Monday, November 28, 2005
Mystifying ADSL adverts
Several people have asked me to explain the wave of commercials – particularly on TV – that offer an array of ADSL packages.
Just in case you haven't quite caught up to the twenty first century – ADSL or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a type of broadband that allows you to access the Internet at much quicker speeds than you would get over a normal dial-up service.
In recent weeks, a number of companies have been advertising ADSL on TV and while I am certain that none of them would ever deliberately mislead the public; it would help if they presented all the additional charges a little more prominently.
Consumers would have an easier time comparing the competing packages and they would know exactly what they are letting themselves in for.
MWEB has been heavily promoting MWEB ADSL for only R145 per month – while Telkom says you can get monthly access on HomeDSL 384 for three hundred and fifty nine rand.
These ads have caused a lot of confusion. It sounds as if the MWEB package is much cheaper than Telkom – From their respective television adverts, a reasonable person could quite easily conclude that the two Internet giants are selling the same thing at very different prices -
But in fact they are offering different products.
Let me try to explain.
In order to have an ADSL connection in your home or business, you need to have a dedicated ADSL modem installed. Several months ago, Telkom offered a self install option – that appears to have fallen by the wayside.
But you can get a modem anywhere – many retail outlets sell them.
Next you need a phone line that is ADSL enabled. To my knowledge, Telkom is the only company in the country that can offer you an ADSL line.
They rent that line to you – and it is the line rental that Telkom has been punting big time on TV.
Telkom actually rents the same physical line to you twice – you pay once a month to rent the line for voice calls and once a month for ADSL access – two completely separate charges.
Now you have your modem and your ADSL line, but do you have ADSL Internet access?
No, you don't!
You still have to pay a service provider who can connect your ADSL line to the Internet – and it is this service that MWEB is punting Mega big time on TV.
The point is – you still need an Internet Service Provider even if you are paying Telkom for monthly access.
However, while MWEB maybe one of the biggest Internet Service Providers on the African continent – it is not a monopoly.
Even Telkom is an Internet service provider – and there are many more who are equally as good.
So if you think you're going to have an ADSL Internet connection for R145 – think again – it's not going to happen – not in this country anyway.
And as we come to the end of this week's edition of Cybersurf I hope that if I did not clear up some confusion regarding the price of ADSL connectivity, I will at least have caused potential buyers to read the small print – carefully.
Thanks for listening and till next Monday, remember to keeeeep on surfing.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Return from World Summit on the Information Society
It was all about how the internet should be managed, and about finding ways to get more people to benefit from the latest information technologies.
The whole process began some seven years ago - culminating in the two phase summit meeting - the first phase in Geneva in 2003 and the second phase last week in the Tunisian capital.
So, I hear you ask... we know what it was supposed to achieve - but what difference is it going to make - really?
The easy answer is: not much - or we could elaborate and say that the Tunis phase produced two documents - a political Tunis Commitment and a plan of action entitled the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
Not much of an action plan because it does not say who must do what and by what deadline - nor does it say who is going to pay for the actions.
As a journalist - I was very concerned about Tunisia' human rights record and particularly about the way it treated journalists.
There was no need to fear on a personal level because we were actually working within a United Nations precinct, and we were accredited by the UN.
It seemed that the security guys were instructed to restrain themselves and to be really nice to all these foreign journalists. Sometimes they slipped a little. - There were security people walking up and down the media room all the time, and one of them even tried to remove a press release from my desk - but by and large they were friendly.
However, the most impressive aspect of the summit to me was how well the technology worked in the media centre. At a rough guess, there were about two hundred desk tops and maybe another eighty network points for laptops. During the day, they were all used all the time - and yet the bandwidth never faltered - download speeds were lightening fast - considerably quicker than I've ever seen in any other major meeting.
The system never ever went down. My laptop connected to the network instantly without fiddling around with any settings - but if ever you did have a query - all you had to do was raise your hand or even just wear a worried expression and suddenly three or four volunteers - all highly competent university students rushed towards your station to resolve your problem. They were good.
Then to put the cherry on the Tunisian IT cake. When we arrived back at the airport, we found that they had laid on free wireless access all through the airport. Once again - no fiddling about with settings - I just turned on the machine and I was instantly connected - good bandwidth absolutely free.
If there was any tangible outcome of the summit it was that Tunisia showed the world that they can do IT - really.
Why, oh why, can't we do the same?
Why are we still paying exorbitant prices for poor services?
Why are we still fiddling about with IT?
Why don't we have a massive IT education program in the country?
A small country on the other end of our African continent is doing all of the above so well.
And so we come to the end of this week's edition of Cybersurf - and don't forget to tune in again next week for more on the best of the web.
Monday, November 14, 2005
World Summit on the Information Society
Why am I here, and why am I telling you about this mega conference?
There are two reasons really, if you are listening to this program you are probably interested in the Internet – and the main topics of discussion here concern who will manage the internet and how can more people get access to it.
The second reason you should be interested in the Summit is because it involves your tax money – yes, our government is heavily committed to the WSIS process and has been one of the leaders in shaping the outcome of this meeting.
The Department of Communications has set up a large, impressive stand in the exhibition hall; Lyndall Shope Mafole, Director General of that same department has been chairing one of the two sub-committees drawing up the final documentation for the Summit; three government departments – Communications, Foreign Affairs and Science and Technology - are sending high level delegations; South Africa is also one of the most generous contributors to the special fund set up to help cover the cost of this UN Conference and finally President Thabo Mbeki – head of the South African, delegation will be one of the Keynote speakers at the first plenary session of the Summit on Wednesday.
Tunisia is normally a very security conscious country, but in keeping with the war against terrorism; following suicide bomb attacks in several Middle Eastern countries and recalling the fact that they are expecting forty five heads of state for the summit – you can well imagine how beserk they have gone on security.
There are thousands of Tunisian security people – police and military – all over the city, while in the Conference centre, UN police work together with the locals to make life very uncomfortable for people in general, but for media in particular. They X-ray everything, make you take off your belt and shoes and go through your bags at every opportunity – so just try to imagine how excited they get with my radio equipment.
The trickiest topic under discussion here concerns Internet Governance – it took delegates weeks to come up with a working definition of the term, but it’s really about who should run the Internet. To put it very bluntly, I think that it galls the rest of the world to know that essentially the US government runs the ‘Net through ICANN – the Internet Corporation on Assigned Names and Numbers.
Most countries want the status quo to change – the African lobby says – and I quote – “We are convinced that there is a need for a progressive process towards a new transparent democratic and multi-lateral framework” end of quote.
In other words – we need change.
Until recently the UK appeared to be the only significant supporter of the US position, but in September even the Brits said that “adjustments need to be made”.
So will the US give up control of the internet? I don’t think so – but I am certain that by the end of this Summit on Friday, a new international body will be created to discuss and formulate Internet policy.
And so we come to the end of the Tunis edition of Cybersurf. Listen for more on the Summit during our current affairs shows this week.
