Internet!!!!!!!!!!!!

[twinscythe12332]

vodacom is just doing what alot of other companies do. find a flaw in the system and use that flaw to their advantage.

there are 2 major networks in this field, both are local. doesn't this sound a bit messed up? cell c, and virgin mobile are jokes, because cell c piggy backs off vodacom (70 % of traffic through vodacom), and virgin piggy backs off cell c.

then of course there is telkom, who own the cables so far.

it would be nice to see some sort of board look into this (considering bandwidth in america is practically free), we are third world, I can understand that, but we shouldn't be raped for it.

[insulin]

I agree about allot of things, however it is true that licensing of any large telecommunications group is owned indirectly by the state. Via it be licensing or using Telkom as a backbone. The sad thing is by holding the internet ransom will hindering the growth in the digital consumers market. Everything comes at a price. Greed’s victim is the poor. Point is nothing we do will change their minds... unless all South Africans magically decides to turn their mobile phones off for a view days. Trust me the amount of money they will lose will be substantial when it comes to the contact user. But these companies are anything but stupid! Thanks to prepay these companies already received their money so switching your phone of is not going to do anything! Brilliant is not. Sadly the only way I can see change is if the government passes a law to regulate the system. That will not happen because money is money...

[Loman]

I have a E270 MTN 3G modem and the software that helps to keep track of your usage(although its not correct to the mb) is checking the internet for a update every two seconds. What a way for mtn to make money. Luckily i managed to switch it off, but not soon enough.

[insulin]

As I stated before the internet is being held ransom by the large companies thus we the user suffer dearly. Bills we cannot pay. Then there is the internet consumers market that suffers because people cannot utilize the net because there are just too many hidden traps that will cripple them fanatically so the internet remains a close door to many.

However I see there is a lot of clever people in this forum. Why not demand that a new law be drafted that will force the internet providers and owners of the data systems to comply with a standardized structure similar to the one we find in petroleum. This will allow for a fair system that might be inexpensive however our government is not known for making bright decisions so I cannot say if this will be a good thing or not.

[Dave A]

Why not demand that a new law be drafted that will force the internet providers and owners of the data systems to comply with a standardized structure similar to the one we find in petroleum.

That's really the main thrust of Mybroadband.

That said, do we really want to see something like the petroleum structure put in? How competitive is the local petroleum industry really?

[insulin]

I cannot argue with your point. But to be blunt I feel the internet must be a free public service because you as an individual have the right to information. You have the right to an education. The internet is a tool that can educate you. The internet can also inform you from your mobile phone or a 3g connection. The truth is that the internet is one of the most powerful tools we as individuals have.

Sadly large companies took notice and knew that the desirability of the internet can become a profitable industry. Thus we pay for every single Mb of information. Now if a small amount of let say 1 million people are indeed paying R2 for every Mb because they cannot afford a bundle! These companies are making 2 million every few minutes.

I am honest when I say that a lot more than 1 million people use the internet but again do the math and you will find that as the megabytes tick over so does their profits. The fact is that we the people are suffering because of this... How? By not being introduced to technology that can educate you! The truth is that innovation is power. We are not empowered thus we lose our ability to go forward.

By imprisoning the Internet, I as an individual am robbed from a technology that could have changed my life. With this in mind I stand by my statement. The internet must be regulated by the state and be made affordable for everyone! Unfortunately corruption is a norm in this part of the world so sadly we will probably never see a true beneficial system.

[pietpetoors]

Just follow some of the discussions at http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=103
and you will see that it is a general problem. A problem I believe the cell phone companies do not want to fix because they make millions from it. All they do is pull up their shoulders and say "sorry tjom, you were not supposed to use it when it was out of bundle"
They make millions this way and nobody does anything about it.

[Dave A]

They make millions this way and nobody does anything about it.

I do - I don't buy it
At least not the out-of-bundle stuff.

[insulin]

Needless to say you are right. Companies do benefit from your mistakes. I tend to recall an m-web related story. A friend of mine’s dad is about sixty years old now about 10 years ago he called up m-web and asks them if they could cancel his subscription because he was not using it. Ten years later he decided to go through is bank statements. And behold! M-web was taking money from him for over 10 years without even sending him a single statement for the last 10 years. They were all too happy just to take his money and shut-up about it. I got into the picture and made sure it was cancelled this time. But they will take advantage from the elderly and never even tried to repay his money. Again the Consumer Council proved that they will REALLY benefit from training! Now the thing is; how did the old man not notice it sooner? Well to come up for him, he is still a working man and don’t get a lot of time to himself and again the amount that m-web was taking was not a lot so it didn’t seemed to be suspicious or jump out at him. But that still doesn’t explain the lack of statements now does it. After all and I stand to be corrected on this but South African law says that all subscription based account are legally required to send statements. Again the law seems useless to protect his people.

[Dave A]

And behold! M-web was taking money from him for over 10 years without even sending him a single statement for the last 10 years.

I don't recall ever getting a statement from M-Net/DSTv, come to think of it.