Despite lacklustre support for Wednesday's #SocialMediaBlackout, the high cost of data was a much discussed topic at a media roundtable hosted by Vodacom at the V&A Waterfront yesterday.
In response to this conversation, Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy explained the telco implemented a pricing transformation strategy about three years ago and is currently focused on personalising offerings so that voice and data costs can be reduced based on each customer's usage patterns.
Kennedy pointed out that data prices have come down by 16% in the past year, bringing the cumulative reduction in data prices to about 44% over a three-year period. Kennedy noted customers have responded positively to the operator's efforts to drive down the cost of communication in SA, citing its 'Just 4 You' customised voice and data offerings as a key driver of the 34.1% increase in bundle sales between the 2016 and 2017 financial year.
"It's not just purely about bringing the price down in rands and cents terms. It's actually about what additional value you can add for your customers. This makes comparing 1Gig here to 1Gig there rather difficult," added Kennedy.
In line with this, he stressed the difficulties of comparing SA, where you have a population of about 50 million, to countries like Brazil, India, China or Russia. "Two of those countries have a billion people. As such, you have to think about economies of scale and a telco's ability to deliver infrastructure to a larger market at a much more cost-effective price."
Kennedy noted Vodacom might have a few data-related offerings on the cards in the not too distant future. "We've got a good couple of initiatives that we will be rolling out over the next few months that we believe will offer greater value to our customers.
"If we have this conversation in six months' time, I'm confident the need will have shifted. Watch this space."
Connectivity conundrum
Moving away from the data conversation, Alberts Breed, managing executive of Vodacom for the Western Cape, discussed the work he has been doing in the region since being appointed to his current role two years ago.
According to Breed, Vodacom's focus in the Western Cape has been around ramping up its network, making solid inroads into the fibre market, improving the retail experience and boosting the service offered to customers.
In 2016, Vodacom spent over R200 million to expand its 2G, 3G and 4G network coverage, increase data speeds and reduce the dropped-call rate across the region. In the current financial year, the telco will fork out a further R250 million on network improvements across the Western Cape.
He noted Vodacom is working to improve connectivity in specific areas around Table Mountain, where it had connectivity problems in the past. "We're erecting new base stations and are working to optimise the network in these unique little areas where we've struggled in the past."
Breed outlined that while the operator has made some progress in securing new base stations sites in the Western Cape, the process is not without its challenges. "Often, people want the service but when we start talking about base stations the conversation quickly goes in a different direction."
He continued that Vodacom has to be sensitive to the perceptions that the public have about what impact these base stations could have on the people living around them.
Touching on the topic of fibre rollout, Breed explained that Vodacom is engaged in aggressive fibre deployments, focused on various lifestyle estates across the Western Cape. For this year, Vodacom is looking to connect 12 000 to 14 000 houses to its fibre network.
He acknowledged that fibre rollout has become a competitive environment, with all of the service providers chasing each other to be first in each suburb.
"There is so much to be said about how the industry has developed over the years, but it all comes down to what differentiates you from the competition. For us, we believe it's service, service, service."
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