MyBroadband
Encyclopedia
MyBroadband.co.za is an online group (based around an Internet forum
), providing South Africa
n Internet users with a central vantage point for information on broadband
services in the country. Since 2003, the site has become a major source of information on many computing disciplines related to the Internet
and its various uses ranging from gaming, VoIP and more.
The site is funded by advertising revenue, the majority of which is received from telecommunications companies.
One of the main objectives of MyBroadBand is to change the current South African broadband
landscape, focusing particularly on ADSL, which is dominated by the state-controlled monopoly Telkom. One major achievement is that Telkom is, apparently, beginning to recognise MyBroadBand and has met with the forum leaders and discussed the problems the broadband community faces.
As of yet, Telkom has yet to yield any significant price decreases or service upgrades, and are still paying lip service to the majority of their ADSL and Telephone customers, which is the norm for a draconian institution such as Telkom.
company controversially uses the report to make their advertising claim "The Best Broadband for Your Rand".
The company has also changed it's founding principle of being advertising free. In 2009 it included the incumbent Telkom as an advertiser, which was widely criticed among the membership and ultimately resulted in 2 competing forums being set up. Shortly before and after this several of the founding members left or were banned from the site which was also widely criticised on other forums and on blogs. It is now decribed as selling out to the telecoms companies and as a commercial news site that no longer has the interests of South African consumers at heart.
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
), providing South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n Internet users with a central vantage point for information on broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
services in the country. Since 2003, the site has become a major source of information on many computing disciplines related to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and its various uses ranging from gaming, VoIP and more.
The site is funded by advertising revenue, the majority of which is received from telecommunications companies.
One of the main objectives of MyBroadBand is to change the current South African broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
landscape, focusing particularly on ADSL, which is dominated by the state-controlled monopoly Telkom. One major achievement is that Telkom is, apparently, beginning to recognise MyBroadBand and has met with the forum leaders and discussed the problems the broadband community faces.
As of yet, Telkom has yet to yield any significant price decreases or service upgrades, and are still paying lip service to the majority of their ADSL and Telephone customers, which is the norm for a draconian institution such as Telkom.
Broadband Ratings Reports
MyADSL often releases Broadband ratings reports, the latest of which is the Wireless Broadband Ratings Report, these reports take into account speed and reliability tests by users of the services in Question. The VodacomVodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
company controversially uses the report to make their advertising claim "The Best Broadband for Your Rand".
MyADSL / MyBroadband Meetings and Conferences
Contributors to the myADSL forum meet at least once a year. The annual conference is usually held in Johannesburg. These gatherings are sponsored by Vodacom.Official Representatives on the Forum
Many companies, including Neotel, Vodacom, Web Africa, iBurst and MTN, have official representatives on the forum.Controversies
In its later years mybroadband has been criticised for removing forum posts that are critical of its major advertisers who have people in management positions that are friends with moderators on the forum. The most recent of these when iBurst was accused of illegally erecting a base station. Accusations have been made of unethical behaviour when using a company also owned by the owner of mybroadband to report on site statistics for its advertisers. Competitions are regularly held which have been criticised for not adhering to any laws governing promotional lotteries or competitions.The company has also changed it's founding principle of being advertising free. In 2009 it included the incumbent Telkom as an advertiser, which was widely criticed among the membership and ultimately resulted in 2 competing forums being set up. Shortly before and after this several of the founding members left or were banned from the site which was also widely criticised on other forums and on blogs. It is now decribed as selling out to the telecoms companies and as a commercial news site that no longer has the interests of South African consumers at heart.
Related Sites and Organisations
- HellkomHellkomHellkom is an Internet parody site about Telkom, South Africa's telecommunications monopoly. It was started in June 2004 as a protest to the telecoms parastatal's excessive pricing for its services by Gregg Stirton. In April 2009, Stirton started a discussion forum named BBLounge to complement the...
- Antitrust
- BBLounge