ADSL: how hard could it be?

Pixual

Pixual

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I've spent the past three weeks "experiencing" the service from Telkom when it comes to getting an ADSL line put in at home.

I applied for a 384/2gb service (with Telkom as the ISP) in the middle of December. I wanted to do a self-install.

After a few days I got a call from some person at one of their many centres advising me that my application would be up and running before the end of December. My line was fine, the exchange could handle it and the technician would be around to connect me soon (recall my "Telkom Dirty Tricks" thread).

Without going back into that story again, I got another call from the ADSL centre early last week telling me that my ADSL line would be ready within 7 days and that somebody would call me to confirm, however I could go to any Telkom centre to pick up the modem and self-installation guide.

To cut a long story short, over the past three days I have been called by no fewer than 5 different people to tell me that my line was ready and that I should be able to verify the installation and complete the self-install.

Uh-uh. Not that simple. All I got from my modem was a flashing green DSL light. Nothing else. I called them on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday about this. No one could tell me what the problem is other than to contradict one another about whether the line was activated or not. %*&@£$!!

So today I get another call from Telkom's "God Help Me" centre asking me why I haven't activated my DSL service yet. :( I explain the problem again and get told that someone will contact me shortly. Three hours later I get a call from some techie in Cape Town telling me that there is no reason why I shouldn't be getting a steady DSL light on my modem. The modem must be faulty.

So I take the modem back to Telkom and get a new one. I plug it all in and bingo! I get a steady green light. I complete the verification procedure but...I get as far as the last check point (something about connecting to the internet) and it just hangs. No dice.

I call the God Help Me Centre again and explain the situation again. They put me though to some guy who was reading instructions off a cue card, going through the modem setup again. Diagnostics still tell me I have no internet connection. We change the login details to the Telkom guest account and voila! we have internet connection. Change it back to my log in and we have nothing. We do this three or four times and the guy reading the idiot board tells me something about the account not being made active yet. I'll need to phone my service provider. &*£@%£!! YOU ARE MY FRIKKING SERVICE PROVIDER!!!!! ARE YOU RETARDED!!!!

Ten minutes later I am in my car back at the GD Telkom retail shop cancelling the whole ADSL application. I get in front of a representative and he tells me that my application hasn't been activated yet...

So help me, if I get charged anything for this I will never use a fixed line telephone system for anything ever again. I mean...how frikking hard can it be to get a goddam DSL service up and running?
 
Dont cancel your DSL application as your line is active and working. Just cancel TelkomInternet as you ISP and go for another company (like WebAfrica). That should sort out your problems.
 
While logged on using the Telkom guest account, did you goto:

www.telkom.co.za/verifyadsl

That activates your service and allows you access beyond the Telkom site into the broader ADSL network. Once you've done that your ISP account(s) will work.
 
Folks...we went though the whole thing several times.

I am DONE with Telkom. I would rather pay a cellphone provider R10 per meg than spend another cent with those idiots at Telkom. It's only a matter of time before I cancel my landline altogether.

Stuff them. If they want to employ idiots like those I have had to deal with for the past three weeks, they can shove their DSL service right back up the dark crack that is Telkom.
 
No heaven forbid you cancel your ADSL, that would be a misatake
 
AmaZulu said:
Folks...we went though the whole thing several times.

I am DONE with Telkom. I would rather pay a cellphone provider R10 per meg than spend another cent with those idiots at Telkom. It's only a matter of time before I cancel my landline altogether.

Stuff them. If they want to employ idiots like those I have had to deal with for the past three weeks, they can shove their DSL service right back up the dark crack that is Telkom.
Click to expand...

Its R2 per meg, and hate to break it to you all their bandwidth comes from Telkom. you paying them if you do anything.

Edited: If you got to http://www.webafrica.co.za and apply there you will have instant access to the internet without any problem.
 
Everything in the country goes via Telkom, you have no option. If you atleast go direct to Telkom with DSL you get the best for your money.
 
hit them where it hurts

It would be cool if we start a campaign against these guys, open an account where poeple can donate money and put a full 2 page advert every week in the Sunday Times with some of the worst faults with their references and ask Telkom whats the progres. We sould also name and shame poeple in ICASA who are failing the masses, the poor. WE might even get enough money to put an advert on TV.
 
It took me less than 10 seconds to connect to the internet with my cellphone when I installed PC Suite on my laptop. Getting the MacBook connected was a little more complicated because there is no PC Suite for Macs, but I got it sorted and that's how I surf the net right now.

Getting DSL would have meant a much cheaper connection, but you know, to be honest, in the end I guess you get what you pay for. I had no idea that it would involve so much BS and hassle to get connected via a fixed line.

I mean...really!!! How hard can it be to get your sh*t organised if you are as sophisticated as Telkom claim to be?
 
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I'm not lying when I tell you that I have spent more than 120 minutes on that number since the week began. No one there was able to help.

At 4pm today I threw in the towel and just gave them back their modem. I don't need this kind of cr@p in my life. What will happen if I have to move?
 
Dont give up your adsl, its the most stable/cheapest internet solution we have in the country, service might suck but I believe your line is working so just get an account with www.webafrica.co.za and you'll be a happy surfer, I think what you really want to cancel is the telkom isp
 
O no why did I choose this. All I can say is at least it is not just me out there.
I am thinking about starting a company to do this self install thing and charge customers half the price what Telkom charges I will just need to pay techies working at Telkom to do their work they supposed to do before we go to a client site else we will also stand there with red faces.
It is not rocket science it is the small bits that are killing them.
And affirmative action (Appointing incompetent people instead the qualified people) And all the staff that could do these installations are retrenched or got so fed up with the "Let us suck the client" attitude (I am one of them) that is why the Ben Schoeman is so congested with all the x telkom employees traveling to Jo-burg
My ADSL PROBLEM
 
ADSL= All Dumm Subscribers Love telkom
 
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