Business ADSL data bundle pricing comparison

Are these business-class ADSL packages really worth it? How much of a performance advantage do you get over consumer class ADSL? Afrihost's capped offerings (which are all unshaped) work really fast for me, though admittedly, redundancy is a problem. But then again with ADSL, you can just signup for accounts with multiple ISPs who each use different cable systems, and your redundancy is sorted. It's obviously a manual process to change accounts, but could be automated if you have smart-enough software/routers/gateways to detect downtime and change accounts.

The way I see it, the biggest problem with ADSL is from Telkom's side, and not on the ISP networks. If you are not suffering from poor quality copper, or a local loop that is too long, then either the contention at the DSLAM/Exchange is high, or the backhaul from the DSLAM/Exchange is poor. ISPs have absolutely no control over this, and no amount of Gold, Platinum or Diamond accounts are going to help.

What are you guys thoughts?
 
Forgive me with my lack of knowledge,but business line different from normal lines?

I know the vpn part,lan access needs,better ping. But can't a company get the same and even better on wireless networks that have have no shaped data also?

Education is power lol
 
One small detail left out of the comparison is that the MWeb Business offer includes 5 fixed IP addresses. This is ideal for a small business. Their service is very stable but their Customer Portal need some work.

ToxicWazte, to answer your question in part. When doing video streaming, i.e. WebSeminars, using my MWeb Business account there is no throttling, not sure if one would get the same response from a non-business account.

My 10Mbps ADSL Speedtest : http://www.speedtest.net/result/1447467008.png

And I agree, the biggest problems with these accounts have nothing to do with the ISP, and mostly with Telkom when something goes wrong with their infrastructure.
 
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The reasons why I prefer business uncapped IMO:

- No throttling of protocols or once you've reached a certain amount of Gb (Unless requested by the client, I ask my ISP to throttle P2P if a user is able to get around the firewall). Do a lot of video conferencing, so that helps
- Access to better support through a business or premier helpdesk
- Your own Account Manager, which gives you a name and direct number to scream at when things aren't working correctly, and someone to handle your escalations
- Static IP's
- Reasonably consistant speeds when compared to a 'standard' ADSL account, using exactly the same router/Telkom line

Also, I could be wrong, it is against some ISP's T&C's to use a home ADSL account for a business.
 
ToxicWazte said:
Are these business-class ADSL packages really worth it? How much of a performance advantage do you get over consumer class ADSL? Afrihost's capped offerings (which are all unshaped) work really fast for me, though admittedly, redundancy is a problem. But then again with ADSL, you can just signup for accounts with multiple ISPs who each use different cable systems, and your redundancy is sorted. It's obviously a manual process to change accounts, but could be automated if you have smart-enough software/routers/gateways to detect downtime and change accounts.

The way I see it, the biggest problem with ADSL is from Telkom's side, and not on the ISP networks. If you are not suffering from poor quality copper, or a local loop that is too long, then either the contention at the DSLAM/Exchange is high, or the backhaul from the DSLAM/Exchange is poor. ISPs have absolutely no control over this, and no amount of Gold, Platinum or Diamond accounts are going to help.

What are you guys thoughts?
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I believe business ADSL will come into play with things like (I don't have any first-hand business ADSL knowledge though):
1. Static IPs
2. Lower contention ratio translating into higher guaranteed throughput (i.e. a 4Mb line will actually be able to get 400KB/s during peak business hours)
3. Support
4. QoS for certain protocols
5. Multiple links for redundency reducing issues and downtime for the businesses

Residential ADSL lines typically work fine at night, but during peak hours in the day throughput plummets quite a bit. That I have personal experience of.
 
MickeyD said:
There is a significant difference between business and residential ADSL.
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MickeyD said:
This being a Broadband forum, I assumed you would know. GIYF.
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ROFL:D

ToxicWazte to add some detail to what everyone has put down here already, shaping can be very frustrating when you need to do something other than go to a webpage - I can't VPN from my Afrihost uncapped ADSL at home for example, it just won't work due to the heavy shaping. I have to switch to Cell C to work via the VPN from home or to a capped quality ADSL account. The same will apply to other protocols you may want to run.

Static IPs, if you need to set up a site-to-site VPN (or client), host a server of some kind (email/web/sharepoint/whatever) on premises and need to basically be able to "find" your connection a static IP is needed. Yes, you can use dynamic DNS services, but you will pick up problems with things like VPNs or certain video and voice solutions which don't really cater for this.

A VPN for example will set up its connection, with most small devices the minimum time limit for a key is 20minutes, the IP address fetched fro dyndns will be used for this 20 minute key, even if your IP changes. So you can have up to 40 minutes of a site-to-site VPN being down due changes on your public IP.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks guys. Some good points have been made which I did not consider. Definitely the right reasons to choose business ADSL accounts over standard ones.

To clarify, I was really referring more to capped standard ADSL as opposed to uncapped, hence why I used Afrihost unshaped data as an example. I understand there are huge differences (and hence price, 4-5 times more) between consumer uncapped and business uncapped. This makes sense, and I don't dispute it.

But on the capped side of things, aside from redundancy and static IPs, Afrihost's R29 per GB of unshaped data performs very well, even better than standard ADSL from WebAfrica, which is supposed to be top class.

I've never actually tested out business-class ADSL, as I've never found the need to. Guess it's time I try it out.
 
ToxicWazte said:
I've never actually tested out business-class ADSL, as I've never found the need to. Guess it's time I try it out.
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Hi TW, another of the significant benefits is the SLA that is signed with Telkom. If the service goes faulty they MUST repair it within 8 hours (iirc).
 
MickeyD said:
Hi TW, another of the significant benefits is the SLA that is signed with Telkom. If the service goes faulty they MUST repair it within 8 hours (iirc).
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SLA with Telkom? Please tell me more about this. Is this with regards to the actual physical copper line and ports at the DSLAM? Or are you referring to data?

AFAIK, ADSL is marketed is a best-effort service, with no SLA or guarantees. Not even for business. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
ToxicWazte said:
SLA with Telkom? Please tell me more about this. Is this with regards to the actual physical copper line and ports at the DSLAM? Or are you referring to data?

AFAIK, ADSL is marketed is a best-effort service, with no SLA or guarantees. Not even for business. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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Business ADSL has a different service agreement and gets preferential treatment. They dispatch their techies to clear all business ADSL faults as priority #1.
 
MickeyD said:
Business ADSL has a different service agreement and gets preferential treatment. They dispatch their techies to clear all business ADSL faults as priority #1.
Click to expand...

Perhaps business lines have higher priority over residential lines, but there is definitely no SLA involved.
 
ToxicWazte said:
Perhaps business lines have higher priority over residential lines, but there is definitely no SLA involved.
Click to expand...

MickeyD maybe you can clarify, AFAIK SLA is not for DLAM or last mile copper, but from there onwards. However, Telkom will prioritise last mile for these business accounts even if it is due to direct contacts between ISP and Telkom Techies and Managers. As you get a direct person to deal with form the ISP, they get a person to deal with and hammer from Telkom.

In short better service all round.

On capped options, there are latency & jitter, redundancy and contention issues that are different. Afrihost for example, R29 p/GB is great, but when SEACOM goes down you are down (or try to use their proxy which is no way to do anything serious). All depends what you need in terms of reliability and protocol and quality.
 
Bern said:
MickeyD maybe you can clarify, AFAIK SLA is not for DLAM or last mile copper, but from there onwards. However, Telkom will prioritise last mile for these business accounts even if it is due to direct contacts between ISP and Telkom Techies and Managers. As you get a direct person to deal with form the ISP, they get a person to deal with and hammer from Telkom.

In short better service all round.
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True. You could include the DSLAM as they get priority service there as well. For example: every DLSAM has a % of ports left spare for maintenance purposes. If a business fault occurs on card level, they will use one of those spare ports to service the business customer until their port has been replaced/fixed. They won't do this for a residential customer.
 
Another point is that ISP's will prioritise available bandwidth to business accounts first. When Seacom when down my MWEB business clients weren't aware that there was a problem, even although they were video conferencing with UK.

It's all kind of 'you gets what you pays for'.
 
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