I want to cancel ADSL - what alternatives?

Just because Telkom has p*issed me off with this whole November 1 thing. Not only does it fly in the face of the ICASA report on ADSL, but it's just our resident (clearly NOT incumbent) monopoly acting like the local schoolyard bully shaking us up for our lunch-money.

I own my ADSL router, so I'll save it until someone else provides an ADSL service.

What I want to know is what my alternatives are to get:

1) Always-on internet
2) Smooth, spike-free international latency (specifically for World of Warcraft)
3) At a cost of less than (R270 (line rental) + R275 (Imaginet Freestyle+ 2000)) R545 per month.

Anyone? Oh, and who's with me??

Juice

How about not giving up, joining us and keep on fighting this issue ?!!?!?!?

That could work......

Juice : None that I know about. But get rid of the computer game requirement, and you can get Sentech's MyWireless for R600 per month all inclusive.

Juice: there is no alternative. remember, telkom is the monopoly that controls the low-latency SAT3 cable.

So there's no real alternative? That's rather sad...

As for sticking around and doing my bit, I thought this was it. I don't think Telkom gives a hoot and will continue to not give a hoot until there is some form of consumer mass action that directly affects their bottom line. If government says that broadband penetration is a priority and Telkom institutes pricing that causes people to abandon its broadband offerring en masse, then perhaps someone will take notice.

Say, isn't there a 30-day notice period for cancelling your Telkom contract? What would happen, for instance, if EVERYONE here gave Telkom 30 days' notice on their ADSL subscriptions to see if it affects the pricing? Surely, if there is any hope of achieving results, 30 days should be enough time? And should Telkom, perhaps, decide to listen to overwhelming consumer pressure, can't you then just cancel your cancellation? Just a thought. Call it a bluff. But perhaps it's the compromise between doing nothing and doing something...

Juice

Well neither iburst or sentech are really gonna help you there. If youve got a really good connection with one of these providers it might just satisfy you, but probably not. Dont think there are any other options besides the small wireless operators for you and they have the same problem as Iburst, high latency, high(ish) cost...

Juice said:

Say, isn't there a 30-day notice period for cancelling your Telkom contract? What would happen, for instance, if EVERYONE here gave Telkom 30 days' notice on their ADSL subscriptions to see if it affects the pricing? Surely, if there is any hope of achieving results, 30 days should be enough time? And should Telkom, perhaps, decide to listen to overwhelming consumer pressure, can't you then just cancel your cancellation? Just a thought. Call it a bluff. But perhaps it's the compromise between doing nothing and doing something...

Juice

Click to expand...

Was thinking the exact same thing last night

Knowing Telkom they would probably see everyone cancelling as a sign that they should not be selling ADSL and cancel the whole concept. They have threathened to do this before.

yah and fight with them when they say uhm 'The cancellation order is already thru', how much effort does it take to un-cancel an order ?

Well it would certainly be funny if you cancelled your adsl, they lifted the cap and then you had to re-apply for it