Neotel promises... eh, something

After I complained last week that Neotel has been somewhat of a non-starter in the local telecoms space, the second national operator this week made some bold statements of intent. Maybe they read Talking Points.

Anyway, cornered by an ITWeb hack at an event, Neotel spokesperson Mala Suriah said the operator will launch its core product offerings next month. She went on to promise the do would be the "biggest event Neotel has ever had".

Now I, for one, certainly believe this. Neotel has yet to do anything, really. So, starting from a low base, it is quite conceivable that the event will be its biggest ever. How big it will be in the larger scheme of things remains to be seen.

As yet, no details are forthcoming, but Suriah did say it will ensure that "people will know what Neotel stands for after the launch". That would be a nice change of strategy, a slight digression from the stealth attack tactics that the company has employed so far.

But, in all fairness, Suriah did go to some pains to explain Neotel's shyness so far. She stated: "Neotel did not have anything to promise then, and we do not go to market and make promises unless we can keep them." Brilliant, at least they're an honest bunch then.

But wait, "did not have anything to promise"? Really? How about promising a better deal for consumers, kicking Telkom's backside, making the world a better place, lowering telecoms pricing?

Oh yeah, then again, those would be promises Neotel can't keep. It's already indicated it will not compete with Telkom on a pricing level, but rather on some sort of vaguely-defined service delivery/offering, something or other basis. Lame duck, I say.

Anyway, let's watch this space...

If Infraco becomes more compelling for the Broadband Infraco Bill to be passed, it is probably going to be another toothless entity.

Martin Czernowalow, news editor, ITWeb

And here's another non-starter. Government's case for the establishment of broadband provider Infraco was booted out of Parliament. It appears that someone did not do their homework properly before putting the Infraco case before Parliament.

In fact, the Department of Public Enterprises has been put on notice that it must present a more compelling case for Infraco.

Parliament's public enterprises committee chairman Yunus Carrim was especially scathing of the issue, saying: "I cannot believe cabinet and two senior government ministers, Ivy [Matsepe-Casaburri] and Alec [Erwin], have approved the establishment of Infraco on the case that has been presented here. I believe there is a far more compelling case for Infraco, but we are not seeing it here."

Well Alec, I guess you win some and lose some. Government's die-hard socialist did manage to get his way earlier in the week though, when it was announced that Infraco would remain a 100% state-owned entity. This means that all hope for an independent broadband provider coming into the market is effectively out the window.

So, another typical South African scenario unfolds. A state-owned enterprise competing with a partial parastatal (Telkom).

Good going, Alec. Cheaper broadband remains but a dream.

In other words, if Infraco becomes more compelling for the Broadband Infraco Bill to be passed, it is probably going to be another toothless entity, nothing more than one-half of a broadband duopoly.

Now let's not forget to waste the billion rand earmarked for this little endeavour.

Continuing on the broadband bandwagon, president Thabo Mbeki promised an "ambitious" rather than "conservative" approach to improving SA's broadband capacity.

The master plan is to lay an additional two submarine cables along the West Coast of Africa, and the Prez is being rather macho about the whole thing.

Addressing the media following the recent Cabinet lekgotla, Mbeki emphasised the importance of size when installing the two new lines. "We are going to go for the biggest cable we can get," he beamed proudly.

Wow, down big boy! I honestly cannot keep track of all the cables that are planned for laying, or that have already been laid.

Never mind, at least Thabo's will stand out of the crowd...

So, perhaps it's time to marvel at how far we've come and how things have changed in good ol' SA. Perhaps it's also time to marvel at how some things just never change.

Specifically, that old relic of the apartheid past, that bastion of bad programming - the oppressive SABC. It's peculiar how that dinosaur managed to fly under the radar and was allowed to continue its evil work. I suppose the monster just found a new master to serve.

While the world has moved on, and South Africans are getting to grips with new goodies, such as mobile TV, the monster lurks in the background.

This week SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago finally nailed it down. "Any device designed or adapted to be capable of receiving a broadcasting television signal" requires a television licence.

He explained that the SABC is already collecting licence fees on devices other than traditional television sets through retailers such as Incredible Connection. Such retailers "are obliged by law to request a valid TV licence from a prospective purchaser before a TV tuner card may be sold to an individual".

I suppose the state organ really needs the licence fees - a crappy broadcaster like that simply cannot attract enough advertising revenue to remain sustainable.

But coercing people into paying for a sub-standard service they don't even want is distasteful and morally wrong. In short, what a load of bollocks!