Web Africa ADSL Star Ranking Frustration

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Mark.K

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Above is my report for the month yet i have moved up a star rating?? I thought it was based on an hourly rating and i have not used my ads for the past day and a bit and part of the month there were 4 days where i did not use it at all as per graph.

There new throttling process is very confusing and makes no sense at all. is it just that they put a cap on for how much can be used a month and if you come close to it you get throttled?

Could someone please tell me based on this graph why i have moved up a star level when i did not even use the internet that much this month at all?? I thought that with IS things would be better but dont seem to be the case right now.
 
AFAIK it's based on a 7 day rolling period, and just because you moved down 1 star doesn't necessarily mean you're throttled. If capacity is taking a knock, only then you will feel some extra throttling.

But this is from Web Africa. They lie (or, left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing) and the best way is just to see what happens. If you're not happy with your speed etc, change to someone else. Like MWEB, who I know doesn't have rolling windows and star rating bull****. Yes, you pay a bit more for it, but goedkoop koop is gewoontlik *** koop
 
Mark.K said:
View attachment 44357

Above is my report for the month yet i have moved up a star rating?? I thought it was based on an hourly rating and i have not used my ads for the past day and a bit and part of the month there were 4 days where i did not use it at all as per graph.

There new throttling process is very confusing and makes no sense at all. is it just that they put a cap on for how much can be used a month and if you come close to it you get throttled?

Could someone please tell me based on this graph why i have moved up a star level when i did not even use the internet that much this month at all?? I thought that with IS things would be better but dont seem to be the case right now.
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

Our star rating system is not based on an hourly evaluation system. Your rating is affected by your current/total usage, network capacity, and type of account (i.e: 1mbs, 2mbs, etc).

I would like to have a look into your particular account to see if I can pick up anything out of the ordinary. Please PM me your customer code so that I may investigate.
 
AcidRaZor said:
AFAIK it's based on a 7 day rolling period, and just because you moved down 1 star doesn't necessarily mean you're throttled. If capacity is taking a knock, only then you will feel some extra throttling.

But this is from Web Africa. They lie (or, left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing) and the best way is just to see what happens. If you're not happy with your speed etc, change to someone else. Like MWEB, who I know doesn't have rolling windows and star rating bull****. Yes, you pay a bit more for it, but goedkoop koop is gewoontlik *** koop
Click to expand...

Hi AcidRazor,

We do not use the 7 day rolling window any longer which we stated at the beginning of the migration to our new network. You are more than welcome to read through our FAQ thread on our forums at link below:

http://forums.webafrica.co.za/showthread.php/11440-Web-Africa-Network-Upgrade-FAQ
 
Never get uncapped from a provider who said it's not sustainable. Rather go for an ISP that cares about offering a decent service and not just fleecing their customers.
 
You said "Your rating is affected by your current/total usage...", does "total usage" mean it takes into account my monthly usage, or the usage since I've been on the IS network, or some other time period?

Are you saying that your 'current' time frame is dynamic? If not, can you explain "current" usage, because to me the term "current" cannot possibly mean instantaneous in this case, since then the star rating would fluctuate hourly, which it doesn't.

Seems to me like some kind of predictive control system, which would explain why the OP's star rating decreased after spiking his usage, even after a period of non-use, and why my rating increased after a decrease in downloading for 4 days. WAMarchUsage.jpg

Note: most of the month I was on 3 stars, it went down to 2 stars somewhere around the 10th (I don't know when it went back to 3*), and went to 4 stars on the 26th, which is where I still am at the moment.

To the OP, I think it will be more to your liking if you don't spike your usage, but from what I've seen, your rating should improve in 1-2 days time.
 
Zewp said:
Never get uncapped from a provider who said it's not sustainable. Rather go for an ISP that cares about offering a decent service and not just fleecing their customers.
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When did we say that we are not sustainable? Maybe you can elaborate on your points so I can have a proper understanding of what you mean.
 
AcidRaZor said:
I did, but then I also read statements from other WA staff that mentions the use of a 7 day rolling period
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Can you forward me the links to where WA Staff refer to a 7 day rolling window please.
 
this is what i read from a link you gave:

Do rolling windows still exist?
No they don't.
We calculate your uncapped usage on an hourly basis, which we compare to all usage done across all Home Uncapped services.

but here you just said

Hi Mark,

Our star rating system is not based on an hourly evaluation system. Your rating is affected by your current/total usage, network capacity, and type of account (i.e: 1mbs, 2mbs, etc).

its very confusing what is it?
 
My usage on 2mb home uncapped is 206GB so far, 4*.
If it was overall for the month, we would get a fresh star rating at the beginning of the month, which I didn't (I started March on 3*).
 
You've learned your lesson, now just cancel the account and move to someone like Telkom Uncapped.

Don't deal with this ****, and don't support them.
 
I'm not sure how much of the total usage it really looks at... I have used 393GB this month and I am on 4 stars - when I hit 370gb I was dropped to 1 star and for about a week I could barely use the net - so after using a different ADSL account for a week I'm back on 4 stars and 393gb on a 4MB uncapped.
 
WAJustinW said:
When did we say that we are not sustainable? Maybe you can elaborate on your points so I can have a proper understanding of what you mean.
Click to expand...

Back when Mweb launched their uncapped, you guys said uncapped was not sustainable. A year later you guys launch one of the worst uncapped products in the country with some of the most horrendous shaping and usage thresholds. Meanwhile, a year later Mweb has one of the best uncapped products in the country with very lenient shaping thresholds and no throttling (or 'deprioritization,' as you like to call it).

That's why I say don't get uncapped from a provider who has in the past said uncapped is not sustainable, because then you get to deal with the sub-par kind of product you guys have.
 
Mark.K said:
i have downloaded 46 gigs so far for the month
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That is wrong IMO because like I said I got to about 68GB's and only then received my 4 star rating. I'm not sure how the star rating is actually calculated because I'm assuming it just comes down to how much you have downed in the month so far.

whatwhat said:
You've learned your lesson, now just cancel the account and move to someone like Telkom Uncapped.

Don't deal with this ****, and don't support them.
Click to expand...

Every ISP has a AUP, Webafrica as just very upfront about theirs so you know when to stop.
 
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my main problem is that it seems difficult to understand what is allowed and what is not. on the old system i knew i had a 7 day rolling window so could sort of budget my uncapped account but now its not clear and i dont feel like i have been abusing the line.
 
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