An Internet connectivity survey conducted on behalf of the SMME Forum has revealed that SMEs in townships prefer Wireless Business Solutions` (WBS) iBurst broadband solution to Telkom`s ADSL.
The findings, based on 400 Soweto, Tembisa and Mamelodi SMEs, reveal that iBurst is the preferred mode of connection.
The study was conducted in late January 2006 and focused on the three townships only, says SMME Forum president Tebogo Khaas. "The rationale being that other than Soweto, no other township had ADSL installed, compared to the availability of iBurst in 85% of all townships."
Comparing service
The quickest reported Internet access acquisition was from an SME in Soweto, which was able to connect to the Internet within an hour of applying for the service through WBS. The respondent with the shortest time from application to going online using a Telkom service reported a time lapse of 14 days.
In Soweto, none of the SMEs polled in areas where Telkom has upgraded its exchanges to DSL-readiness were aware ADSL is now available. This figure excludes those SMEs that already have ADSL installed as well as those in Tembisa and Mamelodi since there is no ADSL available there yet.
When asked if they are likely to switch to Telkom`s ADSL service if it was easily available, none of the Internet cafes polled in Soweto were likely to change, compared to 47% of those in Tembisa and 46% in Mamelodi.
Asked about Sowetan SME perceptions of Telkom and WBS, the latter was ranked first at 79% while Telkom came in at 64% in terms of image.
Khaas says most SMEs have bad experiences with Telkom and that it appears that Telkom has an uphill battle to change the perceptions. "The results are generally depressing, considering that broadband uptake is very slow in the previously neglected areas."
Telkom had not yet responded by the time of publication.
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