SMMEs attack Telkom tariffs

Johannesburg, 17 Jan 2005

The SMME Forum has launched a scathing attack on Telkom's latest tariff adjustments, claiming it is incongruent with government's efforts to encourage growth in the sector.

The thrust of its argument is that the monopoly's 5.5% increase in the cost of domestic telephone calls will ultimately most affect those who cannot afford alternative means of communication such as least-cost routing or voice over IP (VOIP).

"Like credit, those who need it can't get it, while it is always available to those who don't really need it," says SMME Forum president, Tebogo Khaas.

"It is quite clear, but immoral, why Telkom chose to reduce the cost of international calls by a whopping 28%. Faced with the challenge posed by VOIP, the monopoly seeks to mitigate this revenue loss by turning on its loyal customers who continue to pay for its inefficiencies and lack of competitiveness."

He says there are numerous other examples of Telkom's lack of delivery, and it would be the ultimate irony if this were due to a lack of human resources, since the company is continuously shedding jobs.

"Talk of Telkom's efficiencies and competitiveness on the one hand and its stated commitment to sustainable small business development is a modern day socio-economic oxymoron of monumental proportions."

Khaas believes it is up to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to pressure Telkom into revising its domestic call pricing downwards.

"ICASA must ensure this broad daylight robbery is reversed once the regulator's new rate regime comes into effect sometime during this month," he says.

"Telkom, in cahoots with its accomplices in the three GSM networks, is hell-bent on ensuring telephone penetration and its concomitant benefits do not filter through to the majority of our country.

"The monopoly and its allies have patently confirmed that it does not give a hoot for small businesses and the need to bridge the digital divide."

He says the SMME Forum is calling upon all players in the ICT industry to employ any and all intervention tools at their disposal to put pressure on Telkom to behave like a responsible corporate citizen and rethink its pricing.

"This is a critically important issue in terms of creating a sustainable small business development environment and in order to live up to the ICT industry's stated commitment to bridge the digital divide which presently engulfs us," states Khaas.

Despite numerous calls, Telkom had not responded to ITWeb's requests for comment on the above issues at the time of publication.