Sentech wil Tekom op diens aanvat

Uit gister se Beeld:

Mnr. Gladwin Marumo, uitvoerende hoof, het gesê Sentech gaan nie met prys teen Telkom meeding nie, maar deur uitstekende diens en betroubaarheid van dienste. "Ons sal aanvanklik VSTAR op vertikale markte toespits en op dienslewering fokus. Alle nuwe produkte sal binne 10 dae geïnstalleer word."

http://www.news24.com/Sake/Maatskappye/0,,6-100_1408764,00.html

It really grieves me that Telkom has been the South African Service Provider for so long, and yet they fail to even compare to international standards. They seem to be sliding down further and further.

We will have to wait and see what Sentech has to offer for household users. I for one cannot afford to pay R3000+ per month for a gaming connection. Even a 1000 bucks is a bit heavy.

If Sentech has a good service for private users with no limit and good service, they can have my money any day.

Well, without a question "superior service" is what this country needs - in just about every industry, not only Telco. Though business has the greater need, I hope they target the home user market too.

You have to remember though, the contention ratio on that Sentech connection is 50:1, that means that during periods of high congestion (which is VERY possible at 512k), you're going to end up with performance rivalling capped ADSL anyway.

Thats 50 people paying R3000pm for 512K of shared bandwidth (which means Sentech is effectively charging R150000 for 512K) - for those of you keeping count, 512K Diginet at a contention ratio of 2:1 (or is it 1:1) goes for R25,566.00 from MegaLAN. Thats a 587% markup compared to a far better performing Diginet connection.

While Sentech has gone to great pains to appeal to the "non technical" person (ie. someone who knows nothing about contention ratios/bandwidth overselling) by throwing around terms like "no cap" and "high performance" thereby painting an extremely rosy picture at a "mere" R3000pm - if you look at it closer it starts looking distinctly biased towards profit over functionality.

While it's perfectly fair to state that for the end user, it IS a cheaper option than 512K Diginet (approx. least 8x less expensive), compare it on a value->value basis and you realise that Diginet ends up being less expensive by almost 6x.

It'll have customers, but to me it smells like a ripoff.

What I meant to point out tho with regards to the post (which I neglected to do), is that if a company such as MegaLAN can offer Diginet at R25,566.00 per month for 512K and still make a profit (one would think), then why is Sentech charging 6x the amount for the same size - if one thinks about it, the prices for those WiFi connections could be 5x less expensive (R600) at 50:1 contention and they would still be able to pay for the connection and be profitable.

Does any know know whether the sentech offering is pure international bandwidth only? And if not, where do they actually peer in SA??

I agree with Tharaxis.

It really irks me when companies like this publish "product specifications" in laymans terms as per Tharaxis' post.

What is actually needed is a SLA (Service Level Agreement) stating:
1. Uptime gaurantee with regard to service availability
2. Throughput gaurantee (to the local peering point as well as to their International landing point) in Kbps
3. Latency gaurantee (again by local & International) in milliseconds
4. Refund / credit policy when any of the above fall below the stated specification of the product they are selling

By knowing the above you know EXACTLY what you are paying for and have 3 key metrics by which to measure the service.

ALL telco providers (but in this case specifically ISP's) should have a SLA with their products...

My 2c worth...

<font color="purple"><font color="purple">Some info from a connection @ Sentech</font id="purple">Hope it is usefull!!!</font id="purple">
<font color="black">You have to remember though, the contention ratio on that Sentech connection is 50:1, that means that during periods of high congestion (which is VERY possible at 512k), you're going to end up with performance rivalling capped ADSL anyway. </font id="black"> <font color="red">The contention ratio for this specific product (more will be introduced shortly) is indeed 50:1. At the worst case scenario the min. thruput will be 10kbps - that is complete end to end , and not to the port on the DSLAM as measured by Telkom. I need add that the accepted norm in terms of a contended service is approx. 50% concurrent usage (a fact based on Internet trends). Thus the "norm" would be significantly faster than ADSL uncapped!. </font id="red">
Thats 50 people paying R3000pm for 512K of shared bandwidth (which means Sentech is effectively charging R150000 for 512K) - for those of you keeping count, 512K Diginet at a contention ratio of 2:1 (or is it 1:1) goes for R25,566.00 from MegaLAN. Thats a 587% markup compared to a far better performing Diginet connection.
<font color="red">The service is guarenteed end-end as I have indicated before , thus it is not the number of concurrent users that determines the maximum contention but the 10kbps minimum thruput (note thruput not connection speed). Also the service is not a guarenteed 512kbps link but is burstable to that and is sold as such.
I need inform you that a SAIX 512K Diginet Internet access link is at 3:1 contention. I can assure you that MegaLAN will also provide contention (as a 2nd tier ISP) of a minimum of . 3:1 thus the total line is contended ata minimum of 9:1. Thus each user is guarenteed a maximum connection speed of 56kbps @ a cost of R25566.00.
Remember as well that this cost of theirs does not include a router whereas our VSTAR product has a built in router in the indoor unit as well as the satellite space segment.</font id="red">

While Sentech has gone to great pains to appeal to the "non technical" person (ie. someone who knows nothing about contention ratios/bandwidth overselling) by throwing around terms like "no cap" and "high performance" thereby painting an extremely rosy picture at a "mere" R3000pm - if you look at it closer it starts looking distinctly biased towards profit over functionality.
<font color="red">The no capping scenario is a major issue (which Telkom has initiated by their service), but this is a small matter in comparison with a non-protocol shaped service, which prevents the user from actually using their limited data download to that dictated by Telkom. Our customers can utilise the service for whatever they so desire leagaly.
Remember no limitation on their International vs Local thruput - the Internet does not have a local or international home! </font id="red">
While it's perfectly fair to state that for the end user, it IS a cheaper option than 512K Diginet (approx. least 8x less expensive), compare it on a value-&gt;value basis and you realise that Diginet ends up being less expensive by almost 6x.
<font color="red">In certain cases I believe that if a user wants a less contended Internet Access service at a premium cost then Diginet is not a bad option. That said the waiting period for Diginet is approx. 4-6 weeks in urban areas and much longer in non- urban areas. For rural connectivity it is often not "viable" as Telkom currently informs it's customers.
The Sentech VSTAR is available at any location within the footprint of South Africa and the SADC countries within 5 days from the order of such service. The cost includes full maintenance on the equipment for the duration of the contract period.</font id="red">
It'll have customers, but to me it smells like a ripoff.
<font color="red">You right it will have customers as can be seen by the number of orders been processed by the call centre on a daily basis.
We would rather look at this a win-win solution as oppossed to other operators in the market.</font id="red">

ADSL--A Damn Slow Link

A really interesting read. I must compliment you on it!

Offcourse they can have a 587% markup because there is almost no competition to drive down the price. [V]

I might be mistaken, but in this discussion, mostly based om rumour, I note the following:

The mention of contention ratio's - a no-no in the Telkom rules of talk

The mention of how the contention ratio is determined

The mention of "NoCap"

The mention of "No port prioritisation"

The mention of a level of service (10 days to install... not a rumour)

The long and short: Seems as if Sentech (and the rumours around the offering) is much less secretive than Telkom.

If the rumours (those on wireless access as well) turn to reality, I expect some interesting happenings in the next year.

Show me the SLA....