Speeds not the same as what they used to be and nothing has changed on your side?

[Dreamer]

You might be experiencing what i would call "tower speed shaping".
It has happened to me:

I have logged a call with 8ta because in Nov last year i was getting the following stats:
Download Speed: 6.39 Mbps - 7+ Mbps
Upload Speed: 1.24 Mbps - 2.5 Mbps
Latency: 69 ms

currently i am getting between:
Download Speed: 0.35 Mb/s - 3.99 Mb/s
Upload Speed: 0.21 Mb/s - 1.29 Mb/s
Latency: 80 ms

Yesterday when the 8ta Rep came around to test at my house he told me that they can add / remove speed from the towers as need be. If for example there are 10 people connecting to a tower and they are getting speeds of for example 9 Mb/s and there are 20 people connecting to another tower and they are getting 2 Mb/s, they can decrease the speed on the one tower and allocate it to the other tower.
Then he has the nerve to tell me that my internet speed is fine and the tower is performing like it should.

[Telkom Mobile]

Hi Dreamer!

We have sent a technician and the report sent back on 18/06/2012 said "Ping 40ms DL speed 4.34Mbps and Upload 3.63 Mbps is the fastest speed normally we average 2.5 Mbps download." and "Getting good speed using my modem on the customers laptop also gets good speed. The problem starts when the customer is using the Router."

It is not easy to move transmission links from one tower to the next as this is physical infrastructure.

Regards,
Social Media Team

[Dreamer]

The router issue has been sorted out thanks and it only seemed to affect the upload speeds.
my issue is that previously i was getting 7 mbps during peak time and now i am only 3mbps
this test was also run in the late afternoon (5-ish) when it is off-peak time (i assume because most pepole are in traffic) , if i was previously getting 7mbps during peak time, then i should be getting close to 7mbps during off-peak time ...

[themichalek]

Hi Dreamer

I have the same issue, it is most frustrating. I live in Blairgowrie, Randburg, Gauteng


Has 8ta got back to you about you query? Has it been fixed?

8ta, please check the towers in this area as well and let me know what the problem is.

[Tacet]

Dreamer, themichalek - 3G is a shared type of service. Meaning that you share the bandwidth on the tower with everybody else using the tower. Thus, the more subscribers 8ta gets, the slower your 3G will be. Also, the way 3G handles transmit power, the more subscribers on the tower, the weaker your signal is going to become. To make it worse, if you're on the cell edge like myself, you might at times even get disconnected from the tower.

This is why your speeds are so erratic - it depends on the number of people using the tower. Sad, but true. You'll see the same thing happening with LTE as well, when that gets here. So what you're experiencing is fairly normal network behaviour.

[SteveO]

Dreamer, themichalek - 3G is a shared type of service. Meaning that you share the bandwidth on the tower with everybody else using the tower. Thus, the more subscribers 8ta gets, the slower your 3G will be. Also, the way 3G handles transmit power, the more subscribers on the tower, the weaker your signal is going to become. To make it worse, if you're on the cell edge like myself, you might at times even get disconnected from the tower.

This is why your speeds are so erratic - it depends on the number of people using the tower. Sad, but true. You'll see the same thing happening with LTE as well, when that gets here. So what you're experiencing is fairly normal network behaviour.

Nice reply

It seems most people here still dont understand that mobile broadband is not guaranteed, its NOT a replacement for fixed line services where speeds should be guaranteed.

In the end cell c and 8ta will be in the same boat as MTN and VC

[Dreamer]

Dreamer, themichalek - 3G is a shared type of service. Meaning that you share the bandwidth on the tower with everybody else using the tower. Thus, the more subscribers 8ta gets, the slower your 3G will be. Also, the way 3G handles transmit power, the more subscribers on the tower, the weaker your signal is going to become. To make it worse, if you're on the cell edge like myself, you might at times even get disconnected from the tower.

This is why your speeds are so erratic - it depends on the number of people using the tower. Sad, but true. You'll see the same thing happening with LTE as well, when that gets here. So what you're experiencing is fairly normal network behaviour.

thanks Tacet;
Do you know how many peole i reffered to 8ta because of the awesome speeds and now i feel like i should have just kept quiet!
all the more reason why i am considering fixed line ...

[Tacet]

In the end cell c and 8ta will be in the same boat as MTN and VC

Yep - I remember the days when it was still Telkom Mobile. I could easily get 10-12 Mbps at home. Now it is down to about 1-2 Mbps. Partly my fault - a few of my friends nearby are now leaching my speed from my tower! :P

[Tacet]

thanks Tacet;
Do you know how many peole i reffered to 8ta because of the awesome speeds and now i feel like i should have just kept quiet!
all the more reason why i am considering fixed line ...

Just remember, DSL is also contended. Normally the contention ratio should be less than on 3G, but there are cases where the IMAX is simply oversubscribed. Would be interesting to see what effect Telkom's MSAN rollout will have on the congested areas. Let's hope it relieves some of those IMAXes out there a bit!

[themichalek]

SteveO

It seems that some people still do not understand that some posts are just queries and not complaints. All I requested was to see if there is a problem with the tower. Get yourself another cup of coffee and chill out.

Nice reply

It seems most people here still dont understand that mobile broadband is not guaranteed, its NOT a replacement for fixed line services where speeds should be guaranteed.

In the end cell c and 8ta will be in the same boat as MTN and VC

[Dreamer]

Just remember, DSL is also contended. Normally the contention ratio should be less than on 3G, but there are cases where the IMAX is simply oversubscribed. Would be interesting to see what effect Telkom's MSAN rollout will have on the congested areas. Let's hope it relieves some of those IMAXes out there a bit!

I suppose that i also true because i have friends that have 10m lines and they only get 4m.

[Ho3n3r]

Same here. Queried about it and got a big ass form to fill out regarding basically everything in my life just for 8ta to sort it out. Honestly not worth the trouble IMO.

[Telkom Mobile]

Hi there

If you feel your 8ta speeds are unacceptable, please report it with us and we will investigate and if there is anything wrong on the network, we will repair it. We have a template which can be used so we can report it easily.

Regards,
Social Media Team