Skaap is down and out

VoIP Service Provider Skaap is down and out after less than two years in business, despite aggressive marketing campaigns up to the end. ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) has made this shocking discovery earlier this week in a MyBroadband article.

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa) reported in September 2006 on ‘Skaap’s sheer brilliance and drive in creating a low cost call environment’ (Skaap: Sheer brilliance and drive, 19 September 2006). We also reported on Skaap’s eagerness to take Telkom head-on in the market place and quoted the MD of Skaap, Brett Magrath, as saying that interest... “in the Skaap service has been phenomenal and is rapidly growing as people realize that they don’t necessarily require an ADSL line to make cheap international calls. Our rate of sign-ups more than double on a weekly basis. We are simply responding to the great demand for cheaper international calls that exists in this country” (Skaap: Sheer brilliance and drive, 19 September 2006).

What happened?

Details on why Skaap closed remains sketchy because Skaap representatives not only failed to comment on the reasons for failure, but also seem to have different ideas on whether Skaap is closed or not when MyBroadband contacted them earlier this week. Skaap representative, Keri Davies, however commented that Skaap was “working on new things” when MyBroadband contacted them again. Rumours that the company has failed to refund users who still had funds in their accounts will not sit well with consumers in South Africa. “Working on new things” is not going to restore the public’s trust in you if these rumours are true.

The Skaap case serves as an excellent example of how easily things can change in the SA telecoms market, especially when you lose the trust and support of The Average Joes. A lesson Telkom is currently learning the hard way.

The ADSL South Africa Team