane treatment! Why? The only thing that makes sense is that government simply doesn’t want the masses to have access and doesn’t mind extorting exorbitant amounts of money from the minority.
It is all so African, isn’t it?