Another 'I need your help choosing an ISP' thread

[325i]

Hey there guys, yup its another forumer asking for help yet again with regards to choosing an ISP

I am currently with Openweb and after recent info that has been brought out about the company, and crippling speeds this weekend (14.5 KB file from XBL took about 20mins to download, COD Ghosts compatibility packs) I have decided to look around for a new ISP.

Needs: 2/4Mbps
-Gaming weekends, evening on weekdays (XBL and PC) *Also download the odd Game with Gold.
-Keep up with series (not streaming ) .
-Youtube Streaming (very comfortable with 360/480p ).
-Tablets/Smartphones might stream the odd video.
-Browsing during the day and be able to work from home.

Have been with TI, Mweb, openweb before and main thing that lead to cancellation was being throttled/shaped to death.
Max amount of GBs used was 100GB and least was about 50GB.

Basically I am looking at either a High Cap option (around 70 GBs) or Uncapped account at max R300.
Which one will be better for gaming/torrenting/browsing/streaming youtube (or twitch)?

I have heard about some issues with Afrihost not having enough IPC I think it is and that it is affecting certain regions and not all (I am in Durban) and also Uncapped accounts are useless unless its the Business Uncapped accounts?

Also took a quick look at the Web Africa forum and people are upset due to Capped accounts being shaped and also I'm not sure as to how the star rating works on the uncapped accounts.

If there are any other ISPs I am missing out please would you let me know

Thanks for all your help in advance
325i

Edit: Now thinking of getting 4Mbps, any ISP that excels with 4Mbps service?

 

[Crystal Web]

Happy to help you out if you'd like to try us out?

Our feedback thread is here if you'd like - http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/620123-Crystal-Web-(NEW-ISP)-ADSL-Feedback

 

[m0zy]

Which one will be better for gaming/torrenting/browsing/streaming youtube (or twitch)?

The part in red is a mega problem with any non-business uncapped account.
I would say best you go for a high capped account from Axxess or Afrihost.

If any ISP say they are happy with allowing you to torrent on a non-business account then you know you will get shafted within a week or 2

 

[Lord Nikon6]

Afrihost is currently stuck with a bunch of moaning Mybb customers...just saying. The thread speaks for itself. I myself, am trying out Crystal web from the first of July, hoping for good results, and to be honest, they seem great, premium news server included in the account is in the works, which is brilliant.

 

[ranger]

Needs: 2Mbps
-Gaming weekends, evening on weekdays (XBL and PC) *Also download the odd Game with Gold.
-Keep up with series (not streaming ) .
-Youtube Streaming (very comfortable with 360/480p ).
-Tablets/Smartphones might stream the odd video.
-Browsing during the day and be able to work from home.

Have been with TI, Mweb, openweb before and main thing that lead to cancellation was being throttled/shaped to death.
Max amount of GBs used was 100GB and least was about 50GB.

I assume you were using uncapped accounts for the above ISPs. Obviously, it is easier to ensure the experience of capped accounts (although the recent more active application of our FUP rules that have been in place for some time on uncapped has improved the experience significantly).

You may want to consider a TI capped account with the Gaming add-on ( available as either prepaid or post-paid). With the Gaming add-on, all qualifying gaming traffic (gaming and downloading of games patches via e.g. XBL, Steam, Origin) doesn't get counted towards your cap. Additionally, if you are willing/able to schedule most other bulk downloads for NightSurfer time (00h00 to 06h00), when no traffic is accounted, you may find that a 20GB account is sufficient.

At present, we do still shape P2P on capped (we had hoped to remove this earlier, but we first wanted to fix the experience on uncapped), but removing that will probably be the next change to the product in the next few weeks.

 

[325i]

Thanks for the quick replies guys

Looks like majority of CW customers go live in a few days time so might just see how that goes on the thread.

@mozy thanks, but aren't axxess and afrihost sharing the backbone that is MTN (which means there will are IPC trouble?) or am I mistaken?

@Lord Nikon6 that is true, Afrihost is looking like the best bet ATM, will be keeping my eyes on the CW thread to see how it goes

@ranger sorry should have explained a bit more had a capped account with TI and then moved over to uncapped with Mweb. Hmm I will take a look at a TI capped account and the add ons thanks

edit: @ranger for some reason I cannot find information about these addons on Telkom site could you maybe help steer me in the right direction

 

[Lord Nikon6]

I will let you know how it goes with CW. Afrihost was fine, but lately all they have done is increase my blood pressure, and I am too young to have issues with blood pressure

 

[AthenianOwl]

Eh, it seems that AH is the only decent ISP right now. I'm not too sure about CW because it's not officially launched yet.

It's totally unbelievable that only 1.5 years ago MWEB was the no.1 go-to ISP. How the mighty have fallen!

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

Afrihost is currently stuck with a bunch of moaning Mybb customers...just saying.

Afrihost is stuck with authenticating problems, capacity problems and poor customer service issues - especially the call centre .... Just saying.

On the other hand OW are not a real ISP and MWEB sell capped uncapped accounts .....

At this point Crystal web seems to be a safe bet .....

 

[325i]

I will let you know how it goes with CW. Afrihost was fine, but lately all they have done is increase my blood pressure, and I am too young to have issues with blood pressure

hehe thanks for the help man, the CW thread is making them look like a very viable option next to Afrihost. ISPs have that affect on some people

 

[Crystal Web]

hehe thanks for the help man, the CW thread is making them look like a very viable option next to Afrihost. ISPs have that affect on some people

That's very kind of you to say.

 

[325i]

Eh, it seems that AH is the only decent ISP right now. I'm not too sure about CW because it's not officially launched yet.

It's totally unbelievable that only 1.5 years ago MWEB was the no.1 go-to ISP. How the mighty have fallen!

those are the same thoughts I am having at the moment. Yeah I remember Mweb was the first choice, but then fell right down.

At this point Crystal web seems to be a safe bet .....

They do but I was reading on their thread they use Cybersmart as a backbone, so my thinking is what is stopping me from joining Cybersmart (havent heard of any problems from them recently)

 

[Chevron]

Axxess business is your best bet.

 

[Chevron]

Afrihost is stuck with authenticating problems, capacity problems and poor customer service issues - especially the call centre .... Just saying.

On the other hand OW are not a real ISP and MWEB sell capped uncapped accounts .....

At this point Crystal web seems to be a safe bet .....

Got to agree on the Afrihost points. No idea why people still they are decent. Their shaper even shapes diablo3.

 

[Crystal Web]

They do but I was reading on their thread they use Cybersmart as a backbone, so my thinking is what is stopping me from joining Cybersmart (havent heard of any problems from them recently)

Very different to Cybersmart. But I replied to your PM.

In a nutshell, we have access to multiple backbones, but are primarily using Cybersmart as it performs the best overall. We offer 24 hour support, are building our own products rather than simply reselling theirs, we are soon to launch the most advanced support portal around, we offer free access to a premium news server with 2000+ days retention and 99% completions, and a whole lot more cool stuff that's going to be released very soon.

Sorry, this feels like a marketing post now.

 

[325i]

Axxess business is your best bet.

that pricetag is bit much tho

Very different to Cybersmart. But I replied to your PM.

In a nutshell, we have access to multiple backbones, but are primarily using Cybersmart as it performs the best overall. We offer 24 hour support, are building our own products rather than simply reselling theirs, we are soon to launch the most advanced support portal around, we offer free access to a premium news server with 2000+ days retention and 99% completions, and a whole lot more cool stuff that's going to be released very soon.

Sorry, this feels like a marketing post now.

Ahh ok I thought that Cybersmart was your only backbone, my apologies for misunderstanding.
Hmm that premium news server might just swing the vote Is this currently running, or will it kick in on the 1st?

 

[Crystal Web]

Ahh ok I thought that Cybersmart was your only backbone, my apologies for misunderstanding.
Hmm that premium news server might just swing the vote Is this currently running, or will it kick in on the 1st?

Currently operational.

 

[slasherjdc]

that pricetag is bit much tho



Ahh ok I thought that Cybersmart was your only backbone, my apologies for misunderstanding.
Hmm that premium news server might just swing the vote Is this currently running, or will it kick in on the 1st?

I already tested it, the CW news server is amazing

Also just to let you know while i greatly dislike MTN backbone(my cyanogenmod updates keep failing QQ) afrihost capped is currently quite good(try their 1gb) its mainly their uncapped that's affected by their IPC issues.

right now i have high hopes for CW after testing their news server ^^(with them from 1 july)

 

[325i]

I already tested it, the CW news server is amazing

Also just to let you know while i greatly dislike MTN backbone(my cyanogenmod updates keep failing QQ) afrihost capped is currently quite good(try their 1gb) its mainly their uncapped that's affected by their IPC issues.

right now i have high hopes for CW after testing their news server ^^(with them from 1 july)

thanks for the info, appreciate it.
If I may ask, what speeds were you obtaining one the CW news server? were you getting full line speed or near to it?

 

[slasherjdc]

thanks for the info, appreciate it.
If I may ask, what speeds were you obtaining one the CW news server? were you getting full line speed or near to it?

Line speed(as high as my line every gets at least lol)...it also has SSL