Best ISP to switch to?

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stephan123789

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I currently have a MWEB 4mb Premium uncapped account. I am very happy with the customer service I received and also with the latency/download speed/line availability stuff (3.5 mbps download most of the time). I live close to Tiger valley (Bellville).

My flatmate is moving out and he is being replaced by someone who does not need more then 2 gig cap per month... so the R539 is going to be 2 much each month for me. I am also sharing the internet with my neighbor, so we are going to be 2 people using the internet (Was 3...) at it's full potential.

We need:

  • Excellent gaming performance
  • Max line speed all the time. (e.g. very little line shaping, I don't want to buffer a youtube video at 8pm...)
  • No torrent blocking during day time ( e.g. can be slow, just not non-existing during the day)
  • At least 200 gig threshold.
  • Price limit: Anything cheaper then the MWEB 4mp premium thing. (R539)

I can't use the MWEB standard 4mb uncapped account, since the 120 gig threshold is just to little for our needs.
I also have a ADSL router, and a existing line that is currently with Telkom (Not an MWEB line, still paying Telkom each month for internet).

Here is the list of the current packages from most of the ISP's 4mbps packages and their prices:


MWEB 4mb Premium uncapped R539


Afrihost 4mb R379
Afrihost Business 4mb R697

webAfrica home uncapped 4mb R299

openweb 4mb uncapped everyday R295
openweb 4mb uncapped gold R649

axxes 4mb R325

telkom "Faster" 4mb R299


So, this is what I know:
MWEB>> to expensive
Afrihost>> network issues in cape town mybe? is there still an issue or is it sorted out? I know that the internet at my office is Afrihost 10mb business line and it is rubbish...
WebAfrica>> I know noting...
openweb>> I know noting...
axxes>> their throteling and threshold policy sounds a bit dodgy, e.g. it looks like my line speed can drop down to 1mbps if "Koos" in the building next to me is downloading 500 gig porn, and I have only used 200 mb in a 2000 day rolling period. I do not like suffering for someone else's network usage.
Telkom>> I had Helkom internet, I got it in November of 2013, and as most of you know, those were the dark ages of Helkom, I could not play any online game before 11:30 pm, download speed were horrible and some times, the internet just did not work. Is it better now? Will I ever be able to download 1kb of torrent data while the sun in shining with Telkom Internet?

Last question, can I get the ADSL line without voice? e.g. without the need of a telephone? it is another R170 extra per month that I do not need. Telkom's people do not want to give me the ADSL line without the voice, and I am sure that I can get the Internet without the voice stuff.
So, any comments are welcome.
 
You cannot get ADSL without a post paid voice line, unfortunately.
 
shanezn said:
You cannot get ADSL without a post paid voice line, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I also see all the other ISP's offer to take your ADSL line at reduced costs, so does that mean you still have to pay for the voice at the end of the day even when the ISP's take over your line?
 
Yes, the isp only takes over the ADSL line portion. You still need to pay Telkom monthly for a analogue voice line. I would suggest you keep your adsl line with Telkom though. Sometimes the little saving isnt worth the support head aches.

stephan123789 said:
I also see all the other ISP's offer to take your ADSL line at reduced costs, so does that mean you still have to pay for the voice at the end of the day even when the ISP's take over your line?
Click to expand...
 
Wackyza said:
Yes, the isp only takes over the ADSL line portion. You still need to pay Telkom monthly for a analogue voice line. I would suggest you keep your adsl line with Telkom though. Sometimes the little saving isnt worth the support head aches.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, in this case where I would like to switch ISP's, I would have to first cancel the line from the one ISP and then get it going again by the other. I agree that keeping the line with Telkom is probably the best option.
 
Had a cheap telkom and bought from axxess.
 
Not sure where you're getting your Axxess AUP from? According to the official https://www.axxess.co.za/aup.php they no longer sell rolling window accounts (scroll down ALOT and see the greyed out zone) however they don't quite explain their limitations out right either.
 
:o sorry was surprised that they wouldnt do it anymore as I still recommend them to people. Just dont need it myself anymore.
 
stephan123789 said:
YI would have to first cancel the line from the one ISP and then get it going again by the other.
Click to expand...

NEVER tell your ISP you want to cancel the line. Tell them you are cancelling the ISP portion and then ask them to migrate your ADSL line to Telkom, or you will have to reapply for your ADSL line. Once they confirm this is done, you can choose your new ISP. It usually takes a day or sometimes a few hours (if they're efficient) to migrate your line.
 
stephan123789 said:
I
  • Excellent gaming performance
  • Max line speed all the time. (e.g. very little line shaping, I don't want to buffer a youtube video at 8pm...)
  • No torrent blocking during day time ( e.g. can be slow, just not non-existing during the day)
  • At least 200 gig threshold.
  • Price limit: Anything cheaper then the MWEB 4mp premium thing. (R539)




So, this is what I know:
MWEB>> to expensive
Afrihost>> network issues in cape town mybe? is there still an issue or is it sorted out? I know that the internet at my office is Afrihost 10mb business line and it is rubbish...
WebAfrica>> I know noting...
openweb>> I know noting...
axxes>> their throteling and threshold policy sounds a bit dodgy, e.g. it looks like my line speed can drop down to 1mbps if "Koos" in the building next to me is downloading 500 gig porn, and I have only used 200 mb in a 2000 day rolling period. I do not like suffering for someone else's network usage.
Telkom>> I had Helkom internet, I got it in November of 2013, and as most of you know, those were the dark ages of Helkom, I could not play any online game before 11:30 pm, download speed were horrible and some times, the internet just did not work. Is it better now? Will I ever be able to download 1kb of torrent data while the sun in shining with Telkom Internet?

Last question, can I get the ADSL line without voice? .
Click to expand...

Firstly - you get what you pay for. In general the cheaper the package - the steeper the shaping or throttling in MWEBs case.
Secondly - Trial accounts dont tell you anything - all trial accounts are good. They are intended to illicit business.
Thirdly - Your ISP is only part of the equation, Telscum, your router and your internet habits have a bearing on your on line experience.
Fourthly - CAPPED accounts generally perform better than UNCAPPED accounts - assuming your data use is finite.
Fifthly - If you are going UNCAPPED consider a business account, but do not be fooled by Gold Accounts and the like - the fancy name is BS?
Sixthly - You will likely have to try a few ISPs to find the one that works for you. IMHO, Axxess and AH good, OW and MWEB bad - WA not sure.....
Seventh - If Koos doesn't stop with the porn, his tennis elbow will never come right .....
Finally - no, you need a voice line to get an ADSL line.

Good luck, and well done on kicking the MWEB habit.
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
Yep
Click to expand...

Afrihost was looking like the better option from the beginning. hey are the second most expensive @R379, but still cheaper then the R539 from MWEB. If we compare the two packages, it looks like the AH packages are better value for money.

I see in AH FAQ section, they say "We do not use pre-defined download thresholds, so there is no "target" amount. Our QoS policy is implemented on the basis of available capacity, and not on set values." I had a trail account for AH and I always had max line speed. Does this mean that I can download 100 gig in 3 days and have no negative impact in the following 30 days? I see that AH use some sort of grouping and I guess that when someone use a large amount of data, they will probably be grouped in the "huge data usage groups" .

We all know that when you reach your threshold on MWEB, you cant watch YouTube at all, and browsing internet is just a pain. Have anyone ever had this experience while using AH? I do not mind the line speed dropping to e.g. 2 mbps, but extreme throttling is not going to work for me. Slow speeds during peak hours is also fine, as long as online games still work.
 
Web Africa capped - very happy.

At work 2Mbps Web Africa Home Uncapped - downloads are shaped quite a bit during the day but real time services always perform at full speed. Always stay on 5 stars though and I'm not sure how much you would get out of a 4 Mbps account before the stars deteriorate too much.

I tested an Afrihost uncapped account a little while back and it was alright for general things but any downloads (including http download) were shaped a lot!

Your best bet is to try something and see if it suites your needs, if not, try something else until you're happy. Generally though, only business accounts will give you high download thresholds and good daytime download speeds.
 
stephan123789 said:
I currently have a MWEB 4mb Premium uncapped account. I am very happy with the customer service I received and also with the latency/download speed/line availability stuff (3.5 mbps download most of the time). I live close to Tiger valley (Bellville).

My flatmate is moving out and he is being replaced by someone who does not need more then 2 gig cap per month... so the R539 is going to be 2 much each month for me. I am also sharing the internet with my neighbor, so we are going to be 2 people using the internet (Was 3...) at it's full potential.

We need:

  • Excellent gaming performance
  • Max line speed all the time. (e.g. very little line shaping, I don't want to buffer a youtube video at 8pm...)
  • No torrent blocking during day time ( e.g. can be slow, just not non-existing during the day)
  • At least 200 gig threshold.
  • Price limit: Anything cheaper then the MWEB 4mp premium thing. (R539)

I can't use the MWEB standard 4mb uncapped account, since the 120 gig threshold is just to little for our needs.
I also have a ADSL router, and a existing line that is currently with Telkom (Not an MWEB line, still paying Telkom each month for internet).

Here is the list of the current packages from most of the ISP's 4mbps packages and their prices:


MWEB 4mb Premium uncapped R539


Afrihost 4mb R379
Afrihost Business 4mb R697

webAfrica home uncapped 4mb R299

openweb 4mb uncapped everyday R295
openweb 4mb uncapped gold R649

axxes 4mb R325

telkom "Faster" 4mb R299


So, this is what I know:
MWEB>> to expensive
Afrihost>> network issues in cape town mybe? is there still an issue or is it sorted out? I know that the internet at my office is Afrihost 10mb business line and it is rubbish...
WebAfrica>> I know noting...
openweb>> I know noting...
axxes>> their throteling and threshold policy sounds a bit dodgy, e.g. it looks like my line speed can drop down to 1mbps if "Koos" in the building next to me is downloading 500 gig porn, and I have only used 200 mb in a 2000 day rolling period. I do not like suffering for someone else's network usage.
Telkom>> I had Helkom internet, I got it in November of 2013, and as most of you know, those were the dark ages of Helkom, I could not play any online game before 11:30 pm, download speed were horrible and some times, the internet just did not work. Is it better now? Will I ever be able to download 1kb of torrent data while the sun in shining with Telkom Internet?

Last question, can I get the ADSL line without voice? e.g. without the need of a telephone? it is another R170 extra per month that I do not need. Telkom's people do not want to give me the ADSL line without the voice, and I am sure that I can get the Internet without the voice stuff.
So, any comments are welcome.
Click to expand...

Hi

Have you considered moving to the 2mbps premium account, it has a threshold of about 200Gb's and cost R369.00 pm for data only.
If you would like to do so, drop me a PM with your account info and I can arrange for a consultant to contact you and assist in processing it.

Also, as far as I'm aware, there is no way to only get ADSL from Telkom without a voice line being active.
 
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