The South African telco situation

A study by economics consulting firm Genesis Analytics, which compared the price of telecoms in 15 countries - here's how we stack up:

* Making a telephone call in South Africa costs twice as much as the international average

* Business cellphone services in South Africa cost 107% more than the global average

* Sarah Truen, a senior associate at Genesis Analytics, said: “There is evidence that price decreases have happened since 2005, [but] it is at a much slower rate than the international average.”

* The price of an international leased line in South Africa is 253% higher than the average global price

* Retail ADSL services and business ADSL services are 119% and 97% more expensive respectively

* Telkom is currently the only owner of a sub-marine data cable that connects SA with the world. The state-owned company’s exorbitant rates are forcing many major companies to route their data through neighbouring African countries

* The cost of bandwidth is 405% higher than the international average

SA was ranked against developed countries such as the US and Australia and developing countries, such as Thailand, Turkey and Brazil. The study compared the prices of nine product categories that are at the heart of the telecoms industry.