Fibre internet in Gauteng on Openserve (Telkom) network

[jcheek]

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!

Yeah, I believe the ONT operates in PPPoE mode, so if you can somehow cause your PC (or any general-purpose routing device you happen to have lying spare) to initiate a PPPoE connection via the ONT's one working port, you should be good to go. But I speak completely under correction here .. I am fibre-less, after all!
One of the existing Telkom FTTH users might be able to guide you here ... biena ?

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

Yeah, agree with you there. The only people making money out of that WA freebie is the courier company (especially in your case, since WA is based in CT anyway!!)

Lets hope yours gets sorted out soon!

Thanks mate.

 

[znh]

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 have done this, put router in bridge mode, connect ADSL, wait for line to sync, Setup PPOE(Broadband connection) with ISP Username & Password. Click Connect.
Works for my Ubuntu on ADSL. No reason why it should not work on Fibre

 

[jcheek]

I ordered from WA. 100Mbps. Monument Park area Pretoria.

Hehe, welcome fellow Pretoria WebAfrican !

This after my ADSL 10 line was damaged by the contractors installing fibre.

Ironic! Hey, maybe it's a fiendish plot to drive up early FTTH adoption ??!

Life is too short to wait for telkom to fix ADSL.

Aint that the truth! Who here doesn't have that particular ADSL T-shirt ?
But it's gonna be different with fibre, right ? Right .. ?!

13 May Place Fibre Order...

Hey - we were one day apart!
The install race is on (but somehow I think you're gonna win lol).

8 June Installation date. Details to follow...

Lucky sod!
Thanks for sharing, and please do provide feedback on your install experiences in this thread.

 

[ajan]

Is it possible to get a 100mb speed sync on vox fatpipe/mweb xdsl cap options. Considering that you can run a dsl connection on a fibre line, and that the dsl options state that it will sync at any line speed. Has anyone tested this?

 

[jcheek]

Is it possible to get a 100mb speed sync on vox fatpipe/mweb xdsl cap options. Considering that you can run a dsl connection on a fibre line, and that the dsl options state that it will sync at any line speed. Has anyone tested this?

This is not a definitive answer to your question, more of a general statement. But I would think that what you outline is possible, yes.

Generally I think the access method (whether ADSL, VDSL or FTTH) is become more and more separated from the data service. In the past with ADSL we were accustomed to having the two things tightly coupled, but we seem to be moving more towards a model where you can take data from your provider(s) using any supported access method that you like, up to an agreed quantity limit (cap).

Apart from any physical line constraints, speed limitation (throttling) is increasingly being enforced simply through a setting associated with your user profile. FTTH is a good example, where 10, 20, 40 or 100Mbps package speed limits are actually set in software and the line itself seems to be capable of even more than that. The retail price difference between those 4 FTTH speeds - R539, R639, R739 and R849 respectively - is rarely more than about R100 per step, which is a reflection that the physical last-mile infrastructure is actually identical.
The exception to this is the uncapped offerings (currently only on xDSL), where your data cap is effectively determined by the line speed and hence the price difference per speed class is much more marked.

Telkom's 4G/LTE wireless service is a one of the few access methods where - apart from the physical technology limit (100Mbps) - there's no real speed limit (yet). You are free to take your data at pretty much any speed you can achieve - provided you can live with the resulting data bill!

 

[Juzz Wuzz]

Well my router arrived now. But last night I managed to hook my PC up using PPPOE and was able to use my line. Must say VERY impressed with it.

Is it possible to get a 100mb speed sync on vox fatpipe/mweb xdsl cap options. Considering that you can run a dsl connection on a fibre line, and that the dsl options state that it will sync at any line speed. Has anyone tested this?

I'm not sure, I remember the guys testing Afrihost capped accounts would get stuck at 40mb until recently. Also I'm not sure what happens if they see you using different accounts or if Vox see you downloading at 100mb.

But who knows until you try it out

 

[biena]

Watch this space for a Huawei WS319 up for sale soon

I better put mine up for sale before there is an overstock

Yeah, I believe the ONT operates in PPPoE mode

It does, tech on install day actually tested it like this with his laptop
ONT <-> laptop

Saw that Juzz got it working, good going

Also I'm not sure what happens if they see you using different accounts or if Vox see you downloading at 100mb.

Will see if Tekom complains, I tested out 3 other isp's webafica/fnbconnect/crystalweb. Doubt they are going to care.

 

[biena]

http://www.takealot.com/huawei-ws319-wifi-router/PLID32842043
WTH they are available (unbranded) for R322, really thought it would cost more than that.

 

[jcheek]

FTTH install blog - Day 17 since ordering

So this morning two guys from Telkom's fibre contractor arrived unannounced on my doorstep wanting access to inspect the FTTH pole in the corner of my garden.

Apparently there is a "big inspection" of the whole Faerie Glen FTTH circuit happening today/tomorrow - presumably by Telkom QC staff ? - so the contractor is hopping to make sure everything is in order. The guys say that one of the problems identified is that some of the labels on the poletop FTTH splice boxes are white and not yellow .
The label story could tie in with rumours of FTTH "configuration problems" round the Faerie Glen area.
I got the impression they were making light of the whole exercise but it was pretty clear they're on the hop.

A quick look at the pole in the corner my garden revealed that the FTTH splicing box has recently been re-sited from the north to the east side, and from below to above the wooden cross-arm :

Before:


After:


Hmm ... not exactly a major change but I guess it indicates activity at least!
The box did indeed have a white label before but now I can't see it any more.

Hopefully whatever other problems there are on the circuit get identified and resolved quickly.

My full (and evolving) "install blog" is here.

 

[jcheek]

Is it possible to get a 100mb speed sync on vox fatpipe/mweb xdsl cap options. Considering that you can run a dsl connection on a fibre line, and that the dsl options state that it will sync at any line speed. Has anyone tested this?

Guys I don't understand this, if you use a standard router to dial a PPPOE connection, does that mean it's possible to use a standard DSL account from lets say Afrihost or Vox to connect to the internet?

More confirmation here :

Yeah, I tried with my other accounts to see and they work. The telkom fibre just connects right to their ADSL systems so data from any ISP will work. Though some ISP's limit the speed of the data. I recall Afrihost having theirs capped at 40mb until recently where it now works up to 100mb. Just don't use an uncapped account, those would be speed limited and probably get you in ***

 

[MickeyD]

Hopefully whatever other problems there are on the circuit get identified and resolved quickly.

Most probably the "CTS" guys. Posted somewhere (in a FTTH thread) that Telkom do indeed have a QA section and that they do eventually get around to inspecting installations. CTS stands for Conformance Testing Section and that's exactly what they do... ensure that installed cables conform with Telkom's specifications. If they do pitch up (CTS guys) have a look at their testing equipment - impressive stuff.

 

[jcheek]

Most probably the "CTS" guys. Posted somewhere (in a FTTH thread) that Telkom do indeed have a QA section and that they do eventually get around to inspecting installations. CTS stands for Conformance Testing Section and that's exactly what they do... ensure that installed cables conform with Telkom's specifications. If they do pitch up (CTS guys) have a look at their testing equipment - impressive stuff.

Interesting!
Thanks, I'll look out for them.

 

[tanka]

Anyone know if it is possible to get a landline number on Telkom fibre if you ordered through a third party? (like WA)

 

[jcheek]

Anyone know if it is possible to get a landline number on Telkom fibre if you ordered through a third party? (like WA)

You mean a regional VoIP number, or a real analogue voice line ?
If you mean the latter (which I doubt), that would just be a normal analogue voice line from Telkom at R166.50 pm + call fees. No connection (physical or accounting) to your fibre service at all.

If you mean a VoIP number, the various VoIP providers can generally offer you a choice of non-regional (usually 087-, 010- etc) or pseudo-regional (011-, 012- etc) numbers when you open a VoIP/SIP account with them. Check out providers like SwitchTel who offer a VoIP account with one number for R49pm + call fees.
These providers shouldn't really care what type of connection you have, or with whom you have it, provided it's suitable for VoIP (fibre should be ideal).

In MWeb's case, a SIP account is free if you are already an MWeb subscriber. You also get as many VoIP numbers as you want, 087 and/or regional.

Also see this thread.

 

[jcheek]

O/T : DFA on Glenwood Road, Faerie Glen

(Off-topic : relates to Dark Fibre Africa, not Telkom)

Some Pretoria East-dwellers might have seen the fibre installations happening along Glenwood Road, near the intersection with Oberon Avenue (thanks to biena for pointing that out).

As it turns out, this is not a Telkom FTTH/FTTB installation, but an extension to an existing DFA (Dark Fibre Africa) circuit that skirts the multi-block area bounded by Oberon Avenue, Atterbury Road and Manitoba Drive :



It seems that there were two existing DFA installations near the Faerie Glen Hospital. The new addition starts at the Engen garage on the corner of Oberon and Sprite Avenues, crosses under the road and runs down the east side of Oberon, goes under Glenwood Road and runs along its north pavement for a short distance before linking up with an existing endpoint on the corner of Glenwood and Oberon. There are a lot of businesses in small office parks to the east and west of Oberon Avenue and I would guess the new circuit is to connect additional business customers on the east side of Oberon and the north side of Glenwood. The cable already runs past the Glenfield Office Park on the west side of Oberon (as does another Neotel circuit, it seems).

Looking east on Glenwood Road from just east of the intersection with Oberon Avenue:


From the north side of Glenwood Road, looking towards the Glenfield Office Park where the cable crosses back under Glenwood Road to its south pavement:


Close-up of one of the DFA manholes. The coiled green cable is the actual fibre cable:


Good news for the businesses in that area, I guess. No luck for those hoping it was an extension to Telkom's FTTH/FTTB rollout!

Thanks again biena for spotting the installation and for telling us about the FTTB map tool on the FTTH Council's website at [url]www.ftthcouncilafrica.com[/URL].

 

[biena]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broad...unches-new-fibre-dsl-lte-broadband-deals.html

10Mbps Fibre 50GB + free DStv Explora R699

 

[jcheek]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broad...unches-new-fibre-dsl-lte-broadband-deals.html
10Mbps Fibre 50GB + free DStv Explora R699

Yeah, so a second offering in the entry-level 10Mbps arena and quite competitive pricing :

10Mbps:
WebAfrica : 10Mbps/40GB/R688pm with no sign-up freebies
WebAfrica : 10Mbps/60GB/R738pm with no sign-up freebies
Telkom : 10Mbps/50GB/R699pm with sign-up freebies

20Mbps:
WebAfrica : 20Mbps/40GB/R788pm with no sign-up freebies
WebAfrica : 20Mbps/60GB/R838pm with no sign-up freebies
Telkom : 20Mbps/50GB/R999pm with sign-up freebies

 

[Necuno]

yeah that 40gb is quite competitive

let me quickly download mortal kombat x on steam, oh wait... its too biiig.

 

[jcheek]

Apparently there is a "big inspection" of the whole Faerie Glen FTTH circuit happening today/tomorrow - presumably by Telkom QC staff ? - so the contractor is hopping to make sure everything is in order.

Saw Telkom trucks busy in the area on both Saturday (30 May) and today (Sunday 31 May).
One was parked next to the FTTH manhole nearest my local pole for some hours, but I missed the chance to chat to them.
Wondering what they found / fixed ....

 

[jcheek]

yeah that 40gb is quite competitive
let me quickly download mortal kombat x on steam, oh wait... its too biiig.

Well that's only one (illustrative) package out of WebAfrica's selection, of course. 400GB package for you, sir ?
Speed, Quantity or Price : choose any two!