ADSL Question

Icemanbrfc

Icemanbrfc

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I have never had adsl, never bothered and so on. I would like to get adsl, but my understanding is that I need a line rental for voice, an adsl line and some sort of data be it capped or uncapped.

My question is this, I don't need the voice line, so how does this work in conjunction with the adsl line etc? Bear in mind that I don't have a clue how this work, so please bear with me on this.
 
Yes you do. Voice is compulsory.

Search for the Telkom Simple thread...the info there is suited to starting from zero.

edit...this one.

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/613922-Telkom-Simple-queries/page1

Its the easiest because installation of the actual line is included. i.e. If you have no telephone point in your house. They'll install the physical cables for free...except if you're in some god forsaken place that requires planting new telephone poles.

Just make sure you get the "self-install option" and the "month to month" option...if you manage that then you can't really do anything wrong. Try to talk them into getting a free router.
 
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Icemanbrfc said:
I have never had adsl, never bothered and so on. I would like to get adsl, but my understanding is that I need a line rental for voice, an adsl line and some sort of data be it capped or uncapped.

My question is this, I don't need the voice line, so how does this work in conjunction with the adsl line etc? Bear in mind that I don't have a clue how this work, so please bear with me on this.
Click to expand...

Voice rental is more the copper line rental
 
Icemanbrfc said:
I have never had adsl, never bothered and so on. I would like to get adsl, but my understanding is that I need a line rental for voice, an adsl line and some sort of data be it capped or uncapped.

My question is this, I don't need the voice line, so how does this work in conjunction with the adsl line etc? Bear in mind that I don't have a clue how this work, so please bear with me on this.
Click to expand...


Short : Tough, its called the Telkom Tax

Long: Your DSL line has two main parts to it, POTS (Plain old Telephone System) also known as the voice portion, and the DSL section (Digital Subscriber Line) they can both be operated independently from one another, however Telkom claims they run most POTS services and pretty much all DSL services at a loss (Excluding the Data portion that is) they call this the access line deficit and claim the Telkom tax is used to offset this which is why they won't let you only subscribe to the DSL portion
 
I asked this, because a few years ago, there was indeed talk about naked adsl, and not being tied to having the voice part of it. Clearly nothing has come of that, but I'm intrigued to know why the voice is important, when the DSL side of it can run independently from voice
 
Icemanbrfc said:
I asked this, because a few years ago, there was indeed talk about naked adsl, and not being tied to having the voice part of it. Clearly nothing has come of that, but I'm intrigued to know why the voice is important, when the DSL side of it can run independently from voice
Click to expand...

The US abandon naked DSL
 
Naked is not happening any time soon. If it is, this website's crowd will be the first to know. In fact we'll likely know before its even announced.

In the mean time go for the optimal combined package you can find (which in my view is a Simple one if you are new to this). Personally I'm running a Telkom Simple 10gig (the data component drives my parent's ADSL, whilst the line component is at my place) whilst I'm on an uncapped provider of my choice.

As for uncapped ISP - this is a matter of opinion (Opinions vary wildly - be prepared). Personally I think right now CrystalWeb is the safest option. Expensive but safe...their data is expensive but good and they have a local forum presence (DJ/Crystalweb/Paul...all have solid reputation here)...so if things go sideways you know its getting personal attention. Otherwise Afrihost, Webafrica, Axxess and Mweb are also respected. [That order of mention is also the one I'd use]. As I said opinions vary wildly. Personally I'd say get a Telkom Simple deal to pin down the Analog rental + the DSL rental and then bounce around between whatever ISP is currently hot....thats what I'm doing. Thats the benefit of ADSL...you're not bound to one ISP...right now I've got 4 active ISP accounts (capped/uncapped)...and I roll with whatever suits me. Survival of the fittest....
 
Hmmmm, if I have it correctly, the long and the short of it is... Telkom's pricing model was worked out on a line rental for the voice line installed in your home before ADSL was around. This apparently covers the cost of the copper cable that enables the communication, so enter DSL, they say it is a completely different service, so it is charged separately, but because it runs on the same line, someone still has to cover the cost of the copper cable (maintenance, replacement after theft and such). So the solution is you are forced to install a voice line to cover that cost and then the ADSL gets loaded on that. (the alternative would have been to increase ADSL line rental cost with the voice portion in anyway) but I think they kept it this way to try and "add value" to the offering.

As someone mentioned earlier, the Voice and ADSL runs on the same line, but two different "frequencies" (for the lack of a better word with my limited knowledge).

So yes, what you will need is a voice line installed first, then add the ADSL capability on top of it, and then get some data to use your ADSL (capped vs. uncapped is a whole other discussion).

The Telkom simple options are pretty decent for someone just getting started. If you don't want that, when you install the voice line, take out their smallest callmore package at R15 or something a month, this waives the installation fee of the line of rougthy R700-R800. You can theoretically cancel it in the second month again and then basically pay nothing for installation. You can also take out their "contracts" where you get a router for free, then you pay it off over 24 months. It is basically nothing more than paying off the router. You can cancel it at any time, where you will then just have to pay the remainder of the router in full.

Then as soon as you have a bit of savvy with ADSL, you can start the burden of moving everything, individually or together, from ISP to ISP to ISP until you find someone that gives you decent service and deliver what they promise.

Good Luck!
 
Cheers for all the responses... I'll have a look into into everything. Still kind of annoying to have a voice line and not making use of it. But it is what it is, so I'll have to live it with it.
 
Icemanbrfc said:
Cheers for all the responses... I'll have a look into into everything. Still kind of annoying to have a voice line and not making use of it. But it is what it is, so I'll have to live it with it.
Click to expand...
Thats the way it is. It's not 100% useless though...e.g. I phone relative on the weekend occasionally. Sure thats a solid 1ZAR saving at best but as I said not entirely useless.
 
[Disclaimer: I am involved with an ISP, before that I was the only private individual to make submissions to ICASA on LLU]

This discourse about a "Telkom tax" is nonsense and mischieveous. If anything Telkom is paying a "tax" in having mismatched infrastructure pricing - which is captured in the so-called Line Access Deficit. The reason for requiring three different sets of costs (two of which can be bundled) is because of different infrastructure in use.

So the voice analogue line that you pay less the R200 for is allocated entirely towards maintaining the last mile POTS network. If you make zero phone calls on that line you are actually being subsidized by users of the voice network. Telkom refer to this subsidization as the Line Access Deficit but the discourse is in my opinion misguided. If Telkom were to lease these lines on a fair and non-discriminatory wholesale basis it would cost more than what you are paying in voice line rental. NakedDSL would entail higher basic line rental, but what is a problem is that the option isn't available - in contravention of the law.

The second component is the DSL circuit. The revenue from this product funds the national data network which Telkom operates. In particular the DSLAM/MSAN/IMAX boxes and the ESRs and so on. This particular product Telkom makes available on a wholesale basis to OLOs (ISPs) and this is why you can bundle your circuit with your data product.

The third thing is your ISP product. Telkom Internet is an ISP owned by Telkom. All ISPs using DSL have to acquire connectivity to Telkom's DSL infrastructure through IPC, they also need to acquire international connectivity.

Where Telkom can rightfully be accused of double dipping is in the pricing of the DSL circuit overlapping with the IPC costs. However on the voice line it is quite the opposite. The reason why LLU is needed is not because customers should be able to evade paying the cost for the maintenance of the physical copper but rather because as soon as the local loop is open to unbundling there is competition and quality goes up (and costs go down). NakedDSL would be great but know what the pricing will be.
 
Paul I received your email today re cost of adsl etc. However, I'm currently not able to take calls, so strictly on email
 
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