BitCo Consumer Review

[Sparky_za]

Going to agree with you guys on that one. I logged a ticket yesterday at 12:30 for packet loss, when I received the reply at 16:00 it stated there was packet loss on my link at 14:45 but it had since cleared. I wanted to know about the packet loss in the morning, which had probably continued throughout the day, instead by the reply it seemed they had only checked at the time the ticket was attended to.

 

[Wikkels88]

Going to agree with you guys on that one. I logged a ticket yesterday at 12:30 for packet loss, when I received the reply at 16:00 it stated there was packet loss on my link at 14:45 but it had since cleared. I wanted to know about the packet loss in the morning, which had probably continued throughout the day, instead by the reply it seemed they had only checked at the time the ticket was attended to.

Yeah man, when logging complaints like that, the correct procedure would be to let the client know you're going to monitor the connection for the next 12-24 hours, and then determine what the problem is from the results...

On a side note, seeing that you're also still getting packet loss, doesn't seem like they're managing to catch the problem

 

[Sparky_za]

Yeah man, when logging complaints like that, the correct procedure would be to let the client know you're going to monitor the connection for the next 12-24 hours, and then determine what the problem is from the results...

On a side note, seeing that you're also still getting packet loss, doesn't seem like they're managing to catch the problem

Mine was weird though, if I look at where it was occurring yesterday, it indicated loss at the router and a much bigger loss either on the backbone or on the international link. I haven't had a chance to check if it has been resolved, work keeping me honest again. Will check late tonight when I get home.

 

[Wikkels88]

Mine was weird though, if I look at where it was occurring yesterday, it indicated loss at the router and a much bigger loss either on the backbone or on the international link. I haven't had a chance to check if it has been resolved, work keeping me honest again. Will check late tonight when I get home.

Mine was terrible over the weekend, happened almost every minute, but a bit better last night, happened 3 times over the course of 2 hours of gaming, but still not 100%

 

[nightshade21099]

I've also noticed heavy throttling on my 5mbps link, really only getting 2mbps most of the time.

Errgh now that i see that its the leaky bucket system that just really puts me off.

Time to start looking for another ISP.

 

[BitCo]

HI All,

we have selected users to be part of the new FUP trial, this trial will effectively start between now and Friday and we will post regular updates on the progress

We are confident that the proposed changes should significantly improve the overall experience on the line when using Streaming media services

Mike

 

[BitCo]

Downloading Middle Earth : Shadow of Mordor.. been FUP'd since last night .. 22 hrs to go

Sounds like a massive file download

PM me your name so i will pull a usage graph for you so we can see how it went

Mike

 

[BitCo]

HI Wikkels88 & Sparky_za

Please PM me the times you had noticed an issue, i will send you :

1: Usage Report for that time frame
2: latency / Error report for that time

By comparing results we can quickly determine if you had experienced a link issue or a router / internal issue

We have no reported errors on our network and all services are operational 100% so i would like to compare results and see what we dealing with

Mike

 

[ravetoad]

FUP Trial

We are confident that the proposed changes should significantly improve the overall experience on the line when using Streaming media services Mike

Thanks Mike,

I am waiting with bated breath for the results. Assume some of those chosen are from the forum and when complete can provide some notes on their experiences?

Regards,
John

 

[Barrydeane]

Hello and good evening Mike.

Can you please clarify something.

Bitco advertises the 5 meg package as Uninterrupted HD streaming as well as HD Youtube. I do not do any large file downloads like torrents or any other form of heavy file downloads with the exception when World of Warcraft or Elder Scrolls online has a big patch that needs to be downloaded.

I have seen my line being throttled even when watching SD movies after an hour. Now don't get me wrong. I am not against throttling at all as I full understand the reason for that.

So here is my question. How does Bitco ensure the stability of its network as well as providing your clients with the service as advertised on your website? Your website has Q&A section where you say your contention Ratio is 1:1?

Would it not make sense to rather throttle the 5 meg line to lets say 3mbps than the 4 megs throttling I am currently seeing. How would this influence your other users seeing that as per your website we have a 1:1 contention ratio?

I have a bunch of screen shots that was sent to Khanyisile that shows my line speeds around 1.10 mbps as well as going as low as 700kbps where, when I am not throttled my line speed is close to 5 MBPS. So why can I get close to full 5 meg line speeds when not throttled but not 2 meg when I am?

Thank you though for trying to help

 

[BitCo]

Hi Barry,

Thanks for the question, a very good one at that

all the bandwidth BitCo provides is premium access without any contention.

When developing this product we had the typical question in-front of us "How do we limit abuse"

So as you know premium international bandwidth comes from the undersea cable providers at around 50-60USD Per 1 Mbps so with a product without contention this could very easily be abused.

We had a few protocols to consider when developing this product to ensure to protect our network against unsolicited downloads and typical bandwidth abuse

1: Contention - Most ISP's have contention of 1:10 on their networks meaning that for every 10Mbps bandwidth allocated a maximum of 10 users share this international port
2: Shaping - Many Service providers shape international traffic to a % of the total line speed to limit abuse
3: Soft Cap - Also very popular whereby you implement a soft cap and once this is reached the line speed permanently drops down

So what we had decided was to keep our bandwidth 1:1 and not shape any typical international services and rather implement a temporary Throttling policy whereby the line speed would reduce down after 1 hour of large downloading.

This is used globally with many large ISP's and found to be a very fair way of managing bandwidth and providing the best possible internet experience.

What we have found from the feedback on this Thread is that the current FUP works very well for most services but is not coping well with streaming media as the bandwidth required for some of the streaming services is triggering the FUP too early causing a drop in resolution.

We are in the process of beginning test with a new FUP which we believe will resolve the online streaming issue so i will post feedback as and when we receive it from the handful of users in the trial

Lastly on your speed issue, its difficult for me to find your link on the monitoring application as its more than likely under a different name, if you send me you name or circuit ID i can send you some usage graphs and we can see your usage and compare results.

Remember when doing testing please also ensure to use a LAN cable as often the WIFI router signal can affect general speed tests

Mike

 

[Wikkels88]

HI Wikkels88 & Sparky_za

Please PM me the times you had noticed an issue, i will send you :

1: Usage Report for that time frame
2: latency / Error report for that time

By comparing results we can quickly determine if you had experienced a link issue or a router / internal issue

We have no reported errors on our network and all services are operational 100% so i would like to compare results and see what we dealing with

Mike

Not sure what the exact time was last night, but I'll send you a time tonight, but this is been an ongoing problem for months that I experience on a daily basis EVERY single time I play a game online, and I've send Bitco 3 patpings in the past, so I highly doubt if I now send you a exact time that this will all of a sudden help to "quickly determine" where the problem lies.

And just to clarify how bad it is, if hypothetically I had to play games online the whole day today without running downloads (yes I'm aware there's a download running at home atm, so dont tell me that's whats causing it, this is just hypothetical) I'd probably be able to report an instance of packet loss every 10minutes.(On a good day)

I'm really not to sure what Bitco's deal is atm, last week you told me you had some Illegal operators are interfering with the frequency, then later that week I spoke to Chantal and she said this is no longer the case, during that time frame Bitco let me know twice they made changes to my link, but not ONE SINGLE time could I notice an improvement, in fact over the weekend it was the worst its ever been.

And now you come and report that "services are operational 100%".

I CALL BULL****, something is really fuced up on my connection, and Bitco's not dong jack **** to fix the problem

 

[BitCo]

Not sure what the exact time was last night, but I'll send you a time tonight, but this is been an ongoing problem for months that I experience on a daily basis EVERY single time I play a game online, and I've send Bitco 3 patpings in the past, so I highly doubt if I now send you a exact time that this will all of a sudden help to "quickly determine" where the problem lies

Thanks, please send tonight as i will ensure to be online to do testing and compare results with you

Mike

 

[Sidster]

Hi Mike,

I must say I am very interested in the 5Mb connection based on the reviews here. I have a few concerns though.

1. I would like to go for the month to month option but the setup cost is quite high. If I cancel do I get to keep the equipment? If some equipment is not needed, ie the 8 port switch, is the setup cost reduced? Do I have to use your WiFi router? I already have a very capable Ubiquiti router.

2. Do you ever intend to introduce a self install option a la DSTV/Telkom?

3. I intend to do about 200GB a month on a mixture of P2P, Streaming and web browsing. Assuming the temporary throttling is refined and improved, do you anticipate that kind of usage to be OK? I know it's a bit of a loaded question because it depends on abuse and other factors but it's the best indication I can give of my current usage on an ADSL service...

I realize this all depends on the LoS check but thought I'd just get the most important questions out of the way.

Thanks

 

[RLB]

Hi Mike/Garth,

I've been keeping tabs on this thread since I stumbled upon Bitco. Telkom have no lines in my complex and I'll be darned to waste money on unstable LTE/3G. Completed my application yesterday...now holding thumbs for a (hopefully soon) LOS call. When I am standing on my balcony I can see Randburg CBD buildings and few high site towers. Not sure which is Bitco though...

@mike/garth - Can you confirm the building with the high site in Randburg CBD? Looking at the coverage map, it should be close to Kent or Pretoria avenue...

RLB

 

[JohnJuniorV3]

Hi Mike,

I still have had no emails or pM's from you since our last communication.

Please inform me when you have time.

Oliver

 

[Barrydeane]

Thank you for the reply Mike.

As I said. I support shaping and throttling so no need to explain yourself there with how it works and why.

As a customer I just want a fair but great experience from my ISP at a reasonable price. If I can get that you have a customer for life.

Thank you for you efforts again

 

[BitCo]

Thanks Mike,

I am waiting with bated breath for the results. Assume some of those chosen are from the forum and when complete can provide some notes on their experiences?

Regards,
John

Yep most of the guys selected are from this Forum so we should get lots of feedback ;-)

 

[BitCo]

Hi Mike,

I must say I am very interested in the 5Mb connection based on the reviews here. I have a few concerns though.

1. I would like to go for the month to month option but the setup cost is quite high. If I cancel do I get to keep the equipment? If some equipment is not needed, ie the 8 port switch, is the setup cost reduced? Do I have to use your WiFi router? I already have a very capable Ubiquiti router.

2. Do you ever intend to introduce a self install option a la DSTV/Telkom?

3. I intend to do about 200GB a month on a mixture of P2P, Streaming and web browsing. Assuming the temporary throttling is refined and improved, do you anticipate that kind of usage to be OK? I know it's a bit of a loaded question because it depends on abuse and other factors but it's the best indication I can give of my current usage on an ADSL service...

I realize this all depends on the LoS check but thought I'd just get the most important questions out of the way.

Thanks

Hi Sidster

Thanks for the post

If you go with the month to month option you will not own any of the equipment, our product is a managed service so the equipment always belongs to us under our SLA, in the event of anything happening to your equipment we will replace this within SLA at no cost to you.

i would recommend the 12 month option as installation is well priced and fits nicely in the middle

We don't have a self install option at this stage as this is still a very new product to us and we are working to perfect the residential offering before considering things like this

on a 5Mbps connection you should be able to get be able to get that sort of volume on P2P and streaming services if you use your P2P in the night

The new FUP will still kick in like normal with P2P traffic but is aimed to optomise the streaming of online media

Mike

 

[BitCo]

Thank you for the reply Mike.

As I said. I support shaping and throttling so no need to explain yourself there with how it works and why.

As a customer I just want a fair but great experience from my ISP at a reasonable price. If I can get that you have a customer for life.

Thank you for you efforts again

Cool & Good luck hope you get LOS