ADSL: Uncapped versus capped

Penquin said:
The REAL choice is any other ISP capped vs. MWEB uncapped. The rest didn't think this through and just wanted a piece of the pie. Afrihost should go back to drawing board and come back in two months with a well planned, decent uncapped offering.
Click to expand...

And this time NO FALSE ADVERTISING just to stay in the game.
Bet you lost a lot more by being dishonest.
 
NielJoubert said:
How slow with a 384k line get after it is throttled? And then throttled again? Like in the article with the 4Mb line.
Click to expand...

From what I've read on other threads they drop it straight to 70kbps. Imo my 384k is slow enough. I don't wanna be reminded of what dial-up feels like. I'll prob be moving to mweb come month end.
 
I have been testing IS backbone uncapped for my VISP for my clients... must be honest, its not as good as uncapped. simple things such as browsing international sites, etc, is noticably slow, and online gaming (XBL) is not very good at all compared to capped.

on the other hand, i have used over 60gigs this month so far... havnt been cut/reset/any of the other crap you guys are mentioning, so will probably be rolling it out next month for guys who want the bandwidth, and not too bothered about the quality.
 
Another thing I'm starting to wonder about is the ability of Telkom's network to handle "uncapped" packages, or even just affordable internet access. As prices drop people start using more, as can be expected, but can the residential DSLAMs and networks handle this increase in traffic? I get the feeling that Telkom has provisioned far too little in some residential areas, not wanting or just not thinking that some day broadband access will be more affordable, and therefore more demand.

I'm saying this because my 4meg line has degraded something terrible in the last month or so. I live in a relatively new area (4 years old) with relatively new underground cabling, exchanges, etc. I am roughly 1,5 km from the exchange, but currently at best I get burst speeds (only) of around 1.5 mbps, which is about half of what I got a month ago. According to one techie it is due to increased usage in the area and there is nothihng they can do about it.

This is not what i wanted to hear, obviously. Now imagine the propsed 8/10 meg lines going live, added to that "affordable" broadband access (I doubt Telkom planned for that to ever happen) and then imagine the total meltdown of some networks. I think (in some areas anyway) we are not going to be restricted by ISPs only, the inadequate forward planning on Telkom's part will finally come full circle.

We might have even better priced access in the near future, but will be unable to make good use of it due to the lack of infrastructure, well that is my uneducated opinion anyway. So enjoy whilst you can, soon the party will be over IMO.
 
So it isn't uncapped after all

I've also been caught by afrihost's nice web page and sales tricks - not giving any of the throttled stats on their site and how they will throttle people. So when does the throttle get reset once you've hit the ridiculous caps ? ? Once a month ? :mad:
 
with MWEB at least you continue to get the same speed. after my first weekend this month I was sitting about 36Gig and I still have the same download speed.
 
Last edited:
I'd like to add my voice to the flurry of "I told you so's".
And while you guys are suffering on Afrihost "uncapped", I'm getting 380 KB/s on torrents on Cybersmart capped, UNSHAPED. (yes, that's kiloBYTES)
Incidentally, how do the mweb accounts compare speed-wise? Guys, what's your average on a well-seeded torrent?
 
HolyMan said:
WOW.... Hero to Zero in the space of one article...

Talk about a fickle market... Damn...
Click to expand...

That's what happens when u buy capped bandwidth and then resell it as uncapped (i.e. buy at a price per gig and sell at a price per "speed" )
 
Yeah...when UNCAPPED was announced, everyone's eyes went big and there were assumptions of CHA-CHING, both from users who imagined downloading endless Blu-Ray movies, and from ISPs thinking lots of new users.

I think MWEB did it best. The have the infrastructure and users to support the few big downloaders, and probably set their price to R219 for a reason. Those that thought to undercut them didn't realise how much of a problem it could be.

Personally, I'm using the MyBB special from WebAfrica. 4Mb line + 16 GB for R499 a month is more than I need.
 
Afrihost's current policy is simple:

1. After you have moved 30GB you will be moved into a different category whereby certain ports will be shaped more aggressively. However, web and e-mail will still be prioritised.
2. After moving a total of 60GB you will be moved into a different category where your line speed is throttled to 1024kbps per second and certain shaping protocols are in place
3. After moving a total of 90GB then you will be moved into a category where you will be throttled to 512kbps. Certain shaping protocols will also be in place here.
4. After moving a total of 120GB you will be moved into a category where your line will be throttled to 386kbps. Certain shaping protocols will also be in place here.
5. After moving a total of 150GB you will be moved into a category where you are throttled to 128kbps.
Click to expand...

That part is simply a lie. I have moved 20gigs now. Since a few days ago, I have been getting download speeds of 5kb. That includes EVERYTHING, browsing, p2p, email.. everything. I mailed the people at Afrihost and got an email saying that the 384 kbps account get throttled at 16GIG. I still have the email proving this statement. That is purely pathetic. If there is a afrihost representative on MyADSL, you are free to contact me with regards to this.
 
lol how could they for one minute think that people would be happy with this, even worse, it was so obvious that people would try to rip the backside out of these accounts...oi
 
Agree with "koosbeer"

I moved 60Gb on Afrihost this month and my speed dropped to 5kb/s today. These throttle info provided is completely rubbish.
 
So what is the verdict? Mweb the way to go? They were boxing very clever and did their homework. They took a measured decision which took some planning and risk.

I bet they are pumping all the money into their system to upgrade it to accomodate lots of users, and once the real cheap bandwidth comes along they will be able to make more profit and eradicate the loss they might suffer now. This is future planning at its best. They offer the same as afrihost(claims) but are slapping them with a wet towel with service and I have to say it got my respect! If they can just lose those darn Naspers shares :)
 
The upsetting part about the whole Afrihost thing is that I refered EVERYONE I know to Afrihost because of their awesome R29 per gig thing. They have awesome service and respond promptly and effectivly. So obviously when the uncapped came around I was thrashing MWEB and telling that Afrihost will destroy them. Did not happen. Afrihost is letting me down and Im still hoping its an error on their system or something, but if not, Im moving my business way from them and to Mweb :(
 
yea i noticed a drastic drop in speed over the last few days/weeks even tho i'm a very small user it just seems i'm paying the price for everyone else I think! Anyway, i'm getting a 4mbps line this month and then going with Afrihost. If they do suck then i'm moving to MWEB. I've been speaking to one of their sales fellas and he confirmed that they don't throttle or shape the accounts in anyway but resellers that use Telkom's services will be by Telkom! Don't know if that makes sense but there ya have it.

I really hope Afrihost sort it out soon if there is any truth in the matter as they are a good company but think i'll be with MWEB month after next.
 
@topitsolutions: I think the sales fella is telling you lies. If telkom did shape you instead of Afrihost, how can a 20 or 50gi account work then? And what about a 10gig account with 10 more topped on at R29 per gig? Does telkom shape that also when it goes "over 16 gig". I think they are telling porkey pies. I also hope Afrihost sorts this out, but if not, Im moving to MWEB.

BTW. Did drop Afrihost another mail to ask them about the statement in the article. Awaiting a reply and will share the reply here.
 
Viva MWEB! I'm so glad I have to still wait to sign up with ADSL. By the time I do, hopefully Telkom has upgraded 384 users to 512... Then, hopefully Telkom has brough their "uncapped" offer to us. I'm sure my decision will be MWEB or Telkom. More than likely, it will be MWEB....

My 2c is, MWEB has been around since I remember internet being around, they have infrastructure, obviously planned this uncapped internet frenzy (based on being the first company to do it, plus everyone's positive thoughts). I just CAN'T wait! But, alas, I must..
 
@koosbeer: yea hear what ya saying. This is what the fella said to me a few minutes ago:

"The line speed is managed by telkom, so during the day they will manage the speeds to maintain an optimum service to all their clients. Thus when you downloading you may experience slower speeds, however any email or web browsing should be unaffected."

and after asking about throttling:

"No throtling of speeds at all. True uncapped no matter how much data used"

So I am more and more convinced i'll be moving over to MWEB sooner than I think but will always give AH a chance to sort this out as they did start the whole war off....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X