Fibre internet in Gauteng on Openserve (Telkom) network

[HartsockZA]

Mine was about 10m from the pole to my house, and then probably another 10 - 15m inside. I'm going with WebAfrica and was never told there's going to be an installation fee. The installer literally just pulled out a big roll of fibre and went on with his business - did no measuring whatsoever.



My colleague who lives close to me had his installation on Sunday and had the blinking red LOS light (same as I have currently) when they left. The installer (a guy name Harrold) couldn't figure out today what was wrong other than it "must be a problem at the exchange". He made a lot of calls, located "boxes on the street" (I wasn't home -- my wife spoke to him) and ultimately left with the promise to come back tomorrow.

He was however surprised that there's still problems because he did an installation for a business somewhere in the same area two weeks ago and they were sorted out by now.

Then I took a video of my ONT and sent it to my colleague -- who then send a pic back saying his was fixed THIS AFTERNOON. That leaves me utterly confused - it does seem like they're fixing lines one by one somewhere?? Why not fix mine (and yours) in the same go?

View attachment 397298

I'd just like the install to happen, not too fussed about the down time, its usually a lot shorter to wait for them to fix your issue then to do a install. Was told two weeks earlier that my street and the one ahead of mine was also suffering the same issue, did the tech show you the light coming through? (oh wait, dumb question, you weren't home)

I'll be home all day tomorrow to get the line installed. As far as I am aware though they do say that after the install they have to commission the line before it goes live. Nice router btw, wouldn't mind taking a peak under its hood, if you'd excuse the nerd pun...

Oh and my install might be somewhere between 20m long... Not looking forward to the bill...

 

[ebendl]

That's just the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) - it comes with every Telkom connection. You plug your router into it.

The guy actually forgot his splicer's charger at my house, so I've been waiting the whole day for him to phone me to come and get his charger and then I'll pounce on him to come and finish my installation. At this point, I haven't been contacted yet...

 

[supersunbird]

That's just the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) - it comes with every Telkom connection. You plug your router into it.

RJ45 or RJ11?

 

[ebendl]

Both actually. Different FTTH setups have differnet ONTs (in fact, the Huawei one Telkom is uses have a couple of different models, each with different port configs).

I think the ONT that Telkom is using has 2 (or might be 4) RJ45 / Ethernet ports and 2 RJ11 "POTS" ports. Telkom seems to be using only one Ehternet port as a WAN port to plug your router into.

In theory Telkom could have enabled the POTS port on the ONT and enabled you to use your old analog telephone on the connection (this is similar to some LTE routers that also allows you to plug in an old analog telephone). I believe however that they're not doing this -- if you buy a voice package with their FTTH products you get a VOIP phone (uses Ethernet).

I know other FTTH providers -- especially in estates -- have different ONTs that could use one Ethernet port for internet, one Ehternet for VOIP, one Ethernet for DSTV etc. This is then basically preconfigured into the ONT.

But you definitely won't be able to plug your old ADSL modem into the thing - you will need a router with a WAN Ethernet port.

 

[Genisys]

RJ45 or RJ11?

RJ45.

 

[supersunbird]

So I'd require a new device to replace my Netgear ADSL2+ Modem Router?

 

[LukeKroon]

Hi everyone,

I am moving to a new house in the beginning of next year, 2017, close to Brooklyn/Baileys Muckleneuk. It is in the Telkom fiber coverage area. I want to install fiber ASAP in the beginning of January. With all the experience you guys had in Pretoria, what service provider would be the fastest for installation in the Brooklyn area ?

Thanks in advance !

 

[ebendl]

So I'd require a new device to replace my Netgear ADSL2+ Modem Router?

I believe so yes.

Most ISPs give you one.

 

[ebendl]

Hi everyone,

I am moving to a new house in the beginning of next year, 2017, close to Brooklyn/Baileys Muckleneuk. It is in the Telkom fiber coverage area. I want to install fiber ASAP in the beginning of January. With all the experience you guys had in Pretoria, what service provider would be the fastest for installation in the Brooklyn area ?

Thanks in advance !

All of them end up going to Openserve. Some guys say ISPAfrica manages to get OpenServe to act faster. Mine was through WebAfrica and so far if it wan't for the technical issue it would have been just less than 2 weeks.

 

[HartsockZA]

All of them end up going to Openserve. Some guys say ISPAfrica manages to get OpenServe to act faster. Mine was through WebAfrica and so far if it wan't for the technical issue it would have been just less than 2 weeks.

I want to just look at the setup mainly, yea, I too sit here with no install team for the whole day... Actually thinking about canceling the whole damn thing and getting a wireless connection from level 7. Trying to start my company and getting dropped like this for the 4th time is really getting to me.

 

[ebendl]

I want to just look at the setup mainly, yea, I too sit here with no install team for the whole day... Actually thinking about canceling the whole damn thing and getting a wireless connection from level 7. Trying to start my company and getting dropped like this for the 4th time is really getting to me.

Don't do it man. Wireless sucks.

 

[HartsockZA]

Don't do it man. Wireless sucks.

Yea... I know... I can give you Thabo number and you can tell him about what you have of his

 

[HartsockZA]

Finally installed, and got my connection on the same day. No errors all green from get go (which is lucky)

 

[jacosmit]

Hi there, new to the thread.

We stay in Erasmia and the Huawei guys are busy for the last few months.

Who can we bug for news on the Erasmia install?

 

[jacosmit]

So I'd require a new device to replace my Netgear ADSL2+ Modem Router?

Hallo maaikie

 

[jcheek]

RJ45 or RJ11?

Both actually. Different FTTH setups have differnet ONTs (in fact, the Huawei one Telkom is uses have a couple of different models, each with different port configs).

I think the ONT that Telkom is using has 2 (or might be 4) RJ45 / Ethernet ports and 2 RJ11 "POTS" ports. Telkom seems to be using only one Ethernet port as a WAN port to plug your router into.

Correct. In all the installs I've seen so far, all the other LAN ports - and the Wi-Fi Access Point, for that matter - are all locked down.

In theory Telkom could have enabled the POTS port on the ONT and enabled you to use your old analog telephone on the connection (this is similar to some LTE routers that also allows you to plug in an old analog telephone).

Certainly in the "all-Telkom" installations, ie the ones with no other ISP involved, this is exactly what Telkom does. You can see this quite nicely in Brollok's install pic here; with a brief "thumbs-up" on the voice quality here.

In theory, one should be able to piggyback a Telkom fibre landline onto the Openserve-provided ONT, irrespective of which ISP you're with for data services.
I recently made enquiries about doing this with Telkom, but was told they can't - or rather, won't - do this unless the whole contract (line+ISP) is with Telkom.
Don't know how true that is, but there you go ...

Of course, one not-so-nice aspect of having a fibre-based landline is that the service is dependent on having power on the ONT. Unless you have some kind of power backup / UPS arrangement, if the power goes down, so do your landline phones.

I believe however that they're not doing this -- if you buy a voice package with the [Telkom] FTTH products you get a VOIP phone (uses Ethernet).

I haven't seen Telkom doing this yet. Anyone got a reference ?
You can certainly get a "true" VoIP connection from one of the many providers (eg SwitchTel) that works in exactly this way, ie directly onto your LAN.
I would guess, though, that the quality of a "true" 3rd-party VoIP phone service implemented directly on a LAN probably won't be quite as good as that provided by Telkom on the "dedicated" analogue voice port of the OpensServe ONT. At least, not without some QoS tweaking to prioritise VoIP voice traffic.

I know other FTTH providers -- especially in estates -- have different ONTs that could use one Ethernet port for internet, one Ethernet for VOIP, one Ethernet for DSTV etc. This is then basically pre-configured into the ONT.

In the case of the OpenServe FTTH system in The Wilds estate, they are using one of the analogue telephone ports on the Huawei ONT to provide landline voice services (if the residents want it) over and above the data service. I suspect they may use the other voice port to implement an intra-estate "intercom" system on a separate telephone/intercom device.

But you definitely won't be able to plug your old ADSL modem into the thing - you will need a router with a WAN Ethernet port.

Right on.

 

[Hades911]

If you have an Asus ADSL router you can use it for fibre.

All I did was upgrade the firmware on the router and changed some configurations to change a LAN port to a WAN port and its working fine. This is with a ASUS N14-U so I'm sure more expensive Asus routers should be able to do the same

 

[ebendl]

Correct. In all the installs I've seen so far, all the other LAN ports - and the Wi-Fi Access Point, for that matter - are all locked down.

Mmm, interesting, mine isn't a Wi-Fi Access point. Model HG8240H. Probably cheaper for Telkom.

Certainly in the "all-Telkom" installations, ie the ones with no other ISP involved, this is exactly what Telkom does. You can see this quite nicely in Brollok's install pic here; with a brief "thumbs-up" on the voice quality here.

In theory, one should be able to piggyback a Telkom fibre landline onto the Openserve-provided ONT, irrespective of which ISP you're with for data services.
I recently made enquiries about doing this with Telkom, but was told they can't - or rather, won't - do this unless the whole contract (line+ISP) is with Telkom.

Don't know how true that is, but there you go ...
Of course, one not-so-nice aspect of having a fibre-based landline is that the service is dependent on having power on the ONT. Unless you have some kind of power backup / UPS arrangement, if the power goes down, so do your landline phones.

.
Ah ok, no idea they were using it. I have little need of a landline, would rather go cheap VOIP somewhere.

I haven't seen Telkom doing this yet. Anyone got a reference ?
You can certainly get a "true" VoIP connection from one of the many providers (eg SwitchTel) that works in exactly this way, ie directly onto your LAN.
I would guess, though, that the quality of a "true" 3rd-party VoIP phone service implemented directly on a LAN probably won't be quite as good as that provided by Telkom on the "dedicated" analogue voice port of the OpensServe ONT. At least, not without some QoS tweaking to prioritise VoIP voice traffic.

I might have imagined the whole thing - will see if I can find the link somewhere. I'm hoping Fibre would give me the stability to actually run a 3rd party VoIP service - had bad experiences over 3G / ADSL (never bothered to try over LTE).

In the case of the OpenServe FTTH system in The Wilds estate, they are using one of the analogue telephone ports on the Huawei ONT to provide landline voice services (if the residents want it) over and above the data service. I suspect they may use the other voice port to implement an intra-estate "intercom" system on a separate telephone/intercom device.

.
Would be interested to know how well that project went in the end - I ran the project until I moved out and one of the directors took over. It was a loooong process and we nearly went with Frogfoot, but Telkom eventually got it.

 

[jcheek]

If you have an Asus ADSL router you can use it for fibre.

All I did was upgrade the firmware on the router and changed some configurations to change a LAN port to a WAN port and its working fine. This is with a ASUS N14-U so I'm sure more expensive Asus routers should be able to do the same

That's good info - thanks for sharing, Hades911 !

 

[jcheek]

Would be interested to know how well that [FTTH in The Wilds estate] project went in the end - I ran the project until I moved out and one of the directors took over. It was a loooong process and we nearly went with Frogfoot, but Telkom eventually got it.

On the ground at least, your efforts seem to be paying off !
I gather that the Huawei team(s) finished with the main backbone work towards the end of August, after having set up a temporary base next to the estate "club house" for a few months :



I've visited the estate a few times over the past few weeks, and the "drop cable" team(s) can now often be seen connecting and commissioning individual subscribers. They seem to be going great guns. I've assisted a couple of subscribers there lately (see here, for example). There seem to have been one or two hiccups (eg an outage of several days) associated with new connections, but on the whole it looks to be going OK.
I clocked a pretty solid 100x50Mbps result over Wi-Fi on a Samsung handset there the other day :



Would be good to hear from some other current estate residents about their experiences, too.