8ta speeds suck! Report here... [solved!]

shinji

shinji

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Yeah, I'm angry. Very much so.

I got a 10Gb contract with 8ta and enjoyed screaming high speed downloads via torrent networks (700kbps per torrent!) and very low pings (below 50ms).

That unfortunately changed.
(Sorry, no Speedtest graphic) - Yesterday I had the pleasure to see Speedtest.net report:
Ping: 26ms
Upload: 1.26mbps
Download: 0.14mbps WTF!!!???

Area: Rietfontein, Pretoria

Vodacom makes mince of these figures, and yes I tested them a few times.

I'd rather have average speed all of the time, than screaming fast speeds whenever they feel like it... :mad:

UPDATE: A lady from 8ta phoned me this afternoon (06/12/2011) and aranged for a technician to visit me at home and check the signal and connection.
They made arrangements for this to happen after hours due to my office hours and the long commute home.
Thanks 8ta!

UPDATE: An 8ta tech phoned me this morning to follow up on my complaint - it was escalated on the system yesterday.
Since my connection is just about back to where it was before the November drop, I told him all is well. He understood my concerns regarding the issues and pointed out that some towers had some problems that are fixed during maintenance.
Thanks 8ta for actually listening to us. It takes a while but it is worth it!

UPDATE: It's been a few weeks and no problems. I just killed my 10Gb in 3 days! Torrents run at 500kpbs on average.
Ordering the 10Gb Midnight Surfer extra.
Big thanks 8ta.
 
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and you have done what exactly to find out, verify and resolve the problem?
 
1.) Tested connection speeds with other SIMS in same modem - no problem
2.) Test 8ta sim & modem at different locations - no problems
3.) Use Vodacom sim in HTC Desire phone via USB & Wifi for PC connection - no problem
4.) Same as above with 8ta sim - crap.

This rant comes after 3 weeks of struggle.
And yes I phoned and yes I e-mailed....
 
I've asked around in our office area. Myself (Brooklyn), and other guys Mayville, Garsfontein, Lynwood are all reporting the same thing. Btw. these are all the people I asked (so 100% unhappiness across the clients I polled). Not a single person reported anything good. I'll ask around some more tomorrow.

Everyone is saying the same thing:
1) Slow speeds
2) Unstable -> Some times the dongle will drop the connection. Thereafter it's over, for the next 24 hours the SIM will not connect. And yes this wasted tested across multiple computers, multiple dongles. The dongle connects and immediatly drops the connection. Probably a tower fault. It has happened many times. Worst is I though it might be my SIM or just a bad tower in our area. But they've all reported this happening at some point. This is across different towers, across different SIMs.
3) Speeds never exceed 1-2mbit/s.

*sigh* Pathetic.
 
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Thanks for the reply Gnome.
Could this be an issue with Pretoria?

On a side note, my brother-in-law enjoys high speeds from 8ta - he lives on a farm outside Garsfontein.
He doesn't use the 8ta software to connect, but rather opened a 'dail up link'. He says 'click and go'.
Will test that tonight.
 
shinji said:
Thanks for the reply Gnome.
Could this be an issue with Pretoria?

On a side note, my brother-in-law enjoys high speeds from 8ta - he lives on a farm outside Garsfontein.
He doesn't use the 8ta software to connect, but rather opened a 'dail up link'. He says 'click and go'.
Will test that tonight.
Click to expand...

Not just a PTA issue, I am experiencing this in Randburg as well
 
shinji said:
Thanks for the reply Gnome.
Could this be an issue with Pretoria?
Click to expand...

Mayville isn't Pretoria, so no :p

I'll ask some of the Centurion guys tomorrow.

shinji said:
He says 'click and go'.
Will test that tonight.
Click to expand...
Depends on the dongle used but I have both an E1820 and E367, both are top end dongles. Both present the same problems. Most of the guys in the office have the E367. We all investigate a technology as a group and then everyone buys the same thing. There are probably aprox. 20 people in our section alone (the IT section for our business unit) all using 8ta, TP-Link routers and either E367 or E1820 dongles. All of them software developers (AS400/RPG, Java), all highly technical people. It isn't a case of misconfiguration IMHO.

Also I connect from a router (TP-Link), but when it goes pear shaped I test on a computer with another Dongle. Same problem. The router without doubt would use the "dial up" method you refer to. Whereas the computer connection is a "wifi adapter".

The other guys said we'll try talk about it tomorrow, the kind of things we've tried to get it working, our tests, etc. So maybe I'll learn some new tricks

What kind of dongle are you using?
 
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Gnome said:
I'll ask some of the Centurion guys tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Dead slow here tonight, was fine a couple weeks ago. I'm in Centurion out Rooihuiskraal way. Not sure if it is maybe a general thing though, as my CellC SIM won't even connect tonight. Using ZTE MF668 dongle in router.
 
Tests before 11pm - Rietfontein

Using 8ta's E173 - yeah not the best, budget issues...

A friend pointed out that we might be overly sensitive regarding the speed of the network. "8ta's been up and running a few months. There's bound to be some issues" he said. Bah! I say, Bah!

Running tests (all before 11pm). Here's some results:
8ta internet via HTC Desire (USB) - Rosebank Server
Best
1592078893.png

Worst
1592086994.png

Torrent avg speed - 7kb/s

8ta internet via HTC Desire (USB) - Pretoria Server - Benefit-of-Doubt Test
1592104645.png

8ta internet via HTC Desire (USB) - Cape Town - Benefit-of-Doubt Test
1592112878.png


8ta internet via E173 - 8ta brand (USB) - Rosebank Server
Best
There wasn't a best... Best ping was 25ms...
Usual
1592121851.png

Worst
1592124003.png


8ta internet via E173 - 8ta brand (USB) - Pretoria Server - Benefit-of-Doubt Test
1592133644.png

8ta internet via E173 - 8ta brand (USB) - Cape Town Server - Benefit-of-Doubt Test
1592139109.png


PS. Will run tests after 11pm. Connection speeds seem same regardless of using 8ta panel software or using Windows connections...
 
Apart from virtually identical speeds on Speedtest, even though it's past 11pm, my torrents are flying at 9.5kbps!

Will try using a booster tomorrow, if that doesn't work...

Does anyone know the procedure to lodge a complaint/claim regarding this deal & the CPA? :twisted:

HKGK
 
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Testing from work - Kameeldrift East (just outside Montana, Pretoria)

Rosebank Server
1592801405.png


Pretoria Server
1592805880.png


Cape Town
1592808694.png


{These results are the best ones after trying 3 times.}

Tests using Mecer USB Repeater cable:
(Using this cable usually yields an increase in CellC signal strength by 20%)

Cape Town
1592813105.png


Rosebank
1592813790.png


Pretoria
1592816155.png


Boosting the signal helps it seems, but why should I boost a signal when 8ta confirms that I am in a sweet spot of coverage?
 
CellC speeds:

Kameeldrift East using USB Repeater cable - on edge of covergae map.

Pretoria
1592846090.png


Cape Town
1592851539.png


Rosebank
1592853742.png
 
Pathetic. I have been trying to get an answer for 2 months now

8ta service reps are ignoring this problem and putting it down to poor service coverage.

To cancel you have to pay R800 + The remaining subscription payments, which is completely pointless and a rip-off.

It sounds like they have no clue what they are doing and are doing their utmost to screw the customer over. You may as well kiss your contract good by and suffer with slow speeds for duration of the contract
 
Spoken to a guy that installs cell towers today.

He said that it is shocking to see how many towers have loose cables. At some sites he manages to pull out all the cables just by brushing against them with his leg! :wtf:

Also heard that maintenance is scheduled for towers end of November - we'll have to see if this happens or changes anything...

As for now I'm going to test the speeds using the above mentioned USB Repeater cable.

If this fail, I'll have to use my 8ta 10Gb when I visit my brother-in-law and also enjoy 600-800kbps downloads... :D
 
I guess I should consider myself lucky. I'm getting much better speeds and I'm in PTA East. My speeds are even better at night.

I'm using a Huawei E367 dongle plugged into a TP-LINK TL-MR3420:
 
Richmond KZN 40km from PMB, Base Station across the road and i get 1.4mbps down and 2.8mbps up?? latency is ok at 45ms to JHB and 67ms to CPT.

But i second the Disconnection problem, can't hold a connection for very long! I battle to reconnect once it drops.

Come on 8ta sort your **** out!!!
 
Cell tower exactly 550m from my window. Almost line of sight.
Cell tower in Pierneef close too.

8ta E173 on booster cable thingy:

Rosebank:
1593806940.png


Cape Town:
1593819359.png


Pretoria:
1593825054.png


Could it be that 7.2 modems suck nads on 8ta's network?

Another question - could it be that some systems actually block or bottleneck traffic?

@daserraf - Thanks heavy! :erm: Help baie hoor!
 
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