Uncapped / Unlimited International Bandwidth

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buster

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Guys, sorry for starting a new thread, I have done some searching through the forum, and cannot find anything that answers my question.

I am moving to South Africa next month from the US and I am not familiar with what is available in SA, I see that there are SP's that offer uncapped ADSL, my question is whether this is uncapped international (unlimited downloads from servers in the US)? As I will be transferring gigs of data between SA and the US.

So if you could please help me with info on whether an uncapped international is available, and who offers the best and fastest international service - cost is not an issue.

Thanks for your help, and I look forward to coming to SA and joining the fight against Telkom for better service!
 
buster said:
Guys, sorry for starting a new thread, I have done some searching through the forum, and cannot find anything that answers my question.

I am moving to South Africa next month from the US and I am not familiar with what is available in SA, I see that there are SP's that offer uncapped ADSL, my question is whether this is uncapped international (unlimited downloads from servers in the US)? As I will be transferring gigs of data between SA and the US.

So if you could please help me with info on whether an uncapped international is available, and who offers the best and fastest international service - cost is not an issue.

Thanks for your help, and I look forward to coming to SA and joining the fight against Telkom for better service!
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Greetings buster - what part are you coming from?

Telkom runs the ADSL network here across the board so you're limited, currently at least, to 512/256 ADSL - sux eh. There are various uncapped options available but the services seem unstable at the moment. I've been on a uunet uncapped offering up until this month when I transfered to a 30gb SAIX account. The problem was extremely high packet loss on the international side - 25-50% at times. 30gb of quality seemed better than uncapped garbage.

Apparently there is going to be some shake up in August but for now the info circulating is mostly speculation. Chances are even if you book for an installation on the day you arrive it will be more than a month before they've tested your line and done the installation so have a hunt through the forums - you've got time! Look for posts with axxess or all-you-can-eat or ayce - they might have some pertinent info for ya.
 
Thanks for the info bwana v.2, I will be moving in from Dallas Texas and I cant WAIT! I love South Africa and love the people. Even though the communications (namely Telkom) suck - in my view it can only get better.
 
Hey Buster

Basically what Bwana said. If you are looking for stable connectivity and need to transfer gigs of data, then I recommend you look at the offerings from:They offer 30gig packages at reasonable prices (in the context of our market). If money is no object, it's possible to purchase more than 1 30gig account to satisfy your needs. There are true uncapped options available, but feedback is not that impressive. I trialled an uncapped account for 2 weeks and it was horrendous - unreliable speeds, huge packet loss etc.

There are other ISP's other than the 2 above who offer 30gig and unlimited accounts, but the 2 above are reliable and have been around long enough to earn the trust of the local community.

Other ISP's I have used and can recommend are:


If you want to go directly into the "belly of the beast", then there is no harm in getting an account from - the ISP wing of TELKOM. As was mentioned, currently they have a 3 gig caps (shaped), and 4 gig caps (unshaped). There will be some changes in August. All we have heard is that a 1 meg service will be implemented, and that there will be some changes to the capping formula.

Welcome in advance to South Africa :) !
 
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Thanks Ya'll for the information, I am assuming that I can get 2 x 30GB accounts on the same telephone line, and also for clarity this is 30GB of international bandwidth (I just found out that there is a difference there)?

Thanks again for all the info and welcome too!

Buster
 
Welcome to SA. I moved here from Germany in 1995 till 2000 and since 2003 again.
Internet is pathetic here. ADSL 512/256 is at present moment all what you can get. (Telkom is talking about 1MB, but its still for later). Uncapped and unshaped service is only available, when you are Bill Gates's son....
 
Sorry to tell you it is 30GB total bandwidth up and down. WebAfrica will also be launching a 30GB Saix account soon and they have some of the best Service I have come accross.
 
buster said:
Thanks Ya'll for the information, I am assuming that I can get 2 x 30GB accounts on the same telephone line, and also for clarity this is 30GB of international bandwidth (I just found out that there is a difference there)?

Thanks again for all the info and welcome too!

Buster
Click to expand...

Yep, 2 x 30 gig accounts on the same line i.e. use up the full 30 gigs on the one account, and then simply start using the next.

Currently the local vs international bandwidth is measured as follows: all uploads and downloads (irrespective of local or international) counts towards the cap. However, once the cap is reached - assuming 30 gigs - *only* your international connectivity is throttled. Access to local bandwidth continues as normal, with no throttle in place. One of the big talking points - which is alluded to in other threads on the forum - is that amongst the shake-ups in August is an ending of uncapped local bandwidth i.e. once you become capped, it will be for both local and international. We have no details on this yet. But many companies have found ways around the international bandwidth cap, by taking advantage of the unlimited local bandwidth by setting up proxies, VPNs etc, and it is assumed that this is the "exploit" which TELKOM wants to close.
 
You can also get unlimited 1MB dedicated line from Telkom at R130000 pm(roughly US$20000 pm). Maximum transfer speed was about 110 KB/S.. :D
 
sybawoods said:
One of the big talking points - which is alluded to in other threads on the forum - is that amongst the shake-ups in August is an ending of uncapped local bandwidth i.e. once you become capped, it will be for both local and international. We have no details on this yet. But many companies have found ways around the international bandwidth cap, by taking advantage of the unlimited local bandwidth by setting up proxies, VPNs etc, and it is assumed that this is the "exploit" which TELKOM wants to close.
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That is ridiculous! I cannot get used to the fact that Telkom has such a stranglehold and control on the whole communications sector ... who do they think they are? I read on a website that there is a SNO coming in, lets hope they show Telkom a thing or two about competition, and have the money and infrastructure behind them to make a significant dent in the industry, and offer a service that is far superior and cheaper than Telkom's is, to force Telkom to drop their prices.
 
tough luck mate.
HEllkom has slowed down s.a's progress serverly!
Maybe you can create your own connection via satelite.
its will cost 300 quid, 600 dollars or 6000 rand:eek:
 
thats only isdn mate:eek:
8mbit or 54mbit lines will cost you about 500000 rand a month,
unless your thebo mbeki, no one can afford it mate:)
 
Thanks guys for all the excellent input, it is nice to know that there are forums like this with so many people willing to help out with valuable information. You will both see and hear allot more from me in the near future, especially after I have moved in.
 
n, problem buster, im a s.a person, i currently live in london, but i dont like it here, even though i can muck around would my connection!
Im coming back in 2010 people!
for good this time!
buster welcome to the gang!
 
Thanks lilgindauk, hurry back to SA soon, its an awesome place!

As for internet connection, I have fibre running to my house 15MB, and its awesome, the internet is my hard drive - it takes longer to copy a file to my hard drive, than it does to download it. Breaks my heart to let it go, but moving to SA makes it well worth it!
 
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sno

buster said:
That is ridiculous! I cannot get used to the fact that Telkom has such a stranglehold and control on the whole communications sector ... who do they think they are? I read on a website that there is a SNO coming in, lets hope they show Telkom a thing or two about competition, and have the money and infrastructure behind them to make a significant dent in the industry, and offer a service that is far superior and cheaper than Telkom's is, to force Telkom to drop their prices.
Click to expand...


We seem to think it might sno(w) here b4 that happens.
The camels may go skate across the sahara as well :)
 
Buster, you must be aware, that Telscum is doing what they like, or at least they try...

....but since MyADSL is in place they have it a little bit tougher...*gg*
 
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