Semantics are very important. The exact words we use and the way we use them to convey messages have been discussed for centuries. My entire job is based around the words I use. I can write a 1500 word article then spend twenty minutes deliberating over the exact phrasing of a single sentence. In fact, I’ve rewritten this very editorial several times over the week.
So when I spoke to Sure CEO Alistair Beak last week following the Sure public meeting (article page 5), I took great issue when one of the topics we were discussing came down to, in his view, “semantics.”
The point he was making was about his claim that Sure are bringing you “faster internet at lower prices.”
The proposal, as reported last week, is to scrap the current packages and instead have two unlimited use internet packages. One with speeds of up to 5mbps for £50 and the second £115 for speeds of up to 15mbps.
The way Mr Beak presents this offering is that it is faster internet for lower cost because it’s “a two thirds reduction for the up to 15 mbps service.” Yes, presented in this way, it does mean higher speeds and cheaper unlimited internet.
However while semantics are important, so is reality.
Hands up if you are currently on the large or medium package, currently paying less than £115 a month, and want to take up the promise of “faster internet/lower cost”? Tough luck, you can’t. You can pay less but your internet will become slower. You can get faster internet but it will become more expensive.
People on the X-Small package are the only ones who would get faster internet whichever package they chose, but it will cost either over three times, or over seven times what they are currently paying. Faster? Yes. Cheaper? You’re having a laugh.
Mr Beak spoke about compromises, and these two packages offering a “straightfoward choice.” I would argue that at a time when the community is clamouring for freedom of choice, this barely counts for the illusion of it.
Proposals are still subject to approval and while the carrot being dangled of unlimited internet is attractive, I would urge Sure to consider including options to suit other budgets, without reducing speeds.
Mr Beak spoke at length during the public meeting and our interview about the Falklands not being able to sustain more than one telecoms provider, although it seems that telecoms consultants Cambridge MC don’t believe this to be the case (article front page). Mr Beak told the public that he hoped that this latest offering, and the utilisation of OneWeb, wasn’t “too little too late.”
However it seems quite clear that the stable door has been left banging in the wind and, much like the Yorke Bay sheep, the horse is long gone.