Fibre internet in Gauteng on Openserve (Telkom) network

[aborg]

If there's a fault on the new cable within a specified time frame then the contractor has to re-install at his own cost.

There is QC.

There are ILO's.

Every cable installed is tested by Telkom staff.

Good to hear, as long as this is adhered too there should not be a problem. Initial visual inspections could be misleading then.

 

[jcheek]

All is still quiet in Faerie Glen ...

I've expressed interest in signing up for the FTTH service with 3 of the 4 ISPs who will be using Telkom's FTTH infrastructure in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
So far only one decent response - everyone else is waiting on Telkom itself and/or just looking at the published Telkom coverage map, which still shows Faerie Glen as "planned", even though the infrastructure is virtually complete, as far as I can see.

Here's the roll-call for my enquiries so far :

• Telkom : No acknowledgement or response yet.
• Web Africa : No acknowledgement or response yet. Telephonic follow-up indicates they are just looking at the same Telkom coverage map and waiting for that to change.
• Vox Telecom : Not queried
• MWeb : Accepting orders in the Faerie Glen area, but switch-on date is uncertain.

So for the moment at least, we wait for news in comparative silence ...

It goes without saying that if anyone knows of someone who's actually had a Telkom-based FTTH installation completed in the Pretoria area, please post in this thread!

 

[jcheek]

Telkom FTTH coverage update

Not sure when this happened, but the Telkom FTTH coverage map has been updated within the last few days, with many of the formerly "planned" areas now showing as "available" :



Note that the whole of the Faerie Glen part of the rollout area is now shaded as "available"

WebAfrica's coverage map hasn't yet been updated - it still only shows one tiny deployment in the Boardwalk Meander area, near Woodhill College :

 

[jcheek]

For those who might have missed it, this MyBroadband article gives quite a nice overview of what the customer-premises part of an FTTH installation looks like.
It's based on a Vumatel installation in Parkhurst, but I guess the general approach, layout and CPE devices will look pretty similar for any FTTH provider (pics courtesy of the same MyBB article) :





For what it's worth, I see from the article's other pics that Vumatel also seem to be using a Zyxel router/WAP/switch device downstream of the fibre-to-Ethernet CPE device.

 

[GammaZor]

Woop Woop! I am in the available area.

I have a question. Faerie Glen has been experiencing a bad case of exchange congestion. lets say I get fiber now, won't it make it worse? I assume the fiber also goes to the same exchange thus actually making it more congested?

Or does fiber has it own separate exchange?

 

[jcheek]

Woop Woop! I am in the available area.
I have a question. Faerie Glen has been experiencing a bad case of exchange congestion. lets say I get fiber now, won't it make it worse? I assume the fiber also goes to the same exchange thus actually making it more congested?
Or does fiber has it own separate exchange?

I don't know enough about the backhaul arrangements to comment knowledgeably from a technical perspective, unfortunately - maybe someone else with Telkom insight can ?
What I do know is that it is not backhaul capacity or exchange congestion that is the main speed constraint on my block, but copper performance (or rather, lack thereof) - 2Mbps is the max that is really usable for me, even though the exchange is technically capable of 10Mbps.

I know it's not really comparable to the fixed-line scenario, but in the case of Telkom's 4G/LTE wireless infrastructure, I've never experienced a problem with throughput ... 20-40Mbps is no problem. Hopefully the Telkom design engineers have done their sums right with the FTTH backhaul arrangements, as they seem to have done with 4G/LTE.

All I can say is that one would need to look very carefully at the performance clause(s) of the contract signed with whatever ISP one chooses to go with - especially in view of the fact that it's going to be a 2-year commitment (for now, at least). If the line doesn't deliver at the purchased performance level of 20, 40 or 100Mbps, then one should have cause to force your ISP to rectify it, or to cancel the contract without penalty. So one needs to look out for the old chestnuts of "best-effort service" and "up to X Mbps" in those clauses, I guess.

Now that FTTH is fully "available" in my area, I'm going to try and get hold of whatever contract documents Telkom are using and see what they say in that regard.

 

[GammaZor]

I don't know enough about the backhaul arrangements to comment knowledgeably from a technical perspective, unfortunately - maybe some else with Telkom insight can ?
What I do know is that it is not backhaul capacity or exchange congestion that is the main speed constraint on my block, but copper performance (or rather, lack thereof) - 2Mbps is the max that is really usable for me, even though the exchange is technically capable of 10Mbps.

I know it's not really comparable to the fixed-line scenario, but in the case of Telkom's 4G/LTE wireless infrastructure, I've never experienced a problem with throughput ... 20-40Mbps is no problem. Hopefully the Telkom design engineers have done their sums right with the FTTH backhaul arrangements, as they seem to have done with 4G/LTE.

All I can say is that one would need to look very carefully at the performance clause(s) of the contract signed with whatever ISP one chooses to go with - especially in view of the fact that it's going to be a 2-year commitment (for now, at least). If the line doesn't deliver at the purchased performance level of 20, 40 or 100Mbps, then one should have cause to force your ISP to rectify it, or to cancel the contract without penalty. So one needs to look out for the old chestnuts of "best-effort service" and "up to X Mbps" in those clauses, I guess.
Now that FTTH is "available", I'm going to try and get hold of whatever contract documents Telkom are using and see what they say in that regard.

This is exactly why I am so hesitant to get fiber.

I sign a 2 year contract to get fiber and hopefully good speeds, and the bam. I have congestion, high ping and low throughput on a fiber line. Could have just stayed on copper then.

But like you said, it seems like its time to read some contracts before signing up.

 

[jcheek]

Now that FTTH is fully "available" in my area, I'm going to try and get hold of whatever contract documents Telkom are using and see what they say in that regard.

Managed to get to speak to a Telkom sales consultant this morning (not so easy these days). FTTH is indeed now available in Faerie Glen, and Telkom is accepting orders.

Details of the available Telkom home FTTH packages can be found here.

Details of the available Telkom business FTTH packages can be found here.

Here's a bit of info on the home sign-up deal that Telkom is currently offering, as far as I could ascertain, since everything is done verbally.

The basic deal is pretty sweet (if you're into "free value-added" stuff, that is) :

1. R999, R1299, or R1799pm for 20Mbps/50GB, 40Mbps/100GB and 100Mbps/200GB respectively.
2. 24-month contract commitment.
3. A Huawei combo router/WAP/switch device included. This is a separate device, installed downstream of the main fibre-to-ethernet converter, which is officially called an "Optical Network Terminal" (ONT).
4. 50% discount on the monthly fee for the first 3 months.
5. Free DStv Explora decoder

No installation fee mentioned, so I guess it is built into the monthly subs as originally suspected.

I asked for the full T's & C's, and was directed to a page on the Telkom Mobile website (yeah I know - wtf?), just off the main FTTH product offer page(s) here. See PDF copy attached to this post.

The T's and C's are very vague, clearly adapted from xDSL, and with holes you can drive a bus through. Some observations:

1. A vague cross-reference to another, more complete set of T's and C's.
2. Penalties / early cancellation fees are not defined at all.
3. No clear commitment to a level of service (although the "best effort" reference is clearly applicable to xDSL, not fibre)

I'm going to try and get more clarity on the "real" T's and C's and also some more detail on the included fibre-to-ethernet modem and included router.

Update 1 (4 May 2015) : Here are the "SmartOffice" business fibre deals announced on 4 May 2015 (see MyBB summary here) :



Update 2 (14 May 2015) : Here's an extract from the Telkom FTTH email promo campaign that started happening around 14 May 2015 :

 

[jcheek]

MWeb updated FTTH deals

There've also been some updates to MWeb's FTTH deals, with some more speed and data cap options as outlined here :



(Also see some of the other relevant MWeb deal details here and here).

 

[User4456]

Managed to get to speak to a Telkom sales consultant this morning (not so easy these days). FTTH is indeed now available in Faerie Glen, and Telkom is accepting orders.

Here's a bit of info on the sign-up deal that Telkom is currently offering, as far as I could ascertain, since everything is done verbally :

The basic deal is pretty sweet (if you're into "free value-added" stuff, that is) :

1. R999, R1299, or R1799pm for 20Mbps/50GB, 40Mbps/100GB and 100Mbps/200GB respectively.
2. 24-month contract commitment.
3. Some kind of Huawei router device included. Not clear if that device is separate from the fibre/ethernet converter, or part of it (I suspect separate).
4. 50% discount on the monthly fee for the first 3 months.
5. Free DStv Explora decoder

No installation fee mentioned, so I guess it is built into the monthly subs as originally suspected.

I asked for the full T's & C's, and was directed to a page on the Telkom Mobile website (yeah I know - wtf?), just off the main FTTH product offer page(s) here. See PDF copy attached to this post.

The T's and C's are very vague, clearly adapted from xDSL, and with holes you can drive a bus through. Some observations:

1. A vague cross-reference to another, more complete set of T's and C's.
2. Penalties / early cancellation fees are not defined at all.
3. No clear commitment to a level of service (although the "best effort" reference is clearly applicable to xDSL, not fibre)

View attachment 207782

I'm going to try and get more clarity on the "real" T's and C's and also some more detail on the included fibre-to-ethernet modem and included router.

jcheek- you are one resourceful fellow!

All looking good but damn.. 24 month contract. I can't imagine being stuck at 200gb/month for 2 years on 100Mbps line lol!

What I really want is the fibre connection, with Crystal Web as my fibre ISP. That should be possible at some point... but obviously Telkom wants all the initial business for their fibre infrastructure investment (kinda understandably so)

 

[jcheek]

jcheek- you are one resourceful fellow!

Thanks - I try, especially when people are trying to nail me down for 2 years ;-)

All looking good but damn.. 24 month contract.

Yeah, I don't like it either - no-one does, in these times.
I seem to recall that ADSL was exactly the same when it first came out (think I signed up for 384kbps for 2 years in 2005 ). It's the curse of the early adopter!
On the other hand, many of us commit to a cellular service provider (with dubious service levels?) for 2 years without a second thought ;-)

I can't imagine being stuck at 200gb/month for 2 years on 100Mbps line lol!

All the packages will have data top-up options (MWeb is R89 for +10GB, for example), and I would imagine they'd have no problem with you upgrading to more speed and/or more data mid-contract, so the only real constraint is a monetary one.
It's if/when the connection fails to perform and you want to cancel that things are going to get ugly ...

What I really want is the fibre connection, with Crystal Web as my fibre ISP. That should be possible at some point... but obviously Telkom wants all the initial business for their fibre infrastructure investment (kinda understandably so)

Yeah, whichever fibre ISP we go for, most of the money is going to end up in Telkom's pocket. Deja vu ?
Personally I'm trying to avoid giving my money to Naspers (they have enough!), but I have to say that the MWeb deals are looking quite sensible ...

 

[jcheek]

Aha .. so MWeb yesterday announced a deal-sweetener ... apart from the free (Zyxel) router they were throwing in for new FTTH sign-ups in March, on the more expensive (faster/bigger) deals, they're now throwing in a free DStv Explora decoder (a-la Telkom), and waiving the installation fee:



That brings the MWeb and Telkom deals closer for new subscribers - they now have similar joining incentives, except that Telkom is offering the "50% discount for the first 3 months" in addition.

In terms of the 2-year deals themselves, MWeb still offers roughly double the monthly data at the same monthly fee when compared to Telkom.

Note: The MWeb FTTH page has been updated to reflect the current deals - see here.

 

[Yuu]

@jcheek - While we need more solid info, Telkom's deal with data offers virtually unlimited data in night-surfer hours. MWEB shows a limit. Having said that, all is looking good

 

[jcheek]

@jcheek - While we need more solid info, Telkom's deal with data offers virtually unlimited data in night-surfer hours. MWEB shows a limit. Having said that, all is looking good

Interesting that you say that, Yuu - while I have a suspicion that Telkom must offer some form of extra night-time data on FTTH, they don't actually say so (in writing) anywhere that I've seen.
I know on the current 4G/LTE deals (like the R1800 60GB+60GB LTE data deal that I use), you get the same quantity of data again to use between midnight and 6AM. But I've not seen it said explicitly for FTTH. Did I miss something ?

Edit: It seems that the Telkom deal does indeed include "NightSurfer" data - if somewhat indirectly - by virtue of the deal including their "SoftCap" product. The product description for SoftCap includes the reference to "NightSurfer"itself (see the 50GB SoftCap description, for instance), and NightSurfer itself seems to be "unlimited data".
Thanks to biena and Yuu for tracking that info down!

Interesting that both companies (Telkom and MWeb) are very careful to say that any extra night-time data is a temporary promotion that could be withdrawn at a later stage. Though presumably if you sign up for 2 years, they couldn't take that away ... could they ?

 

[Yuu]

I will see if i can find it somewhere but they might have said it. AFAIK it isn't a promo anymore on Telkom's part [well Telkom Internet i should say].

If what we have seen being done with mobile contracts, i wouldn't want to say they can't just yet.

Edit: Found it. Under their fibrehoods page here it shows if selecting both Voice + data but their standalone fibre products exclude showing the night surfer data.

 

[jcheek]

I will see if i can find it somewhere but they might have said it. AFAIK it isn't a promo anymore on Telkom's part [well Telkom Internet i should say].

Great, thanks.

Out of interest, here is what the MWeb contract says about night-time data :



That little clause is buried in their FTTH T's + C's.

The other area where Telkom FTTH is a bit vague is on out-of-bundle data. With MWeb FTTH there is the option to buy booster data (at R89/10GB) when you hit your cap. With Telkom they only refer to a SoftCap scheme, which presumably means you get throttled when your FTTH data cap is exceeded.

 

[Yuu]

MWEB is just playing it safe it seems and i hope anyone signing up is aware .

As to Telkoms OOB rates, i would guess their rates would be around 25/GB with rollover to the following month like their ADSL capped offerings. NS also gets throttled [unless you buy min of 1GB] but resumes to normal next calender month.

I don't want to contaminate all the good info you have posted here but until they further clarify it ,i will stand by what i have posted until corrected .

Please see my post edited above.

 

[jcheek]

The other area where Telkom FTTH is a bit vague is on out-of-bundle data. With MWeb FTTH there is the option to buy booster data (at R89/10GB) when you hit your cap. With Telkom they only refer to a SoftCap scheme, which presumably means you get throttled when your FTTH data cap is exceeded.

Regarding the "SoftCap" products and the related NightSurfer data on Telkom's FTTH deals :

biena managed to track down this page which describes how Telkom's "SoftCap" products work. The Telkom FTTH deals include the SoftCap products, and these products in turn include the reference to NightSurfer. (thanks biena !)

As to Telkoms OOB rates, i would guess their rates would be around 25/GB with rollover to the following month like their ADSL capped offerings. NS also gets throttled [unless you buy min of 1GB] but resumes to normal next calender month.

On that same SoftCap page, there is a hyperlink to a PDF document that describes that top-up options available on NightSurfer - this one. (thanks again biena!)

On there we can see that you can elect to buy top-up data in chunks of between 1GB and 500GB at prices ranging from R20/GB down to about R5/GB. Or you can elect to be billed at 19c/MB, which by my calcs is an effective R194.56/GB - ouch!!

I don't want to contaminate all the good info you have posted here but until they further clarify it ,i will stand by what i have posted until corrected .

No worries - I think we're all on the same team!

 

[Yuu]

^^ one of the many reasons am excited for Telkom's offering of FTTH . Appreciate the info added.

 

[biena]

Fiber is in and it is working

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4333688546

DOWNLOAD
19.36Mb/s

UPLOAD
1.75Mb/s

PING 6 ms

Will update with the whole experience.