1st time ADSL user

Doom5003

Doom5003

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Hi guys,
Firstly I know there are some threads about this but most of them seem quiet old and times and tech has changed over the years.

I’ll be buying a house, my first one!! It already has a telephone line so that is good news. I am not entirely sure whether it has been adsl enable, but let’s presume that it hasn’t.
The line is prepaid so I know I’ll firstly have to switch it over to monthly. Do I have to contact Telkom to do this and what is the procedure?

And since the line isn’t on my name, is there any documents that I and the owner have to complete to transfer it on to my name or does he have to cancel and then I reapply for a new line? Don’t think the owner will be using his telephone number at his new premises.

And last question, if the phone port/line is far away from where my PC will be, what are the best options to get the connection close to my PC? Have router at phone port and then long network cable to PC or run telephone line extender to pc and have router next to PC.

Internet will be used for gaming, and as such having the lowest ping is preferred.
 
Doom5003 said:
Hi guys,
Firstly I know there are some threads about this but most of them seem quiet old and times and tech has changed over the years.

I’ll be buying a house, my first one!! It already has a telephone line so that is good news. I am not entirely sure whether it has been adsl enable, but let’s presume that it hasn’t.
The line is prepaid so I know I’ll firstly have to switch it over to monthly. Do I have to contact Telkom to do this and what is the procedure?

And since the line isn’t on my name, is there any documents that I and the owner have to complete to transfer it on to my name or does he have to cancel and then I reapply for a new line? Don’t think the owner will be using his telephone number at his new premises.

And last question, if the phone port/line is far away from where my PC will be, what are the best options to get the connection close to my PC? Have router at phone port and then long network cable to PC or run telephone line extender to pc and have router next to PC.

Internet will be used for gaming, and as such having the lowest ping is preferred.
Click to expand...

You should see if there is FTTH in your neighbourhood just to never deal with Telkom again.
 
Raphael123 said:
You should see if there is FTTH in your neighbourhood just to never deal with Telkom again.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately no, 10MB ADSL line speed is what I qualify for. According to Telkom ADSL checker.
 
Doom5003 said:
And last question, if the phone port/line is far away from where my PC will be, what are the best options to get the connection close to my PC? Have router at phone port and then long network cable to PC or run telephone line extender to pc and have router next to PC.
Click to expand...
Congratulations on the new house :)

If both options are convenient, I'd keep the phone cable as short as possible and rather have a long network cable run. It doesn't make too much of a difference, though. Our telephone extension is around 35m, and we still have good stats on the ADSL line.
 
dj_jyno said:
Congratulations on the new house :)

If both options are convenient, I'd keep the phone cable as short as possible and rather have a long network cable run. It doesn't make too much of a difference, though. Our telephone extension is around 35m, and we still have good stats on the ADSL line.
Click to expand...

Thanks, buying a house now and getting married early next year really empties the wallet.
Wouldnt have the router close at hand be better, incase i had to reset it or something? And the telephone line is much smaller is size and thus easier on the eyes. Ill most likely be run the cable through the ceiling.
Got any info regarding transfer of ownership of said line?
 
Doom5003 said:
Thanks, buying a house now and getting married early next year really empties the wallet.
Wouldnt have the router close at hand be better, incase i had to reset it or something? And the telephone line is much smaller is size and thus easier on the eyes. Ill most likely be run the cable through the ceiling.
Got any info regarding transfer of ownership of said line?
Click to expand...

im running a 10m phone cable. and a shorter network cable. i find that a bit more convenient, but ill have to check if having a longer telephone line would cause issues, so will go and buy a longer network cable as well, and then try the shorter phone cable and the see if there is a difference.
 
Icemanbrfc said:
im running a 10m phone cable. and a shorter network cable. i find that a bit more convenient, but ill have to check if having a longer telephone line would cause issues, so will go and buy a longer network cable as well, and then try the shorter phone cable and the see if there is a difference.
Click to expand...

Thanks man, that would be much appreciated. I am looking for the best solution that would garner me the best latency and wifi, no matter how far it has come in the last few years, still can’t beat a cable connection.
 
Doom5003 said:
Wouldnt have the router close at hand be better, incase i had to reset it or something? And the telephone line is much smaller is size and thus easier on the eyes. Ill most likely be run the cable through the ceiling.
Click to expand...
I've had clients using 20m Ellies phone extension cables during remodelling with no loss of performance but it would be better to get Telkom to relocate the jack when they do the pre/postpaid conversion & installation.
 
MickZA said:
I've had clients using 20m Ellies phone extension cables during remodelling with no loss of performance but it would be better to get Telkom to relocate the jack when they do the pre/postpaid conversion & installation.
Click to expand...

I also thought that would be the best option. But since there's already a phoneline, do they still need to come out to do installation? When applying for adsl ill be doing the self install, cant be more difficult than building a custom pc.
 
Doom5003 said:
I also thought that would be the best option. But since there's already a phoneline, do they still need to come out to do installation? When applying for adsl ill be doing the self install, cant be more difficult than building a custom pc.
Click to expand...
It's important to remember that Telkoms line maintenance responsibility ends at their jack/s, you'll be charged for call-outs due to problems caused by DIY wiring beyond that.
 
MickZA said:
It's important to remember that Telkoms line maintenance responsibility ends at their jack/s, you'll be charged for call-outs due to problems caused by DIY wiring beyond that.
Click to expand...

O okay, ill then ask them to move it. Dont mind paying. Just hope it doesnt take weeks for them to come and move it. Not sure if Upington Telkom is on the same level as other towns.
 
Doom5003 said:
O okay, ill then ask them to move it. Dont mind paying. Just hope it doesnt take weeks for them to come and move it. Not sure if Upington Telkom is on the same level as other towns.
Click to expand...
I find the guys in the smaller centres (that includes PE :)) to be very responsive and nice to deal with.
 
I moved into a new house recently.

When applying for a new line I was told it takes less time to physically get a new line installed (21 working days) then to transfer from one owner to another (3-4 months). This made no sense because it takes less time for Telkom to come out to my house and install an entire new cable then to push a few buttons on a computer!!

Applied for a new line 2 weeks before moving into the house, waited another week before phoning and escalating the installation (it was done the next day).

The Telkom guys that came out moved the jacks to where I wanted them, did numerous test on the line and stabilized it at 10mb/s because it could barley sync at 4 but they got it right at the end.

Other then a 3 week long wait it was a pretty easy process and the Telkom guys I got were good at what they did. I didn't even pay for the installation.

Other then Axxess being down for 2 days I haven't had any downtime in 4 months.
 
Last edited:
I was kinda new to ADSL as well here (originally from the UK). So many things you have to do.

I first called Telkom, I was on pre paid and changed my line to post paid, then I had to "rent" an ADSL line.

From there, I chose my packag, got my router and that's it.

As for gaming, I can't find any ISP yet that has low latency, but I mostly game on EU servers with my mates from London.

Currently on a 4mbps premium uncapped with MWEB and I hate it for gaming.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. Now just waiting for my home loan to clear coming week and then ill call telkom and get everything sorted. Cant wait to finally have ADSL. Been using 3G for a long time and while gaming on it isnt all that bad, FPS really suck.
 
Doom5003 said:
Thanks man, that would be much appreciated. I am looking for the best solution that would garner me the best latency and wifi, no matter how far it has come in the last few years, still can’t beat a cable connection.
Click to expand...

had a look, i didnt see much difference from either a longer phone cable or a longer network cable. so its up to you, which you woudl prefer. Personally think a shorter network cable would be better
 
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