Recent comments in the media have highlighted the incumbent telecommunications provider`s expectations of increased competition. Despite the monopoly situation, Telkom has admitted it expects to lose 15% of its voice market to the second national operator (SNO) by 2005, provided the introduction process is completed in good time.
According to Zappi von Plato, regional executive of telecommunications for Business Connexion: "Consumers and corporates in SA need to learn how to take advantage of emerging competition to get the best deals on communications.
"New competitors like the SNO and Sentech will be offering competitive services for voice and data and consumers should be ready to take advantage of peak or off-peak price offerings. This will empower them to reduce costs while also encouraging competition in this sector of our economy," Von Plato says.
Von Plato says globally consumers are faster to structure their communication needs around special offers and voice traffic discounts, but local market dominance by one service provider has encouraged consumer apathy and acceptance of the status quo.
He says the publishing this year of the Convergence Bill will define for Internet service providers the parameters of providing voice over IP (VOIP) or IP telephony to local consumers.
This technology is already growing at a rapid rate in the rest of Africa, but is still facing local obstacles before it can be widely used for cheaper communications for consumers and corporates in SA. The trend, globally, is enabling international customers a consolidation of voice, video and data on one cost-efficient network through IP.
Locally, Von Plato says fixed voice communication is stagnating while the growth of wireless GSM is still growing, especially into the rest of Africa with the biggest market in voice prevalent in the prepaid cellular market.
Local cellular providers like MTN, for example, are exhibiting a rapid share price increase on the JSE as investors realise the size of the African market in countries like Nigeria. At the same time, rival Vodacom seeks to penetrate Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo in concert for the provision of wireless communications.
Von Plato concludes that market forces are beginning to challenge local providers as global bodies like the International Telecomms Union exhibit increased interest in Africa as a `greenfields` market.
But the question remains: are local consumers ready to take advantage of the cost benefits likely to follow in the wake of new players entering the communication market? Only time will tell.
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