Hello SM,
On 11/04/2015 08:14 PM, S Moonesamy wrote:
>
> This is the reply [1] to the internet-related questions in the National
> Assembly:
>
> "As regards households having been given access to high-speed internet
> service, I am informed that Mauritius Telecom has already connected
> more
> than 160,000 households to high-speed internet services."
>
Thanks for sharing. I haven't read the hansard yet.
The Minister is most probably answering by ICTA's definition of
high-speed internet. Sadly, if we rely on some government official's
definition of things then the country might not prosper technologically.
> "By the end of 2018, it is expected that all the households in Mauritius
> will have the possibility of being connected to high-speed internet
> through fibre by Mauritius Telecom."
>
If we replace the word "high-speed" with the actual internet speed of
the 160K households, the Minister might have to facepalm in the parliament.
>
> "Firstly, I am informed that, in July 2015, Mauritius Telecom has
> introduced
> a high-speed internet package at Rs499 VAT inclusive, thereby
> offering high-
> speed internet at the cheapest price in the African region.
>
So, when it comes to internet the Minister compares Mauritius to Africa,
while in other "tender generating" businesses, they aim to be the next
Singapore or Dubai.
The Rs 499 package of Mauritius Telecom says 512K with 128K upload. Does
the Minister accept 128K upload as high-speed internet? What should I
upload with that? Banana?
> Secondly, since 01 June 2015, customers of Mauritius Telecom who
> subscribe
> to the ADSL internet service have benefitted from a 30% decrease of the
> internet tariff, which has dropped from Rs699 VAT inclusive per month
> to Rs499 VAT inclusive.
>
Is this not a repetition of the above? Did Mauritius Telecom *introduce*
a new package of 512K at Rs 499 or there has been a price decrease of Rs
699 to Rs 499?
I am forced to think that Ministers just read anything & everything that
their *technicians* provide them as answers, without putting some maths
into an understanding.
> Thirdly, between January and October 2015, Mauritius Telecom has
> also migrated,
> free of charge, about 50,000 households from the traditional copper
> network to
> a new fibre network. The internet speed of these customers has been
> upgraded
> by up to 10 times without any additional charge on their monthly
> rental."
>
Mauritius Telecom is upgrading its network infrastructure and migration
should be free. Is the Mauritius Telecom doing a favor by not charging
for "La Fibre" migration?
Fibre is being deployed to replace the aging copper wires. I would not
expect a charging fee of the current line I am subscribed to. Mauritius
Telecom marketing folks are wise with their words and politicians gladly
fall in that pit ^^
> I found an ISP in South Africa advertising a 1 Mbps package [2] for Rs
> 213. Orange Mauritius [3] is currently advertising a 512 Kbps package
> for Rs 499. I do not view that download speed as high-speed. In 2012,
> the target [4] of the Ministry of Information and Communication
> Technology was that: "At least 60% of homes should have affordable
> access to actual download speeds of at least 10 Mbps and actual upload
> speeds of at least 5 Mbps by 2014". In my opinion, the target has not
> been reached as it is unlikely that 60% of homes have access to a
> download speed of 10 Mbps and a upload speed of 5 Mbps.
>
Thanks for sharing the above. I will do some homework on the same :) and
comment accordingly.
Regards,
--
Ish Sookun
Received on Thu Nov 05 2015 - 08:19:24 PST