Broadband Ratings

Hi guys

Thanks for the feedback so far…please keep it coming.

Robone: I also come from a scientific background (Mathematics & Physics undergrad) which might explain our satisfaction with the grammar :-) And with Beyers being a true Mathematician I guess we need some journalist to rescue us from ‘bad writing’. The first thing a friend that did modern languages told me was “interesting information, truly unoriginal and boring writing”. At least he was honest…

Celemasiko: Thanks :-)

Kaspaas: It is definitely a first in SA, and we will improve as we go along. We are already confident that the algorithm we use to calculate the final percentage is as accurate as anything available today (we made use of all relevant prior research from places like MIT and the Australian Government), but will still try to improve on it for future testing. At least users will now be able to make a more informed choice…

Regards,

RPM
 
jamieb said:
...As far as I can see, TcpIQ has no means of testing when a connection is down. My graph would have painted a very different picture had the program had this facility...
Click to expand...
I agree that downtime should be taken into account for iBurst.

Please note that the very nature of iBurst's ups & downs on the graph indicates when the connection is available.

Now look for straight lines <edited>that span 3 or more consecutive test intervals, that is when iBurst was not connected, or LSM was hanging - which happened to me everytime upload speed was 0 (stuttering/unresponsiveness) and I was not running a background ping -t www.iburst.co.za.</edited>

Also note that while it is possible to see when iBurst was disconnected, it is not possible to determine if the user terminated the connection (if you prefer to conserve bandwidth), or if iBurst was misbehaving.

IMO, what we really need is a Bandwidth Monitoring / Metering app that also runs periodic upload & download speed tests. We also need s/w that can run on Linux. Latency can probably be measured locally instead of internationally, RPM will know what I'm getting at there.

I'm not sure, but I think there is at least 1 SourceForge.net bandwidth meter project - we could try looking at the code & determining if it can be modified to meet our needs.

Is BW Meter open source (I'm using DU Meter nearing the end of its trial period).
 
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International comparisons

Hi,

Great work , firstly.

Could the International packages indicate more clearly what speeds are on offfer?

Thanks

AVR
 
For future testing we really need our own testing sw and a local test server.

The sw needs to account for existing traffic on the line and a few other things.

The are people on this mb with the programming skills. Come on people offer your services!
 
Good work!
Sorry if I missed it somewhere but what is the purpose of these tests?
Is it some hard evidence against Telkom or just a guide for people new to South African "broadband"?
 
Decotey said:
...Is it some hard evidence against Telkom or just a guide for people new to South African "broadband"?
Click to expand...
Personally, I think members of the public are going to win the bigger war against Telkom, to that end, who cares what Telkom or ICASA think of the survey, it is the people who need to be enlightened, let them use the survey to that end.

If it happens that poison Ivy & ICASA clamp down on Telkom & CAPify Telkom's profits then that's an added bonus :)
 
RPM,

One more thing:

The doc needs a table of definitions & a description of each service.

For the doc to be useful to a wider audience, it needs to be brought down a level.

i.e. explain such terms as ADSL,cap, port prioritization, etc.

give descriptions of each service.
 
Hi folks

Big thanks to JamieB for improving on the original document. I think you guys will find the new writing style more in line with journalist standards :D

Regards,

RPM
 
Just had a look at SourceForge.net, there are quite a few bandwidth related projects, if we are going to travel this road, IMO:
  • We need something that can port easily between Linux & Windows (Linux is important bcos a lot of people seem to be using it for firewalling - ideal place for bandwidth monitoring should be on gateway boxes). This kindof eliminates VB developments, M$ .Net as well.
  • Once we shortlist possible projects to investigate, we need to find out if there are people with the necessary skills.
 
Decotey said:
Good work!
Sorry if I missed it somewhere but what is the purpose of these tests?
Is it some hard evidence against Telkom or just a guide for people new to South African "broadband"?
Click to expand...


The way I have it is that these tests are intended as a service to the South African Internet user.

For the first time there is some kind of guide based on actual data comparing the various services.

It empowers users to select the best service for his/her budget/needs.

As such it is a powerful tool in service of all internet users. I'm pretty sure that the marketing people at the ISP's reported on are already digesting and planning how to counter the weaknesses identified by the survey.

Regards

Kaspaas.
 
It's amazing what people can do when they band together. I still say that myadsl is going to revolutionize the internet in South Africa. I'm very proud to be a part of the process.

Very well done RPM and everyone else involved.
 
Hi

Great work RPM and Conrad! You guys made something that might well be the essential guide to choosing connectivity in the country. I was thinking of perhaps a specialized document sometime in the future that compares Telkom's own services too each other. I am of the opinion that a clear trend will come to light of Telkom deliberately crippling services like ADSL and others in order to protect new tech replacing its more profitable old technology that is charged per minute.

Regards
Ant
 
Well done RPM & Conrad.

I think the only thing missing is a Glossary of terms.

In addition it may be a good idea to build a "compare-o-meter" for the Myadsl site, so that people can compare the various services online. This would mean that the offerings could be kept up to date in real time, for any new users who wish to check out the offerings. **I'm sure that there are some web developers/software developers using the forum who can help out**
 
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Here is the link to the draft copy of the broadband ratings:
http://home.telkomsa.net/rudolph/broadband_ratings.pdf

Well done, an excellent summary of the current status of broadband.

In the next survey, consider adding a total-cost-of-ownership - say for 24 months, including cost of device, subscription, activation, delivery and internet access (where this is not bundled). It is more work to research but may be more useful than just the monthly price.
 
First off: Well done RPM on this initiative. Your willingness to drive forward broadband's interests in this country never ceases to amaze me!


"Never underestimate the ability of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has." – Margaret Mead*

In fact this could be a good motto for MYADSL ;)

Suggested changes:

Code: 
[I]Why was it done?
This investigation was launched to
clear up the confusion and help
buyers choose between the various
broadband offerings available in
the marketplace today.[/I] 

Suggested changes:

This investigation was launched to
clear the confusion which has recently arisen as a result of the introduction of a number of new internet connectivity options. This guide will help
buyers determine which of the various
broadband offerings available in
the marketplace today are best suited to their needs.

Why? What exactly "the confusion" is is not explained.

Code: 
Page 2, top of column 2:

formance tests [COLOR=DarkRed]using [/COLOR]their broadband
connection[COLOR=DarkRed]s[/COLOR]. [COLOR=DarkRed]Comparative[/COLOR]tests were also performed by international users as part of an ongoing [COLOR=DarkRed]broadband evaluation[/COLOR] exercise.

An
advanced algorithm was used to
rate each broadband service according [COLOR=DarkRed]to[/COLOR]
the following criteria:

Code: 
Page 2, column 2 middle:

The algorithm used to calculate
the percentage is a product of
over three months of research and incorporates findings extracted from surveys and general
feedback from the (local?) broadband user
community.

While the final calculation
is predominantly weighted
toward performance, cost, and reliability;
many other factors <snip> influenced
the final result.

In the local comparison, the percentages
allocated to South African
broadband providers are [COLOR=DarkRed]normalised[/COLOR]
to [COLOR=DarkRed]only apply to[/COLOR]the South African context.

Code: 
Result interpretation, bottom of page 2:

Drop the extraneous "the"'s in front of the descriptive text.

Code: 
Home 384:
HomeDSL 384 was [COLOR=DarkRed]the[/COLOR] clear winner.
It is [COLOR=DarkRed]reasonably[/COLOR] priced, performs well
and is very reliable. The introduction
of this service by Telkom certainly
made broadband Internet
more affordable in South Africa.
HomeDSL 384 is the most affordable, fast, alwayson
broadband service in South Africa.

Code: 
Home 512:

Delete this:
The cost of bandwidth is
cheaper for this service than for
HomeDSL 384, but unless you
have a fair amount of extra cash
you will still have to watch your
usage.

If the line
rental is reduced or done away with <snip> it is difficult to see
how the other broadband services
[COLOR=DarkRed]would[/COLOR] be able to compete with it.

Who should use it?
Those of you who have a few [COLOR=DarkRed]extra[/COLOR]
bucks lying around and are prepared
to pay for the joy of [COLOR=DarkRed]increased[/COLOR]
speed and a high degree of reliability.
(EdNote: Home 384 is as reliable as Home 512)

General note: Last paragraph title is inconsistent!
"Who should use it?"  vs. "Who should get it?" Is this intentional?

Code: 
512 unshaped:

This service is
so expensive that only a [COLOR=DarkRed]select few in the highest income brackets[/COLOR] can afford it.

And then Telkom still slaps a 4
Gig cap on it [COLOR=DarkRed]making[/COLOR] it very expensive
to use for large downloads and
bandwidth intensive services.

Code: 
Mywireless 128:

The
results of our speed testing show that MyWireless 128 does
not truly qualify as a broadband connection.

It [COLOR=DarkRed]compares favorably to an
ISDN connection[/COLOR], but when[COLOR=DarkRed] compared
to ADSL its performance is[/COLOR] pedestrian at
best.

Code: 
Mywireless 256:

While it is
not as cheap as the MyWireless
128 service, it is still competitively
priced in the South African broadband
[COLOR=DarkRed]context[/COLOR].

The freedom of
no cap is a great if you [COLOR=DarkRed]intent[/COLOR] on
downloading the Internet.

Code: 
iBurst:

iBurst came onto the market with a
bang and performed better than its
wireless [COLOR=DarkRed]competitors[/COLOR].

Code: 
Page 6:

A comparison [COLOR=DarkRed]of South African and[/COLOR] International broadband services

In this section international broadband services are
compared with each other and to South African services. <snip redundant>. If you would [COLOR=DarkRed]only[/COLOR] like to know how the
South African broadband services performed against each
other, please see the ‘Local Ratings’ section.

Code: 
Page 7:

I'm glad there is an entry for Australia! Any hope of getting a rating for Egypt, Mauritius or India? i.e. 3rd world countries? Else that c**t Steven White(lies) is going to trot out his usual  "but ZA is 3rd world excuse" again.

PS: Please version label the PDF so we know we are editing the latest version!

PPS: If Conrad writes a paper on this study he must post a link for our reading pleasure.

Where's Longunman? He can be "wordy" when he so chooses :cool:

Nit picks:
-The background GFX on the front page aren’t that inspiring.
-I don't like the colour scheme of the ratings box :D

Suggestions for the future:
24/7/365 monitoring of the connections of a volunteer group with smart clients and a local test server. Smart = dealing with existing traffic on the line etc. In other words, the test app has to be fire-and-forget for the testers. ISP service levels are dynamic animals so continuous monitoring is essential to track service changes.

*: Anyone else who is interested in History will know that this is literally true ... not some arbitrary saying thought up to sound profound.
 
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