Telkom answers SMME criticism

By Rodney Weidemann for Telkom
Johannesburg, 20 Jan 2005

Telkom has responded to the SMME Forum`s criticism of its latest tariff increases, saying the organisation`s allegations reveal some misunderstanding of the facts of the matter.

The monopoly says it has been following a policy of rebalancing its tariffs to become more competitive within its total basket of services, which has resulted in increases in local call rates, and reductions in long distance and international rates.

"The overall benefit we gained from the rate adjustments is a mere 0.2%, illustrating the point that the latest adjustments were about getting the ratio between various rates correct, as well as aligning the rates of product and services with the underlying cost to provide those products and services," says spokesman Ravin Maharaj.

"When Telkom filed the new rates, it followed a business model of evaluating their possible impact on SMME companies, and it was found that the impact was an increase of 1.2%."

He says further analysis showed that calls to cellphones made up a fair amount on the accounts of SMMEs, while in large businesses this was offset by data communication.

"SMMEs should analyse their monthly telecommunication accounts and see where they can make savings by making more use of Telkom-to-Telkom calls, opting for attractive call packages and other communications streamlining services such as call answer, enhanced fax and others.

"Specifically for the SMME market, Telkom has launched fax enhancement products, automated teleconferencing, and a host of Internet access and ISP services - all aimed at increasing efficiencies," says Maharaj.

"The allegation that Telkom`s service is inefficient due to the shedding of jobs is another wild-card statement, as Telkom has always followed a responsible and proactive approach to manage its staff numbers via natural attrition, outsourcing, redeployment, voluntary early retirement and other alternative strategies in order to minimise involuntary separation."

He says the forum`s questioning of Telkom`s commitment to bridging the digital divide, because of its different prices for residential and business ADSL services, is also not well thought out.

"Telkom has different prices for business and residential customers based on the fact that residential customers use the service more at night, when the network carries a light load due to a lower business demand, while business operates mainly during peak load periods."