Adsl - Confused as hell!!!

[matt loves telkom]

Im new here
Dont you love my username?
NOW - ADSL in South Africa is possibly one of the most confusing and frustrating choices i am deciding to make...

1st of all. I am desperate to get adsl as i am fed up with my dialup over the last 7 years. Now im not a download freek and wouldnt 'abuse' a privelage like dsl.id look at 192k as its always possible to upgrade right? Now with the 3 GB cap , thats like 100 mbytes a day right? Thats nothing seriously
This is my case : I have no money for a R500 modem and the Telkom Bundle is more welcoming than anything else at the moment

Should i wait !!!FOREVER!!! and get with SNO when they 'eventually' get off thier feet or would it be a SIN to sign a 2 year contract with Telkom.?
i was at my friends house and he was on 384k with Telkom. His download speeds were very impressive and all seemed great! It made me even more excited for the wonders of adsl. I have permission from my parents to get it installed and thats it. My current phone bill is +- R700 p month. normal calls dont cost more than R150. Its all the freaking dialup costs!!!!!! You know - its 50 cents everytime you dont get it. And on average i dial 5 times b4 i get in

Advice plz - This site is excellent i say. I have answered many of my questions and i see your passion of hating Telkom.lol. Also i read the newbie thread but i need your expertise...
also if i did sign with Telkom and SNO came out - Telkom would have to counter right? So i would get a little benefits

Also what would be wrong with uncapped 192 ? i would even take 128 uncapped. i am extremely patient with downloads... yall know how dialup is.lol.

Thanks and i look 4ward to your excellent and super fback

 

[thedoc!]

Go for it - sign up, however dont sign any contracts.... go for the 192k you'll most probably get 384 or 512k speeds...

Go for the self install option, and save yourself R404...

I have telkom as my ISP, however there are a lot of cheaper and better ISP's out there...

Am I happy with ADSL - hell yeah!

 

[sh1]

This is my case : I have no money for a R500 modem and the Telkom Bundle is more welcoming than anything else at the moment

You can get a modem for cheaper than that - depending on if you need a router or just say a USB modem. Personally I would try to get, save or steal the money if possible - but stay away from those contracts with Telkom... pleeease - but that's just my 2 cents [/QUOTE]

Should i wait !!!FOREVER!!! and get with SNO when they 'eventually' get off thier feet or would it be a SIN to sign a 2 year contract with Telkom.?

The problem is I don’t think the SNO will offer consumer based ADSL within the next 6 months minimum, but it would be quite SINful signing that contract. With a current phone bill at around R550 at the moment you should have the money for a R300 modem somewhere.

Also what would be wrong with uncapped 192 ? i would even take 128 uncapped. i am extremely patient with downloads... yall know how dialup is.lol..

I'm not sure what you mean by 192 uncapped - where will you get that from? All ADSL packages are capped. If your question was what wrong with 192 - I would say... nothing, it's already a great step up from dialup. I would say go for it, but if you could possibly scrap together the R300 for a modem, go that way. In the long run you'll surely be much better off.

 

[matt loves telkom]

Thanks Guys - very quick and great fback!
i wanna go for it. So i should get a modem. The router? Is that if i want to connect more pcs or what? I have a single pc and will probably have only one the house for many years 2 come. Thats why a USB modem should be better ?

Sh1 - thats not 2 cents worth. tell me all i need to know if you want.
i dont want to commit and then my phone bill is R900 a month.........!
what about self installation ? ? ? can i save R400?

 

[sh1]

Thanks Guys - very quick and great fback!
i wanna go for it. So i should get a modem. The router? Is that if i want to connect more pcs or what? I have a single pc and will probably have only one the house for many years 2 come. Thats why a USB modem should be better ?

Sh1 - thats not 2 cents worth. tell me all i need to know if you want.
i dont want to commit and then my phone bill is R900 a month.........!
what about self installation ? ? ? can i save R400?

USB modems works fine, so if you're not planning to connect more than one PC just go for the cheapest ADSL modem you can find - it's normally the USB one. Your phone bill will be R270 (monthly rental 4 ADSL192) + R250 (3GB shaped) + 81 (normal line rent) = R600 and then calls on top of that.

The R250 (3GB shaped) - you can off course get this cheaper from other ISPs, e.g. Web Africa of Openweb, etc.

 

[Gladiator]

off topic but...

say i bought a 10gb shaped account from saol (R350)

now, is that 10gb of downloads only or is it supposed to be 10gb of upload + download?

 

[HellTel]

off topic but...

say i bought a 10gb shaped account from saol (R350)

now, is that 10gb of downloads only or is it supposed to be 10gb of upload + download?

All usage is calculated on download and upload ...

 

[sh1]

off topic but...

say i bought a 10gb shaped account from saol (R350)

now, is that 10gb of downloads only or is it supposed to be 10gb of upload + download?

Up and down

 

[HellTel]

Im new here
Dont you love my username?
NOW - ADSL in South Africa is possibly one of the most confusing and frustrating choices i am deciding to make...

1st of all. I am desperate to get adsl as i am fed up with my dialup over the last 7 years. Now im not a download freek and wouldnt 'abuse' a privelage like dsl.id look at 192k as its always possible to upgrade right? Now with the 3 GB cap , thats like 100 mbytes a day right? Thats nothing seriously
This is my case : I have no money for a R500 modem and the Telkom Bundle is more welcoming than anything else at the moment

Should i wait !!!FOREVER!!! and get with SNO when they 'eventually' get off thier feet or would it be a SIN to sign a 2 year contract with Telkom.?
i was at my friends house and he was on 384k with Telkom. His download speeds were very impressive and all seemed great! It made me even more excited for the wonders of adsl. I have permission from my parents to get it installed and thats it. My current phone bill is +- R700 p month. normal calls dont cost more than R150. Its all the freaking dialup costs!!!!!! You know - its 50 cents everytime you dont get it. And on average i dial 5 times b4 i get in

Advice plz - This site is excellent i say. I have answered many of my questions and i see your passion of hating Telkom.lol. Also i read the newbie thread but i need your expertise...
also if i did sign with Telkom and SNO came out - Telkom would have to counter right? So i would get a little benefits

Also what would be wrong with uncapped 192 ? i would even take 128 uncapped. i am extremely patient with downloads... yall know how dialup is.lol.

Thanks and i look 4ward to your excellent and super fback

matt .. look at all ISPs ... ask for trial accounts ... discuss the time out sessions policy with them ... ask as many questions as you can possibly think of... then make your own choice ... but whatever you do DONT SIGN A CONTRACT WITH TELKOM OR ANYONE ELSE AS A MATTER OF FACT ... just go on a month to month basis ...

Go to Hellkom.co.za there you will get a very good lead on the existing ISPs and their current prices ...

 

[matt loves telkom]

thanks guys!!!

hellkom is the site that got me so excited bout dsl!!! all the help there and stuff. and whats the 1st thing you see there? ' DONT SIGN A CONTRACT WITH TELKOM' lol. So self installation does that save me R400?
Cauz with that R400 i could get a modem right? Yeah i dont wanna commit myself to any1 especially if its crap service.

* Another question - is it possible to lower download speed. I was thinkin of taking the 192k to download speeds of 10 kbps. THIS is slow but it will save me from KILLING my cap.lol....

BTW - Telkom dial service is ***excellent*** ! I was with Iafrica and it would take 20 times often to get connected. Telkom is quicker to get on and the speed is true 56 k!!! i was only getting 33k on Iafrica ?
Saved R60 a month plus 'flying' download speeds.

Check this out - i have been online for 26 hours now. R8 weekender special.
i have sent 30 mbytes and received a whopping 277 mbytes! Now - that tells me that id kill the adsl cap so quick. Im not all that social and i like my own quiet time and i hate the thought of having to go online sparingly.....!

Thanks agin for all the help.

 

[HellTel]

lol .. the beauty of ADSL is that you don't have to stay connected ... takes a split second to connect .. and you can connect at any time you want and as many times you want .... don't forget to cancel the R8 weekend special ... 3 gigs at first is ok but when you start to notice the speed you can download at (comparing to dial up) 3 gigs might not be enough ... start with the cheapest ISP, maybe and see from there .... cybersmart.co.za R100 for 3 gigs .... if its 192 adsl you're getting ... please remember to ask them about the time out sessions ... I consider this very important ....

 

[matt loves telkom]

Adsl may be 'pricy' but theres nothing quite like seeing a mp3 download in under minute.lol.

What are time out sessions? is this where they turn you off at specific times?
3 gigs is nothing really if you dont know sh!te about the net. but i for example enjoy downloading soccer clips and this could get the better of me.

cybersmart = R100 for 3 gigs? !!! thats crazy prices man. but you ask yourself if you would get the same speeds as Telkom?

So tell me if im wrong? Monthly costs should be R270 for line rental and R100 for 3 gigs. Plus R81 = R450! Thats a little 'cheap' if you ask me...?

also - can you tell me bout self installation. Dont you have to know exactly what youre doing... ( Sh!Te , and to think my dad knew a very good friend who was a techie at Telkom)

 

[HellTel]

Adsl may be 'pricy' but theres nothing quite like seeing a mp3 download in under minute.lol.

What are time out sessions? is this where they turn you off at specific times?
3 gigs is nothing really if you dont know sh!te about the net. but i for example enjoy downloading soccer clips and this could get the better of me.

cybersmart = R100 for 3 gigs? !!! thats crazy prices man. but you ask yourself if you would get the same speeds as Telkom?

So tell me if im wrong? Monthly costs should be R270 for line rental and R100 for 3 gigs. Plus R81 = R450! Thats a little 'cheap' if you ask me...?

also - can you tell me bout self installation. Dont you have to know exactly what youre doing... ( Sh!Te , and to think my dad knew a very good friend who was a techie at Telkom)

Speeds are identical ... they both SAIX ...

Installation is quite easy .. if you ever installed a modem you will be able to do it yourself ....

Time out sessions will be better explained by the ISP .. but it boils down to be a preventative measure that ISPs take to prevent you from going over your cap ... 3 gigs you usually get disconnected every 3 hours .. when you down to 1 gig it disconnects you every hour ... but ... you can assume responsibility for over usage with certain ISPs and the time out sessions remain every 24 hours ...

Regarding that total price (R450) yep thats the real thing .... soon to be even better we hoping .... so go for it ....

 

[HellTel]

Oh just another thing ...

GET RID OF THAT NAME​

 

[matt loves telkom]

Sorry man - im gonna ask you guys every question b4 i ask the isps.lol.

The USB modem (asdsl). how does it work. it will obviously go into a usb port.and then... would i just plug my phone line into it?
Also - what do the Telkom guys come and do at my house.? I dont have a clue. What do i need to buy and what exactly will they be doing.
Theyre not gonna arive and then all of a sudden these crappy hiddden costs start emerging from nowhere? Dont i have to buy filters or sumthing?

Cybersmart - thier website aint too great. It should give full price outlines but its very wonky.lol. Do you know how Cybersmart are? Decent service? Heard any 'horror' stories from em? lol.

Sorry - the name was a complete JOKE! I loved how worked up people get here and thought id do my part...

 

[HellTel]

Sorry man - im gonna ask you guys every question b4 i ask the isps.lol.

The USB modem (asdsl). how does it work. it will obviously go into a usb port.and then... would i just plug my phone line into it?
Also - what do the Telkom guys come and do at my house.? I dont have a clue. What do i need to buy and what exactly will they be doing.
Theyre not gonna arive and then all of a sudden these crappy hiddden costs start emerging from nowhere? Dont i have to buy filters or sumthing?

Cybersmart - thier website aint too great. It should give full price outlines but its very wonky.lol. Do you know how Cybersmart are? Decent service? Heard any 'horror' stories from em? lol.

Sorry - the name was a complete JOKE! I loved how worked up people get here and thought id do my part...

Go get your USB MODEM, comes with filters, comes with instructions, its easy trust me. (I have the USB Pots from Telkom but there are cheaper and maybe even better, not that I have ever experienced problems with mine before)

Telkom techie, if I a not mistaken, does not have to go to your premises, maybe someone can explain this part better to you, mine unfortunately was all done by Telkom, a year ago, there was not other option.

I have used CyberSmart before ... If they were useless I would not have mentioned them .. like I said ... make sure you get the adsl, get your modem then start phoning ISPs and ask them for trial accounts ... most give you a 1 hour trial account. you will see no difference between the different ISPs relating to speed .. unless you opt to go for IS or unshaped.

 

[Highflyer_GP]

my personal advice would be to go for an IS based account as opposed to an SAIX(telkom) based account. its unshaped (meaning everything gets equal priority so everything works at top speed) and the last thing you want after geting adsl is to realise how restricted you really are by a shaped account. the latency is slightly higher, but it won't affect you judging by what you're going to be using the net for unless you're going to be using it mainly for online gaming. the prices are the same as SAIX based accounts, plus you get full speed local access after your cap, as well as being able to still use international after the cap, albeit at approximately dial-up speeds. with SAIX international is completely unusable after cap, and now with hardcapping local as well is cut off. plus you the added benefit of having as little to do with telkom as possible

 

[HellTel]

my personal advice would be to go for an IS based account as opposed to an SAIX(telkom) based account. its unshaped (meaning everything gets equal priority so everything works at top speed) and the last thing you want after geting adsl is to realise how restricted you really are by a shaped account. the latency is slightly higher, but it won't affect you judging by what you're going to be using the net for unless you're going to be using it mainly for online gaming. the prices are the same as SAIX based accounts, plus you get full speed local access after your cap, as well as being able to still use international after the cap, albeit at approximately dial-up speeds. with SAIX international is completely unusable after cap, and now with hardcapping local as well is cut off. plus you the added benefit of having as little to do with telkom as possible

The argument between IS and SAIX will never cease to exist ... I use SAIX ... Skype and gaming ... p2p ... torrents .... I am happy ...

If you can tell me where to get 10gig from IS for R329 I'll move today ...

 

[matt loves telkom]

thanks guys. im not a speed freak tbh. 20 kbps is fing quick i think.lol.

So will i save R400 if i install myself? Cuz this would be excellent as i could buy a modem

TELKOM dont have 2 come here? That would be amazing as i imagine this wierd guy poking around my house.lol.

Plz - i must say all your advice is making things alot easier and i appreciate the help. I must go buy xmas presents but will be back in 1 hour. Keep all the advice coming if you want! thanks again

 

[Highflyer_GP]

The argument between IS and SAIX will never cease to exist ... I use SAIX ... Skype and gaming ... p2p ... torrents .... I am happy ...

If you can tell me where to get 10gig from IS for R329 I'll move today ...

lol maybe for you, but for a noob it makes more sense in order to avoid a very realistic possibility of being sorely disappointed. i was on saix too a while back and was quite disappointed by adsl. moved over to IS and the difference is like day and night. yea for some people saix works fine, but for most the shaping works like it's supposed to, making it quite frustrating. and plus with saix having connection and international problems almost every 2nd day, wouldn't you agree their service levels suck? i'm not biased towards one or the other, just speaking from personal experience

@matt: don't sign up a contract, and go for self install. all you need to do is set up your modem and drivers, connect the filter to the line and your phone to the filter, and call them to have your line at the exchange enabled for adsl. there's no modification needed to your existing line on the premises ala` isdn