Editor responds to Kaya FM comments
Editor defends her column and denies it has racist undertones.
UPDATE: 24 June 2014, 12:45pm –Recently our Editor in Chief Megan McLean came under fire from Kaya FM for her column about Free Wi-Fi in taxis not benefiting the masses.
Kaya FM feel that the majority of commuters do have Wi-Fi enabled smartphones and will benefit greatly from the initiative.
But let’s take a look at the facts according to internet matters:
- There is currently a smartphone explosion taking place in the country and cellphone networks report 63million active accounts, making for cellular penetration of 126 percent; a consequence of widespread use of dual-SIM cards. World Wide Worx research shows true individual penetration to be about 80 percent, with 40million South Africans using phones.
- Around 10 million phones are sold in South Africa every year and it is estimated that smartphones account for around half of this number.
- A report released at the end of May by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) estimates that 20 million South Africans own smartphones which is an increase of 32 percent from last year, but warn that in 2014 we can expect only a 27 percent growth rate.
- By the end of 2014 we can expect around 25 million South Africans to own smartphones – which is about 48 percent of our population.
So although around 52 percent of South Africa won’t benefit from the scheme, what should really be up for debate is the amount of data allocated to these taxis.
In an article posted on mybroadband.co.za Vodacom provides a per-platform breakdown of average data usage for November 2011:
– iOS: 219MB/month
– BlackBerry: 169MB/month
– Android: 153MB/month
With a reported 15 million taxi commuters daily, will the 200MB of data allocated to each taxi be enough to even service those with smartphones?
Scroll down to listen to the accusations made by Kaya FM.
Initial report: 24 June 2014, 10:30am Radio station Kaya FM has accused the editor of the Rosebank Killarney Gazette, Megan McLean, of being uninformed in suggesting that only the minority would benefit from Wi-Fi in taxis.
This after the radio station asked listeners to share their thoughts on her column, “What’s free Wi-Fi with no connection?” published in the week ending 20 June.
The station also posted on their Facebok page:
Last week Santaco announced that they will be introducing Wi-Fi in all taxis. The editor of the Rosebank Killarney Gazette is questioning whether the “people who need the service are really going to be getting it?” She is concerned with the fact that the masses may not have access to smartphones which are normally owned by the elite. Business Tech states that smartphone usage is on the rise in the country with an estimated 20 million users, compared with the 52.98 million population of South Africa. Do you think she has a point? Or maybe she just doesn’t know the market? Share your thoughts.
However, many appeared to have interpreted the article as being racist and fired back at the editor saying that she does not know what she is talking about.
McLean responded, “The column does not mention race or whether the people in question are employed or not. The facts remain, not everyone has a smartphone, and while I agree there are many taxi commuters who do use smartphones and are connected – the masses are not.
“The column mentions that according to a report, there are 20 million people in the country who have smartphones. That’s not even 50 percent of the population – so yes, those who are connected are the elite few. When you think of the millions of South African’s who use taxis on a daily basis, you cannot assume they all have smartphones.
“The presenters of the show question if I know the market…? I put the question back to them – do they really know the market? Just because they have seen someone in a taxi with a smartphone, does not mean all, or the majority of taxi commuters have them – that is stereotyping at best. Maybe those without smartphones need to come tell us what they think… wait, sorry, they can’t access the free Wi-Fi so probably don’t know this debate is taking place.”
Do you think the editor was being racist?’
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Why must everything always come down to race? Sure we will get free Wi-Fi, but will the connection be strong or regular enough so we can access our Facebook / mail / Twitter / Google?
The editor wasn’t be racist at all, and wow if 4 year olds are running around with smart phones – then obviously I am in the wrong business!
I will agree that smart phones are more readily available to the masses now more than ever, but there are also a large majority of the population that don’t know how to access free Wi-Fi. And 20% isn’t half the population, falling into that Elite percent doesn’t mean they are all “White”.
So it isn’t a case of saying that the “Black” market don’t have smartphones – it’s a case of saying that maybe having a slow connection won’t benefit anyone, be they yellow, pink or green with a smartphone.
We need to stop jumping on the race bus (in this case taxi) – it’s so a few decades ago . . .
I am so tired of everything coming down to race. What if instead of being white Megan was black what would the debate have been about then?
Wa gaaafa mosadi yo, she really needs to travel in a taxi just for a day and she’ll see how the taxi life is and what people do and what type of cell phones they are using.
Ha ke sa bua ka bana ba sekolo…
Editor, the surveys you quote make for an interesting read. But you may deny all you want but you did imply smartphones are for the elite. Do another survey in a taxi rank and township. You will be shocked at tne amount of smartphones that are there. There is no shame in admitting that you wrote about somehing you know nothing about.
This is not racism. Its pure ignorance from the writer. The best and most fancy smartphones are among public transport users.
When you build a road, you dont have to give every person a car. Free wifi is a step in the right direction. Its everywhere these days and doesnt come with a condition that “enter these premises only if you have a smartphone to access our free wifi’.