May Telkom burn!

[jinxster]

Yes, thats right.

With that VAT number, BREVIS COMPUTER SERVICES SA PTY LTD should appear on the invoice then, or rather BREVIS COMPUTER SERVICES SA PTY LTD t/a AFRIHOST INTERNET SERVICES. Does it?

You cant use a trading name on its own becuase 2 people in different locations can use same name since that doesnt get verified on the registration documents. Unless the trading name is also uniquely registered for VAT, but that number isnt for that.

If you use that definition of spam, then im afriad using a username the same as your company domain name apart from the .com is pretty much spamming too.

The size of the company in no way changes any laws. The size of the company affects their capacity to repay debt.

You like em, stick with em. Power to you!

PS, I didnt tell you where to signup or the concerns name.

[SilverNodashi]

wow, you really have a gripe with them, don't you? Why don't you phone their legal department and get this matter sorted? No one on this forum can vouch for them, or any other company for that matter.

[Dave A]

With that VAT number, BREVIS COMPUTER SERVICES SA PTY LTD should appear on the invoice then, or rather BREVIS COMPUTER SERVICES SA PTY LTD t/a AFRIHOST INTERNET SERVICES. Does it?

You cant use a trading name on its own becuase 2 people in different locations can use same name since that doesnt get verified on the registration documents. Unless the trading name is also uniquely registered for VAT, but that number isnt for that.

You don't need a seperate number. For example there's this VAT registration with SARS - Alcocks Pest Control (Pty) Ltd t/a Alcocks Entomological Services. We don't have to put the "Alcocks Pest Control Pty Ltd" on the tax invoice. I'm also a director of another company where there's a list of trading names under one Pty Ltd company on the VAT registration (arising from company buyouts). As long as SARS is aware of the trading names, that's all you have to put on the tax invoice.

But this is like trying to pin the mafia on a tax technicality when the real problem is they're in the business of murder, conspiracy and extortion. Jinxster has raised a far more curious issue.

After I made my post about revaluation, I put some thought into how this applies in the Afrihost situation. And of course it doesn't apply.

What follows is a bit speculative based on snippets of info rather than a complete picture - so please take it with a pinch of salt.

First, the Seacom cable doesn't seem to have had a dramatic effect on bulk broadband pricing yet. Or put another way, the benefits have been slower coming than anticipated by many. This could have materially affected Afrihost's original plan and calculations.

If what Jinxster suggests is true, ascribing a potential purchase price is a dangerous game when there is no guarantee that there will be a buyer of the business when time comes. Given that clients aren't locked in on contract, and given the monopolistic environment of the ISP business, it's just as likely the business will be left to crash and burn as there might be a buyout. By padding the goodwill account in anticipation of a sale, Afrihost could be engaged in Enron style accounting and the chickens could come home to roost pretty much anytime.

Fortunately (and unlike Enron) this shouldn't pose much risk to the consumer who, at worst, might find themselves looking for a new ISP on short notice. So enjoy the cheap bandwidth while it lasts.

It's quite a gamble and Afrihost stands to either win big or lose big. Being fair to Afrihost, they haven't exactly kept the fact that it's a gamble a secret. In fact I suspect much of their support comes from respect for their ballsy approach.

I could see why other ISP resellers would have lost their sense of humour over the situation for the moment though.

[IanF]

It's quite a gamble and Afrihost stands to either win big or lose big. Being fair to Afrihost, they haven't exactly kept the fact that it's a gamble a secret. In fact I suspect much of their support comes from respect for their ballsy approach.

I could see why other ISP resellers would have lost their sense of humour over the situation for the moment though.

Here is a post where Afrihost says they are making a profit Afrihost however says that it is working out well for them.

Payne explained that they decided to sell bandwidth below cost in the hope that word of mouth would result in significant growth, which in turn will mean bulk discounts from their upstream provider.

“We are pleased to report that this strategy has paid off and we are now making a sustainable margin at R29 per GB and this will become our new standard pricing into the future,� says Payne. "The R29 price point is not an unrealistic expectation and is here to stay. The R14.50 special that we are running is exactly that, a special, and we will only offer this when we are able to. Afrihost has been in business for close to 10 years and is here to stay.�

Link.
What I see is happening is that bandwidth has become a high volume commodity with profits now made on volume which then cuts out the smaller guys. They are now upset. This happens in all industries and either you change the way you do business by adapting or finding a new niche.

[jinxster]

Dave A, your VAT registration includes both sides of t/a, thats how SARS knows you the same entity.

This one doesnt. This is just about the same as if I put Pick n Pay's VAT number on my own invoice.

The funny thing is... if Afrihost are making such a big profit, why are they more expensive than the average prices on hosting packages, an industry they have been in for longer than bandwidth?

If they can sell bandwidth @ less than 3c a MB, why charge 5c per MB for traffic on your shared hosting packages?

Second, it isnt impossible to make prices less.. in fact, a 50GB service @ R10 is quite easily feasible...

How do you know your ISP isnt secretly stealing your bandwidth?

I mean you look at logs, you see.. I used 4GB this month... but maybe you only used 3.5 and the .5 was to get you closer to you cap...

Advertise a 10GB service.. give 8GB and *bs* the customer into thinking he used 10.... not saying they do that, but could be done.

In fact there are many many ways to get prices down to even R2 /GB but alas... these are rather shady ways...

Why doesnt Afrihost make a reseller program rather (and not only on hosting)? If it is so clean cut, it would be beneficial to all. That would do the same thing "boost volume".. my thoughts... they would rather not deal with too many IT peeps who actually use 100% of their bandwidth...

[IanF]

Jinxster,
As Softdux says we can't answer your questions about Afrihost so you should contact them directly.