so... is anyone actually using this?

and what's it like?

I'm currently a Sensuck customer and I can't get ADSL (no open ports on theexchange and I'll be damned if I am going to phone THEM every month and reapply until a port becomes available one freakin' day [!]) so... I have to find something else...

I was going to get ADSL, so I've made peace with the 3Gig cap and from what I understood from iBurst's site, you can buy extra bandwidth, as with Telkom.

Is this worth it, or is it going to turn out to be another Sentech?

That is the question...

<hr noshade size="1"><font size="1"><i><div align="right"><font color="red">one day we will all look back at this... laugh nervously... and change the subject...</font id="red">
MyWireless256 on tower82(mintek).randparkridge.jhb|sig:9%|node:3|snl:0%|ber:28%</div id="right"></i></font id="size1">

#1 The cap is not implemented yet, they're still deciding.
#2 There is a pre-launch phase, you rock up at the SABC buildings (obviously, calling before you do is cool) go to floor 21 and get your modem and username/password, for R454 if you take the 24 month contract, having the option to buy the modem lateron and switch to a month to month basis.
#3 The speeds are great, single threaded locally = 116kb/s, single threaded internationally is bursting, so you'll get anything from 11-98kb/s. Obviously torrents saps most of the wonderful 1mbps bandwidth you're getting, thus full speeds internationally.
#4 Ping times are VERY nice, between 400-600ms internationally and around 100ms locally, no packet loss if you're not downloading heavily.
#5 VPN access is a dream, faster than ADSL and MUCH faster than 512k Sentech (anything is faster, but this ZOOMZ!)

These are the selling point I REALLY love...
#6 Signal is anywhere from 80-100% for me, moving my modem around doesn't even make it lose any signal strenght, with Sentech, you move your modem 5cm and lose all signal, plus, standalone modem never got more than 30% (from what I've seen) signal strenght, whereas iburst doesn't even try. I get signal where Sentech NEVER could reach, this is FREAKING cool.
#7 You call support desk, a human IMMEDIATLY answers your call. You ask "I live in xxx, and I can't connect" Their answer, "Oh, I see that tower is down, there was a power failure and they're trying to restore it now", unlike Sentech's "Em, I have to ask 2nd level support and call you back"
#8 They can, at this stage, support around 2000 people downloading/uploading at full speed before the service sees any degradation. Yes, everyone downloading/uploading @ 1024kbps/385kbps

They're fast, effecient, approachable and KNOWS THEIR TECHNOLOGY. If the call centre person doesn't know an answer, he/she IMMEDIATLY finds out for you without you having to wait longer than 2 minutes. And if it will take longer, they ALWAYS call back in 10 minutes time.

There is no real bad points I can think of right now, I feel they're on the right path, yet, everything was like this with Sentech, however, Sentech was more secretive about what they were doing, and the pre-launch phase lets anyone with 500 bucks join up until their official launch. I personally feel if they can hit 3500 customers in the prelaunch phase BEFORE they launch and really test it, they'll have one up on Sentech (well, they already have a FEW up) because Sentech's total subscriber base peaked at 3400 users.

I'm making myself wet, so I will stop...

I've cancelled ADSL application and my Sentech connection...

Even if iburst implements a cap, I'd love to stay with them, because they treat me right (for now) and their support staff know what they're doing... (trust me, after the Sentech support desk I hammered them with DIFFICULT questions)

Oh, and they're very customer orientated, I had the unfortunate mishap of having to wait @ SABC's security for more than 30 minutes while someone was suppose to run down a piece of paper releasing the modem from the building (I didn't even know I had to have one and didn't bother asking them, so if you going to fetch yours remember that!)

Apparently there was a whole stir in WBS about this incident, and it made me feel quite good (and bad at the same time for the poor guy that got ***ked out) that a company would treat me as their only customer and take even me waiting 30 minutes very seriously.

Noone, just so I'm clear, is that 116kb/s (14.5kB/s) or 116kB/s locally?

lol, 116kb/s as in 928kbps

and thats not just locally, I'm pulling that (and sometimes more) internationally...

thats 9.76 meg every 1 minute 30 seconds if you were wondering....

So you would reach your 3G Cap in 7.86 Hours?
Heheheheh.

no cap

There will be.

No cap YET. Personally I'm going to wait and see what their final packages are. I understand that they probably do need a cap at this point until they have more people on board, however I'm hoping that they will relax it a bit. Even a 5 gig cap would make it more attractive than ADSL.

Thanks for the feedback noone. I'm actually quite impressed that even given all the heat WBS have received here they've remained quite calm, professional and CUSTOMER FOCUSED. It would appear they've learned from the Sentech saga that people are not going to put up with shoddy service anymore.

Agreed. Theoretically at this current speed you can download 9GB per day = 270GB per month.

How much will WBS need to pay Telkom for that bandwidth usage for that one month period. Probably quite a bit more than the subscription fee that they get from one subscriber. Added to that some cost for overheads, support, maintenance, profit etc. etc. Even though they might have other low bandwidth users that could help to subsidise the one power user it still doesn't make financial sense.

So they will have to find a method to throttle back high bandwidth users, and the easiest way is a cap.

IMHO a better way would be to have a Pay As You Go system. It works for cellphones, why not for internet bandwidth.

Yup, I suggested that pay as you go system on another thread. also mentioned that you can buy a "base" package and then add on to it as you feel nessacary, so if you know your average bandwidth usage a month is around 9 gig, but they have a package of 1gig/3gig/5gig you're able to buy, for instance, package with 5 gig, and then add on 4 gig extra, so they automatically bill you end of the month for 5+4 gig and you have a custom catered package suiting YOUR needs. Plus, any extra gig you don't use will work like free minutes, it will go over to the next month, so your low usage this month would subsidise your high usage next month.

anybody know when iburst plumstead, cape town site is going live ?

The rollout is planned for 1st Quater 2005, but I have a suspicion they have already started building the towers

*mouth drools*

Laughs at Sentech."HA HA losers"

So how is the audio steaming compared to CrapTech.


Google is so smart,I typed in Hellkom and guess what google said

Don`t you mean.....&lt;insert evil laugh&gt;
TELKOM!

The only thing I still have an issue with is that if you are buying a set amount of bandwidth there should not be such aggressive shaping on all non-standard ports and protocols and certainly not a limit on the speed.

noone- what about switching packages at a later stage - will this be possible?

If all of this is true I am phoning these people on Monday. Doesn't compare to any other service available atm.

Off topic - which is better pcmcia or standalone - I want to work in linux?

"Broadband in SA is like the holy grail - everybody knows what it is but nobody has ever found it"

ok, i can tell you that on the cd that wbs had burned & waiting for me (after i faxed application form through) on Friday afternoon, the only drivers/install programs were for Mac, Win2K(P) & WinXP.

That means you will have to ask them about Linux, but you already know that since it wasn't on the cd it probably means it doesn't exist yet. Having said that they are Kyocera drivers so a visit to that website might reveal more info (albeit in Engrish/Japanese - maybe).

As to the choice between UTC(PCMCIA) and UTD(esktop), that's a personal choice you would make to suite your own needs and your budget if you are taking the 30day notice contract and buying a modem.

I suppose you could always get a pc card adapter thingy for your desktop pc and switch a UTC in & out between notebook & pc...

Thx ic, I think i will get the UTC since I will be using a laptop at my new job. I'll get a pci adapter card for my desktop. I will be connecting to remote sites.

I am seriously considering getting this - they must just not disappoint me like sentech.

I am willing to pay for the following package:
R599 p/m 24 month contract with option to buy modem at any stage.
Speed : 1Mbps
Int cap : 5 GB with option to buy 1GB top-ups
Local : uncapped
Port shaping and prioritisation : Not really to sure how this works - but make at least e-mail,http,ftp,vpn,streaming possible.

Is WBS monitoring this forum?

"Broadband in SA is like the holy grail - everybody knows what it is but nobody has ever found it"

Perdition : It does not seem like they shape non-standard ports that aggressively. My SQL Server in Denver runs on a non-standard port 1533, and used to time out with Sentech's 512k package, even ADSL 512k (My junior programmer and I work alot during weekends *sigh*) But with iburst it doesn't.

playkiller no2 : Haven't tested streaming yet, but if you look at the pings I'm getting to overseas I'm sure you won't have any trouble. In fact, why not give a few streaming audio sites for me to test out for you and I'll gladly report back.

aborg : Switching packages is a reality, I've already asked them about buying the modem upfront and then changing to a month2month contract (after signing the 24 month contract) and they said "No Problem!"

Depends what you want to do with the modem. I have a UTD (Desktop) and I'm quite happy. The UTC is cool if you have a laptop and want to be connected at your local pub or driving down the N1 at 188km/h (this have been tested btw) Because unlike Sentech's desktop offering, the UTD doesn't come with a battery life. So it is entirely up to you.

Regarding Linux drivers, I doubt you'll need any, because the drivers are only needed if you use the USB option (you get both the USB cable and the ethernet cable with the UTD modem) The installation for the UTD modem was pretty much easy, you plug in the ethernet cable, create a new connection (and choose create lan connection etc) and type in your username and password. That's it. So a normal PPPoE connection with Linux would work. No fancy drivers, no having to log on to a registration website to get the rights cookies, fcukall.

I'd recommend Ethernet because of the quick setup (less than 2 minutes) and no need to install drivers. Yet, if you want to monitor your signal strenght etc, you'd need to install the Iburst Terminal Monitor and do it via the USB cable, I'm still trying to figure out if you can monitor the signal via the ethernet though.

I hope this clears some things up.