Broadband Ratings Report: First Draft

[hArTh]

Looking at the scores laid out like this:

MY Wireless 256______7 - 4 - 7 - 6 = 62%
Vodacom 3G_________8 - 3 - 9 - 8 = 52%

i assume speed carries a -really- heavy weight? Just looks rather peculiar from this angle.

3G gets nailed by its high price. R600 for 1 GB.

 

[Gatecrasher]

3G gets nailed by its high price. R600 for 1 GB.

Agreed. Which is why it is so wierd that it gets one of the top scores for price!

 

[ic]

GC, have you accounted for the startup prices in your own comparative broadband service report?

 

[rpm]

Hi guys

Speed, Reliability and Cost are the three main players. Cost, however, consists of many factors (cost per Gig, installation etc). The ‘ratings’ should just guide the user as to the relative weaknesses and strengths of the service. Here the cost rating gives a simple comparison of monthly cost. Other issues regarding cost (like usage limits etc) is explained as part of the write-up.

Regards,

RPM

 

[Gatecrasher]

But then diabolus has a valid point. You can't have it both ways.

Looking at the scores laid out like this:

MY Wireless 256______7 - 4 - 7 - 6 = 62%
Vodacom 3G_________8 - 3 - 9 - 8 = 52%

i assume speed carries a -really- heavy weight? Just looks rather peculiar from this angle.

How do you get 62% to 52% when Vodacom 3G clearly outpoints MW256.

If you have penalised 3G for cost, why give it 8 points in that category?

Edit - missed your last post, rpm, which explains it. Thanks.

 

[br34k]

it doesnt look like you included the price of the standard phone line rental you HAVE to pay every month along with your ADSL line rental?

 

[beyers]

Hi br34k

Line rental is included in the pricing. This is one of the the major factors that brings Telkom's ratings down. Without line rental, the good reliability and reasonably good speed of ADSL services would give them a much better rating, even internationally .

 

[quik]

I think br34k is referring to the analog phone rental cost component and not the line rental for ADSL... seeing as you can't have ADSL without it.

Just for clarification, were these costs also taken into consideration in the tests?

(Personally I see this as double charging on Telkom's behalf seeing as both use the same line, which would justify including this cost.)

 

[beyers]

Aha ... no, it was not included. Not viewed as part of the broadband offering.

 

[rebel]

It should've been.

Can someone explain why an analog line is required for ADSL? I still don't get it.

 

[beyers]

Hi rebel

This is indeed a somewhat complicated issue:

If we include this as part of the cost, we will also have to give Telkom credit for the (very useful) extra service (phone calls) somewhere else in the rating system. This will cancel the cost effect for the greater part. Also, it will complicate the rating process considerably (quantification of the advantage of the telephone service vs its cost - something outside the scope of this rating system).

Furthermore, the assumption that residential users will have a phone line in any case, ADSL or not, is plausible, and hence this was omitted as a factor in the rating process.

CB

 

[ic]

What if scenario...

Hi Beyers

Just as a matter of interest, if you were to add R86.05 onto the ADSL rental for HDSL384 and HDSL512, how would those services be rated locally (percentage-wise)?

 

[rebel]

If we include this as part of the cost, we will also have to give Telkom credit for the (very useful) extra service (phone calls) somewhere else in the rating system.
CB

No you won't. The calls are expensive so you'd actually have to reduce their points. I never use my phone line to make calls so the analog line rental should be optional in my opinion.

I do, however, understand that this would complicate the rating system, but the fact of the matter is the ADSL costs in that rating system are incomplete.

 

[beyers]

Hi ic. If no credit is given to Telkom for the service offered, it will bring them down about 2.7%.

 

[beyers]

Hi rebel. Point taken wrt paying for the additional service of the telephone.

However, most people (by far) will use a telephone line, with ADSL or without it. To add this cost indiscriminately for all ADSL users (for ADSL cost) is neither fair nor accurate.

 

[rebel]

No problem. Thanks for clearing out this issue.

 

[ic]

This is my personal opinion...

Hi ic. If no credit is given to Telkom for the service offered, it will bring them down about 2.7%.

Hi Beyers, thanks, basically it doesn't make much of a difference right now then.

I do think that the non-optional nature of the Analog Line Rental (even when one never makes/receives analog calls) is a negative, and nowadays with VoIP being legal it means that Telkomonopoly force every ADSL customer to pay for something that is never used by them.

...
However, most people (by far) will use a telephone line, with ADSL or without it. To add this cost indiscriminately for all ADSL users (for ADSL cost) is neither fair nor accurate.

There is a MyADSL poll (link below) - so far it looks like most want the Analog Line Rental to be optional - i.e. only if they also want to make calls from the same ADSL line.

If you had a choice, will you still require/ ‘pay for’ your analogue phone line with your ADSL connection?

Perhaps this could be factored into the equation for the next report?

 

[beyers]

As far as ratings are concerned, optional would indeed be better. It will add accuracy. At present there is an element - statistically irremediable - of inaccuracy in the fact that the analogue line rental cost cannot be taken into account in the ratings - it will not be easy to get an estimate for the number of ADSL users who do not use the analogue phone line, although their number is believed to be small. But a small number or not, they are out there and should ideally be counted. That is possibly what rebel means when saying the ADSL cost in the rating is incomplete. He is correct, it is not 100% complete, but it is not far from being 100% complete.

With optional analogue phone, the phone rental cost can be left out of the ratings with 100% confidence.

 

[ic]

<off_topic>

To put a bit of extra spin on this whole Analog Line Rental issue, my viewpoint is that the Analog Line Rental is in reality a combined charge for:

• Telephone Number Rental; AND
• Maintenance of the copper cabling including replacements due to theft etc etc etc

If ICASA could force Telkomonopoly to shift their Analog Line Rental billing paradigm to separate charges for the above [A] & , then [A] (Telephone Number Rental) should become an optional thing for ADSL customers, whereas (call it a copper maintenance cover charge / "insurance scheme") would be compulsory for everyone - whether you have a telephone number with your ADSL or not.

That could then prompt a slight reduction (to the amount of ) in the monthly ADSL Rental (which most MyADSL members would agree should not be charged at all - only ISP costs since R404 ADSL installation already charged).

Another interesting phenomenon - Skype have launched SkypeIn (so far local numbers in UK, USA, France, Hong Kong), which means that for €30 you get a SkypeIn telephone number that people can call you on internationally.

Where am I going with this? - well, say I were an ADSL customer of some company X in London, and I didn't have an actual telephone number with my ADSL (my choice), and I wasn't being charged for this (optional) by company X, then I could simply get a SkypeIn number for €30/year if I wanted to have people call a telephone number through to Skype on my PC. Now, with Telkomonopoly you do not have this choice, and if SkypeIn ever came to SA you would have no choice except to use Telkomonopoly (since you'd already be paying for it).

Hope that all makes sense .​

</off_topic>

 

[avr-rulez]

Hi all,

Good looking report, could greater clarification be given to the International offers w.r.t the actual speed offering?

Thanks

A