I’m surprised at some of the comments about the pigeon story. Very contradictory. The techies get caught up in the fact that the actual test was flawed. However, details in PR stunts are usually irrelevant anyway?

The test was flawed and everyone knows it was a publicity stunt. Yet you say the stunt “didn’t prove anything”. Of course it didn’t, that’s why it’s called a publicity STUNT to begin with. LOL.

It simply made fun of broadband in SA and simultaneously created awareness and everyone, including you, talked about it. The general awareness it created about slow broadband in SA, makes the stunt a huge success.

I agree with Mr. Jenkins, you guys completely missed the boat with Winston. For one thing, just how would you expect things will get done in your matchless country, if not through public stunts and the attendant embarrassment? Are you waiting for the incumbents to voluntarily dectuple the bandwidth for the national good? Or perhaps the regulator will crack the whip and get them all in line here. You guys need to carefully think about how far you can get on rational thought and enlightened self-interest. The goal is LOTS more bandwidth, not the amount you can get via business as usual.

The most important issues in the Winston “flap” are revealed by Telkom’s official response (which I give them some credit for). Yes, their clients shouldn’t try to use ADSL to do a leased line’s job. But the retort is obvious- the price of just the ADSL is sky-high, can you imagine how much more they’d have to pay for the business-level solution? The comparison isn’t to ADSL in any developed country, we agree on that- the point is, what call center in the UK would have to use ADSL because the price (reflecting the lack of bandwidth) was so excruciating? That’s the issue that needs to see change.

Note Telkom’s last line, looking forward to sharper competition (tongue in cheek, as if it was coming from the pigeon). You’d better hope they’re not proven correct!

Re VOIP on iPod touch – this has been possible, even with the previous generation. You simply plug in a headphone with built in microphone and dial via skype over wi-fi.

And re the pigeon. I’m surprised you guys came down so hard on the bird. It did what it was intended to do: create awareness. Even the worst rags here in Hong Kong carried the story.

Why so bitter?