Bits, not bytes

Cybersmart said that the advertisement was aired 540 times over the last 18 months and resulted in 6 000 new subscribers, and that this was the only complaint received.
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Interesting - that implies that all 6000 of those new subscribers must have been asked when signing up if the radio advert was the reason for their signing up, consequently, Cybersmart has indirectly admitted to misleading exactly 6000 of its subscribers according to ASASA's ruling.

I don't recall having heard this radio advert once, on what station(s) was it aired?

Also, didn't ASASA issue a decree forbidding any network operator or ISP to make any mention of speeds that cannot be absolutely guaranteed?
 
I've heard the ad. One time is enough in my opinion.
Did the complainee think he was going to get 8 times the speed for the same price?
I think that the promise of a free modem should be more contested, seeing as the cost is included in your monthly subscription, and is not really "free" after all (although pretty much everyone is guilty of this).
 
ic said:
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/7869.htmlInteresting - that implies that all 6000 of those new subscribers must have been asked when signing up if the radio advert was the reason for their signing up, consequently, Cybersmart has indirectly admitted to misleading exactly 6000 of its subscribers according to ASASA's ruling.
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I have never heard this ad on radio. Maybe it was aired on Highveld or some smaller radio station.

They are an excellent ISP no doubt but making such stupid marketing mistakes will just damage their image even if it doesn't cause them to lose any customers.
 
I thought this would come around...
I Think the guys at cybersmart or the people at the advertising agency should all be fired.
That is probably the most annoying add besides "LUCY HIRSCH"...:eek:

I do agree that the average user might not be bothered whether it said Bits or Bytes, but still, law is law...

I've heard the add on both 702 & Highveld, but makes my blood boil when it starts!

I Will never be a cybersmart client, purely because of that add! :mad:
 
That add is just pure stupidity, Dont the staff at Cybersmart review the add before its broadcasted on radio. For any person slightly knowledgeable about ADSL the difference between kilobits and kilobytes is huge!

Makes me think twice about having Cybersmart as an ISP. On that note I get 3 gigs int and 3 gigs local on a 384 KILOBIT line for about R300 (one price including line rental). Are there any better isp's with better offers?
 
In all honesty a "reasonable" person probably wouldn't know the difference between kilobits and kilobytes in the first place. They'd just assume the number is the same one used for other ISPs.
 
It looks to me like a honest mistake. It would not help Cybersmart at all. The uninformed people will compare 384 with 384, while the informed people will know for a fact that there are no 384KB/s lines in South Africa.

Who exactly would they have fooled?
 
Cybersmart has withdrawn it from CapeTalk 567 in the past after listener complaints about its irritation factor and an on-air interview with the CEO. After a few weeks they reinstated it.
The good thing is that this ruling finally might get rid of the most irritating and stupid advert on radio ever.
 
Funny thing is every time I heard this I thought I was wrong, thought I didnt understands it properly and was going to post a question about it here but thought I better not :D
 
I have always thought that it is a cr*p ad, very irritating!
it also pokes fun at the national anthem and the fact that a lot of people don't know the words.
@Cybersmart, your ad was irritating, misleading and in poor taste, thanks for wasting everyones time!
 
Na Na Na Na Na Na Cyyyyyberssmaaaarrt.

There are all sorts of technicalities. Like ISPs telling you that 1mb = 1000kb. Why are you trying to screw me out of my 24 bytes you mofo?
I think the kilobit/byte terms that are appended to the end of a connection speed go without notice most of the time. Its the number that people remember: 384, 512, 1mb, 4mb etc. You could say megabit to all of them and I bet a lot of customers wouldn't know the difference. And by most I mean my parents and siblings.
 
On the dota server if you in a game that lags and you ask them what line they have. The answer is always the same.

"I have a 4 Meg line"

Never ever hear someone say they have a 4Mbit line. A lot of newbies don't even know that 384Kbit line won't give you anything close to 384kb/s download speed.
 
jdjoubert said:
............. and I still dont know what is the dif between a bit and a byte.......

:confused:
Click to expand...

Always divide by eight
8 bits = 1 Byte
384 bits = 48 Bytes
384 000 bits = 48 000 Bytes
384 Kilo bits = 48 Kilo Bytes

So you'll get about 48kb/s download speed with a 384Kbit line
 
Thanx


This is the first I heard of it.


Always wondered why I only get a top speed of only 38 or 39 kb/s on my 384k connection.
 
I'm not sure what exactly Mr. Porter-Smith wanted to achieve by lodging a complaint with the ASA? Surely a call to Cybersmart, informing them of their error, would have sufficed?

Why some South Africans always need to create drama, boggles the mind.
 
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