Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » ISP association decries lack of ‘naked’ DSL

    ISP association decries lack of ‘naked’ DSL

    By Editor1 August 2011
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Ant Brooks

    The Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa) has warned that Telkom’s “insistence” on bundling its broadband data service with a compulsory voice service may mean that the company is “acting in a way that contravenes SA’s new Consumer Protection Act (CPA)”.

    Ispa GM Ant Brooks says section 13 (1) of the CPA has “clear prescriptions against bundling goods and services in a manner that forces consumers to enter into agreements or transactions they do not require as a condition of buying a certain product or service”.

    He says the act regards such practices as a “limitation on the consumer’s right to choose suppliers for each service”.

    “According to the act, compulsory bundling of services is forbidden unless the supplier can prove that it offers economic benefits and convenience to the consumer that outweigh the drawbacks of limiting choice,” according to Brooks.

    “Telkom’s [broadband digital subscriber] lines (DSL) are not available in ‘naked’ options, though one can buy a voice service without DSL,” he says. “Ispa believes that forcing a client to take a voice product and pay a rental fee for a voice line when he or she simply wants a data line is a form of product bundling that is contrary to the CPA.

    “Telkom would be hard pressed to prove that the bundling of a voice service and DSL line offers economic benefits or convenience to the subscriber, since many subscribers either want the option of using an alternative voice service provider or do not want a voice service at all,” says Brooks.

    “Many users regard the voice line rental fee as a ‘Telkom tax’. In many cases, the voice service is not wanted [and] yet consumers are forced to pay for it if they want a DSL line,” he says. “Telkom is constraining consumer choice with this practice.”  — Staff reporter, TechCentral

    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook


    Ant Brooks Ispa Telkom
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleWeb Africa enters uncapped hosting fray
    Next Article Seacom boasts 500Gbit/s fibre link

    Related Posts

    MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market

    12 June 2025

    Watch | Lunga Siyo on Telkom’s big growth plans

    11 June 2025

    Capex clash: Vodacom, MTN and Telkom battle over network supremacy

    11 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.