Anthony Pamm, Camps Bay
I wish to express my consternation and suggest investigation in the public interest about Telkom who are replacing the long existent landline telephone service with an allegedly inferior product.
I’m also unhappy about the manner in which they are doing so.
The replacement (a chunky 3G plug-in-to-the-mains cellphone device with SIM card with a limited geographical range) is propagandised as an “upgrade” but in actuality it is inferior in a number of respects to what is being replaced.
It does not have the fax capability (a still useful and viable technology) of the existing landline service, thus making all existing fax machines obsolete.
It does not provide the existing landline ability to have multiple phone stations around the house on the same phone number and monthly charge. It does not have its own electricity provision as with the existing landline service but will instead put as at the mercy of Eskom power cuts.
The new handsets are also estimated to possibly have a much larger radiation emission than those being replaced.
Persons already using the replacement service have reported maintenance of sound quality to be inferior to the previous landline service.
It is not even the latest technology since it is 3G whilst the world has moved to 5G
Notifications of the landline service being closed down are not being being sent in proper written format to account holders as they should be for people on a contract (which month-to-month still is) but instead are being delivered by SMS and telephonically by call centre agents.
In some cases the notice period given is very short, relative to the shutdown date being advised.
For example a SMS on July 9 and a telephone call on August 4 (but still no proper written notification although this has been requested) to a Camps Bay subscriber with the close down date of the landline service being advised as August 31 and a three- to four-week delivery period for the new device ( and this subscriber’s immediate neighbours with landlines stating that they have not yet received any advice at all).
Telkom was given the right of reply, but by the time this was published, they had not yet responded to our correspondence.