Fibre internet in Gauteng on Openserve (Telkom) network

[jcheek]

Sorry, for some reason I thought the thread title was FTTH in Pretoria.

No biggie, and no worries, mate.

Good luck with your canvassing and fibre motivation !

 

[jcheek]

Telkom FTTH email campaign

So on 8th May I got this SMS from Telkom :

"Valued customer. Superfast broadband is at your doorstep. Watch this space. Telkom Team."

Then yesterday (14 May), an email arrived (personally addressed to me, [CUSTOMER_NAME] ) promoting Telkom's FTTH offering. The mail outlines the current home FFTH deal pretty much as we now know it, including this graphic :



A full copy of the letter is attached to this post as a PDF.

Note that the "Unlimited calls to Telkom and Telkom Mobile" (with CallCatcher) is an add-on analogue voice deal at an additional R200pm. The basic deal is still the same, 20Mbps/50GB/R999 per month.
However the 50% off for the first 3 months still applies if you take the add-on (R999+R200 = R1199; less 50% = R599 for first 3 months).

Presumably the same SMS and email have been sent to all known/existing Telkom customers in FTTH coverage, so this could well trigger quite a surge in the uptake of FTTH in the area.

 

[Bursty-dude]

I got back home yesterday at around 10am and there was a letter from "Telkom Network Engineering and Build" in the post box:


And saw this morning that there has been some trenching work started in the areas marked with the red stars (we stay in the area in the circle):


So it seems that we will finally be getting some decent internet connections in this area.
Been struggling with a crappy "10Mb" line that, if I am lucky, will get 6Mb.

 

[biena]

ByronTudhope having his fiber installed:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/700366-AMA-Having-Telkom-FTTH-Installed-Today
http://wp.me/p684ZJ-1L

 

[jcheek]

ByronTudhope having his fiber installed:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/700366-AMA-Having-Telkom-FTTH-Installed-Today

Nice! Thanks for the cross-link.

Interesting that Telkom is using the same Alcatel-Lucent ONT as used in Durban down in Cape Town, rather than the Huawei device we've seen being used around Jhb and Pta.

That roll of dual-purpose CBI/Aberdare drop cable looks pretty much the same as is being used upcountry.

 

[MickeyD]

Nice! Thanks for the cross-link.

Interesting that Telkom is using the same Alcatel-Lucent ONT as used in Durban down in Cape Town, rather than the Huawei device we've seen being used around Jhb and Pta.

That roll of dual-purpose CBI/Aberdare drop cable looks pretty much the same as is being used upcountry.

If I remember correctly, all the costal regions are using Alcatel-Lucent equipment (ISAMs) and all the inland regions are using Huawei (MSANs). In FTTH configuration these units will be in the exchange (Central Office).

 

[biena]

Nice! Thanks for the cross-link.

Interesting that Telkom is using the same Alcatel-Lucent ONT as used in Durban down in Cape Town, rather than the Huawei device we've seen being used around Jhb and Pta.

That roll of dual-purpose CBI/Aberdare drop cable looks pretty much the same as is being used upcountry.

Prefer the Huawei, the fiber connection is on the underside and less likely to get damaged.
As to the cable, they probably have a few hundred rolls that has to be used up

it is good news for the people waiting on installs. shows some activity.

 

[jcheek]

"Home" FTTH comparison : Telkom vs MWeb vs WebAfrica vs Vox

For those who might be trying to decide between the Telkom-based FTTH packages offered by Telkom, MWeb, WebAfrica and Vox Telecom, here's a single-page table I compiled that might be of some help.

Note : The full-resolution version of the table is attached as a PDF here : View attachment 20150521 Telkom-based home FTTH comparison - v1.pdf
(A quick-and-dirty JPG is attached below, however MyBB's rather dysfunctional image uploader downsamples the full-res picture so that you can't see much detail.)



Some notes and observations :

1. For the moment, the table only includes 'Home' offerings from the four main providers : Telkom, MWeb, WebAfrica and Vox Telecom.
   
2. Some providers have separated the line rental fee from the data fee. This makes their offerings more flexible in that you can combine any of 3 or 4 line speed options with upwards of 7 different data packages ranging from 40GB to 1000GB. Examples are WebAfrica and Vox, where there are 30-odd possible combinations. For the other two providers (MWeb and Telkom), line speed is linked to data package so there are fewer options.
   
3. For the sake of highlighting data costs, the rental fee is shown separately. Even though some providers don't separate the line rental fee from the data fee, the line rental fees - as determined by what Telkom charges the resellers - are by now pretty well known : R639, R739 and R849 per month for the 20, 40 and 100Mbps services respectively. WebAfrica is unique in offering an entry-level 10Mbps package at R539pm.
   
4. Whilst one can presume that you should be able to change line-speed packages in mid-contract with any provider, only WebAfrica actually cover this in their T's and C's : you can change freely (up- or downgrade) for a fee of R199 each time.
   
5. With the exception of WebAfrica, the ISP's will require you to commit to a 2-year contract for both line rental and data package, which is going to be a problem if things go sour (eg bad service). I think WebAfrica is currently unqiue in that they will allow you to move the data contract to another ISP but keep the line contract with them, albeit for a R100 premium on the monthly line rental.
   
6. Most of the providers are cagey about the terms of outright cancellation. You can safely assume that you're going to be held liable for all outstanding fees if you cancel. Again, only WebAfrica have handled this explicitly in their T's & C's. They do at least offer the option of transferring the contract to a new owner or a new address, if feasible.
   
7. With the exception of Vox Telecom, all of the providers offer "free" additional data allowances to be used at night (between 00:00 and 06:00/07:00). The allowances vary from a 1+1 scheme (MWeb) to Telkom's unlimited "NightSurfer" scheme.
   
8. The going rate for monthly, daytime fibre data seems to vary between about R3 and R7 per GB. Telkom seems to be most expensive, starting at around R7.20/GB/month (for 50GBG) and dropping down to about R4.75/GB/month (for 200GB). WebAfrica and Vox are cheapest starting at about R3.75/GB and going down to the sub-R3/GB level. It seems that the marginal cost for fibre data is around R3/GB.
   
9. When you've hit your monthly daytime data cap, only Telkom allows you to keep surfing (albeit at a throttled speed) by virtue of its "SoftCap" scheme. The other providers use "hard cap" schemes. When you need to buy more daytime data, Telkom, MWeb and Vox offer specific "booster" data packages. These work out a bit more expensive than monthly data, ranging from about R4/GB up to nearly R20/GB (Telkom). WebAfrica seems to have no specific top-up scheme.
   
10. As an alternative to booster data packages, Telkom and MWeb offer pay-per-MB options which work out at around R200/GB. You absolutely want to avoid getting into a pay-per-MB OOB situation on fast fibre with these providers !
    
11. Some providers bundle "free add-ins" with their packages, like email, fax-to-email, mobile data, Wi-Fi access or VoIP support. MWeb's offering is arguably the most comprehensive in this respect. What these extras are worth to you varies depending on your situation. By comparison WebAfrica is quite a "stripped down" package where even email is an optional extra.
    
12. Some providers are offering sign-up incentives (aka specials/freebies) to get subscribers onto the 2-year FTTH boat. Telkom is about the most generous in this respect, with no installation fee, 50% discount off the first 3 months' fees, and a DStv Explora decoder. MWeb and Vox are somewhere in the middle, and WebAfrica is the least generous where in return for signing up for 2 years you get ... absolutely nothing.
    
13. With the advent of fibre, I guess a lot of people are going to be looking more seriously at using VoIP. While Vox provide a free VoIP phone, I gather that there is a monthly fee (not included) to get a SIP account with them. MWeb is unique in that they include a SIP account (with several regional and non-regional numbers) and free on-net calls with no monthly subscription.

Lastly, a disclaimer : While I've tried to be as accurate as possible with the table, some gremlins could well have crept in. If you use the information in the table, you do so at your own risk.
If you do happen to spot an error, please PM me (with a reference to the correct info) and I'll fix it.
Likewise, if anyone has other info that they think could/should be added, let me know and I'll try and add it.

What's most relevant in these early days of FTTH is real user experiences. So far we seem to have heard only good things about Telkom/Telkom FTTH, nothing much about MWeb/Telkom and Vox/Telkom, and rather mixed signals about WebAfrica/Telkom (see here and here).

 

[biena]

One thing to note on the Telkom billing side. your first bill can be almost double.
e.g.
Was installed/activated 4 May, received my bill for:
4 May - 20 May (line+softcap both pro-rated)
20 May - 21 June (full monthly fee)

Not really a surprise, was expecting to prepay. I did receive the 50% discount for both months.

Seems their Fiber infrastructure is on backup batteries, everything worked during load shedding.

/diary note. 23 May: still happy with my fiber choice.

 

[jcheek]

/diary note. 23 May: still happy with my fiber choice.

Great to hear.
Out of interest, do you experience any difference in service (speed or latency) when using your fibre connection in NightSurfer time, as opposed to in daytime ?

 

[biena]

Product specific Terms and conditions (FTTH 100GB, 200GB)
http://www.telkom.co.za/futurehood/ftth_terms.pdf

Think this will be applicable to the 20/40/100 Mbps FTTH contracts. Allows for upward migration one time at zero cost, after that I suspect you will pay. No mention of downward migration.

Wish to highlight the following:

Upward migration from other Telkom plans shall be allowed once within the contract term at no cost. An upward migration refers to the scenario where the subscriber wishes to move to a package of a higher subscription than the existing package, during the fixed term portion of the agreement.

 

[jcheek]

Product specific Terms and conditions (FTTH 100GB, 200GB)
http://www.telkom.co.za/futurehood/ftth_terms.pdf

Nice find, thanks for sharing!
Also good to see that Telkom have started to clean those T's & C's up and make them more fibre-relevant.

 

[jcheek]

Telkom FTTH ordered through WebAfrica : an end-user's blog

So a while back I made the decision to order my FTTH connection (in Pretoria) through WebAfrica. This post will serve as a bit of a blog about the overall WebAfrica/Telkom experience, along the same lines as biena's Telkom/Telkom blog here.
I'm planning to keep this post updated and also post notifications when new content is added so that it gives an idea of what the process and timeline looks like.

The preamble:
Had email and phone discussions with the 4 main FTTH providers (Telkom, MWeb, WebAfrica, and Vox Telecom) over the past few weeks. So far, I rather like WA's approach, style, documentation, pricing and response times the best. (for info, I posted a comparison table here).


Placing the order:

• Day 0 (Tue 12 May 2015) @ 14:10 : Placed the order for 40Mbps/60GB FTTH connection using WebAfrica's online system. Received immediate confirmation email and first invoice, for R100 delivery fee on the included router.
• Day 0 @ 22:22 : Uploaded the signed FTTH contract (a 2-pager) onto the WA online system.
• Day 1 @ 08:59 : WebAfrica acknowledge receipt of contract and confirm line has been ordered. No indication of ETA. They also debit me R100 for courier delivery of the router included in the deal .. which they will only ship when the line goes active, I believe ... interesting accounting ethics.
• Day 3 @ 09:47 : Receive an email from WebAfrica advising me of the Telkom order reference number. Looking good. From now, the order will apparently go through three stages : Validations, Planning and then Installations. Apparently Telkom will contact me for an installation planning discussion when they are ready to install.

The long and very frustrating wait:

• Day 7 : Heard nothing further yet.
• Day 14 : Still no feedback, and no contact from Telkom yet. Hmm.
• Day 14 @ 11:16 : Sent email to WebAfrica to query status. Received reply within 30 minutes saying no further news yet. Hmmmm. Maybe time to get involved.
• Day 15 @ 09:00 : Phoned Telkom's "Fibre Help Desk" (080-000-7268 or ftth@telkom.co.za) to enquire on progress with installation. FHD find the order at the "Installations" stage but say it's "on hold for technical reasons". I am transferred to someone at "New Services" who says the latest annotation on the order (made this morning) is that it is on hold due to "poor workmanship by the fibre contractor". Hmmm .. doesn't bode well. I'm advised to follow up again next week and also ask that the installation team contacts me for clarification and an initial installation discussion.
• Day 17 @ 08:10 : Two guys from Telkom's fibre contractor arrive (unannounced) at my doorstep wanting access to inspect the fibre pole in my yard. Apparently there is a "big inspection" happening today/tomorrow - presumably by Telkom QC staff ? - so the contractor is hopping to make sure everything is in order. Haven't yet been contacted by the Telkom installation guys as I requested, which is disappointing.
• Day 20 (Mon 1 Jun) @ 10:01 : Order status as reported by Telkom is still the same, ie waiting for "quality problem" to be fixed. Sent email to WebAfrica asking them to see if they can get further detail. Reply 1 hour later to say they will "see what they can find out" and get back to me.
• Day 21 (Tue 2 Jun) : No feedback from WebAfrica and still no contact from the Telkom installation guys.
• Day 28 (Tue 9 Jun) : Still no feedback or contact from anyone.
• Day 30 (Thu 11 Jun) : Managed to find someone on the Telkom Fibre Help Desk who is able to track down a wholesale order (hint : when you phone, ask to speak to a lady called Dineo). Apparently Telkom is still hard at work solving various "configuration problems" on the Faerie Glen FTTH circuit. So my order is still on hold *sigh*.
• Day 41 (Mon 22 Jun) : Still no feedback from anyone.
• Day 58 (Thu 9 Jul) : Despite several more calls to the Telkom FHD, I'm still no wiser about the status of my order. Telkom can see there's a delay (8 weeks and counting), but no-one knows quite why. I'm also very unimpressed that there's been zero follow-up from WebAfrica. Told them as much and received a placatory (but ultimately unhelpful) response.
• Day 62 (Mon 13 Jul) : Fired off another email to WebAfrica telling them there's definite problem and that they need to step in and actually DO something about it.
• Day 65 (Thu 16 Jul) : WebAfrica tell me that the Faerie Glen FTTH problem has been resolved. Telkom should be calling me "soon" ...
• Day 70 (Tue 21 Jul) : Missed a call ("number withheld") from a Telkom technician telling me they would be here "tomorrow" to install. No "Does that suit you ?", no name and no return phone number.
• Day 71 (Wed 22 Jul) : Arranged to be home all day for Telkom but all I got was a no-show. Phoned Telkom Fibre Help Desk the following morning and was told they "ran out of time and couldn't get to me". Nice. Also told they would be with me on Friday 24 July (Day 73).
• Day 73 (Fri 24 Jul) : Another no-show by Telkom.
• Day 78 (Tue 28 Jul) : Contacted WebAfrica and read them the riot act about non-performance. Gave them an ultimatum to get me a committed install date by Friday 31 July (Day 81) or I move the order to another provider. Got a phonecall from one of their sales managers a few hours later to say that they would do their best to Get It Done.
• Day 81 (Fri 31 Jul) : No contact from Telkom about an install date and no feedback from WebAfrica. Started dusting off offers from MWeb and even looking very seriously at some of the new 4G/LTE offers from Telkom. At R999pm for 24x100GB, LTE is now priced very similar to fibre with the only real differences being the higher ping times and speed variability.
• Day 82 (Sat 1 Aug) : Bright and early (about 9AM) on a Saturday morning, two Telkom techies pitch up completely unannounced to "do the install". Since I hadn't done my ducting, that couldn't happen, however we had a good discussion about where the fibre would go and what was needed. I undertook to finish the ducting in about a week and they promised to return at that time.
• Day 89 (Fri 7 Aug) : Finished the ducting (see here) and let Telkom know I was ready for them. Just my luck it's a long weekend!

The installation (Day 93 (Tue 11 Aug)):

• Two Telkom techies arrived mid-morning to do the installation. After a brief pre-inspection they seemed happy with the ducting and started work. Because of the large-bore conduit and the gentle routing, I had made their job very straightforward and the actual fibre pull was ridiculously easy, taking about 3 minutes flat.
• One techie did the splice from the drop cable to the fibre termination box, which took about half an hour to finish. The other techie did the routing of the (aerial) drop cable from my point-of-entry box to the nearest fibre pole. Splicing work up on the box took perhaps 90 minutes.
• After testing between the pole and the fibre termination box, the drop cable is deemed good but it seems that the fibre up on the pole is not connected anywhere. The two techies disappear to go and find out why, leaving a small testing tool shining light into the fibre.
  
  
  
• I'm told a few hours later that the wrong group of fibres have been joined up somewhere in the street. They promise to return tomorrow once the right cables are spliced.

Commissioning (Day 94 (Wed 12 Aug)):

• The Telkom techies arrive about midday and say the right fibres have now been spliced. After setting up the Huawei ONT in PPPoE mode, they demonstrate a 40/10Mbps down/up connection on a Telkom guest account and leave me with a "circuit number".
• Sent the circuit number to WebAfrica and received an email with login details about an hour later. Tested with a direct PPPoE connection from a laptop and got ... SUCCESS!

A description of the actual commissioning process (with some pics) appears in this this post here..

So there you have it ... in my case, a full 94 days (3 months - ouch!!) from ordering until the Moment Of Joy.
Many frustrating weeks and countless (largely fruitless) follow-up phonecalls inbetween. But oh what a joy the connection is! So worth it!

 

[jcheek]

Huawei HG8245H GPON gateway (Telkom FTTH ONT)

The device that Telkom provided for use as an ONT is actually a full-featured "home gateway" : a Huawei HG8245H Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) terminal, complete with Wi-Fi and all the usual features you'd expect from an end-user home internet gateway.



However as biena already reported, the Wi-Fi and virtually all the other functionality is disabled in the typical Telkom deployment, leaving just one LAN port working to connect to another downstream router.
Seems a pity to have all that power and then disable most of it, but that's life, I guess ...

Out of interest, a PDF brochure on the HG8245(H) GPON gateway device is attached below.

 

[biena]

Great to hear.
Out of interest, do you experience any difference in service (speed or latency) when using your fibre connection in NightSurfer time, as opposed to in daytime ?

No difference as yet.

Some more pics of the Telkom FTTH install happening in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
pic of a twist in the fibre

You called it

 

[jcheek]

No difference as yet.

Cool, thanks for the feedback.

You called it

Yeah, I couldn't follow everything that the operator at "new services" was saying, but I think I heard the phrase "broken fibre" and the words "pole" and "problem" mentioned together ....
Somehow I think I may be in for a loooong wait ... ?

 

[Juzz Wuzz]

Hey jcheek, I just had mine done. I had zero notice with regard to updates for my fibre install. In fact I got a random call from Telkom after 4 weeks to schedule installation for this past Monday. I at the time didn't even have a order number, which after then contacting WA I got. Line was installed fine but now I'm stuck without a modem as WA refused to ship it to me before installation was complete.

So some advice for you, whenever you do get your installation date. Make sure WA ship you your modem before then. I've already been charged for everything but haven't used my line once in 2 days as yet. Quite rubbish if you ask me.

I do like your timeline. Mine was nothing like that lol but 4 weeks wasn't too bad for me in the end. GL with yours

 

[jcheek]

Hey jcheek, I just had mine done.

Cool - congrats!

I had zero notice with regard to updates for my fibre install. In fact I got a random call from Telkom after 4 weeks to schedule installation for this past Monday. I at the time didn't even have a order number, which after then contacting WA I got.

Yeah, it seems Telkom is not great with "keeping you in the picture" and WebAfrica's approach is more along the lines of "wait and see" than "ask and find out"
The Telkom order number gives quite a good handle, although because it's a wholesale FTTH order to them, it comes through on their side as a "Business" order so it can take them a few minutes to track it down. They seem to use both your Telkom landline details (if you have one) and the order number to find it.

Line was installed fine but now I'm stuck without a modem as WA refused to ship it to me before installation was complete.

That kinda sucks!
So do you have the Alcatel-Lucent ONT, or the Huawei one ? I assume the former, since you are in CT ?

So some advice for you, whenever you do get your installation date. Make sure WA ship you your modem before then.

Thanks, that's good to know.
Hopefully it won't affect me as I'm not planning to use the router WA supply. I plan to plug the output of the ONT straight into the WAN port of my existing dual-WAN router.
Watch this space for a Huawei WS319 up for sale soon

I've already been charged for everything but haven't used my line once in 2 days as yet. Quite rubbish if you ask me.

Are you not able to surf on one port of the ONT until then ?

I do like your timeline. Mine was nothing like that lol but 4 weeks wasn't too bad for me in the end. GL with yours.

Thanks, on all counts!
Enjoy your connection, when you get going!

 

[Juzz Wuzz]

Yup, in CT so got the Alcatel ONT. It would be great if it were possible to surf directly off of it but the WAN router is needed to do the actual connection to the internet. Though now that you mention it, I wonder if I connect my PC directly and try do a dialup from my PC....hmm something to try!

I see that Huawei router is only like R300 on TakeAlot with free shipping yet WA charge us R100 for delivery Would have preferred just getting a discount for not getting their router and organise your own

Lets hope yours gets sorted out soon!

 

[znh]

I ordered from WA. 100Mbps. Monument Park area Pretoria. This after my ADSL 10 line was damaged by the contractors installing fibre. 6 Faults logged (over 10 weeks) with telkom was unable to fix the issue... Life is too short to wait for telkom to fix ADSL.

13 May Place Fibre Order...
20 May Got Order number from WA after requesting feedback for second time.
25 May Got call from Telkom to schedule my install, they keep on referring to installing ADSL, I keep in correcting it as Fibre.
8 June Installation date. Details to follow...