Fibre: Secunda Community

[Henry.de.kock]

Think of it like a cellphone contract... It is the same. For 2years you are guaranteed service, after that you can upgrade/renew or move on. This is just ALLOT cheaper and worth more then a cellphone contract. You also dont know if the cellphone network will last but you take the chance and no one goes meh for that.... I really cant see why ppl are so paranoid when you can pay 300 for 12 months for something this great. Stick to uselesskom and pay more for less then and wait to see how it goes with the rest that took the chance.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

Think of it like a cellphone contract... It is the same. For 2years you are guaranteed service, after that you can upgrade/renew or move on. This is just ALLOT cheaper and worth more then a cellphone contract. You also dont know if the cellphone network will last but you take the chance and no one goes meh for that.... I really cant see why ppl are so paranoid when you can pay 300 for 12 months for something this great. Stick to uselesskom and pay more for less then and wait to see how it goes with the rest that took the chance.

another High 5 for this guy

 

[Swa]

Think of it like a cellphone contract... It is the same. For 2years you are guaranteed service, after that you can upgrade/renew or move on. This is just ALLOT cheaper and worth more then a cellphone contract. You also dont know if the cellphone network will last but you take the chance and no one goes meh for that.... I really cant see why ppl are so paranoid when you can pay 300 for 12 months for something this great. Stick to uselesskom and pay more for less then and wait to see how it goes with the rest that took the chance.

You're still not getting the point. It's not a question of whether the network will go belly up but whether it will still provide the service it advertised as free with a setup fee after 2 years if it doesn't. People aren't being paranoid when questioning something like that. If that's the case then it's nothing more than a R150/month service and should be weighed up against others as that. Don't get me wrong it's still a great service if it behaves as expected but with other services also getting cheaper the information should be provided upfront so we can make informed decisions.

Guess you would just have to be the guinea pigs. It would be a long time before most areas have coverage so if you still have your free internet after 5 years we can see it as a safe option. If not and you were asked to pay again after 2 years we would know it's really a paid service.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

stop the service after 2 years in which case it wasn't really free but just paid upfront for a fixed period.

I think you're looking at this with a negative nancy point of view.. Let me ask this straight forward. would you prefer to stay with telkom for two years or jump ship and take a chance on something that may become telkom's nemesis..

Honestly please explain to us in detail how this is a deal breaker ? because what I've seen just reads. it's good but I don't know and I don't know why I don't know it just feels wrong. It feels like you're pinpointing the word free and pulling it out of reasonable perspective. it's actually quite simple.. "Pay for the fibre construction then the service is free" clean cut. if they stop the service in two years for whatever reason I still can't see how this is a dealbreaker. please tell me how you see it...

Let me put it down again

R3600 for construction of fibre once of or R300/pm for 12 months right...... if you want to be technical about it they could charge you R1500 for construction of the fibre and R150 per month for 12 months then it's free for the same service(5/1 with no gigabit) ? does this make sense?

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

Guess you would just have to be the guinea pigs.

I'd rather pay to be a guinea piggy than pay to be a cash cow if you know what I mean #Telkom

 

[Swa]

@Alex$The$Alien: You're not seeing this from the correct perspective. For the record I'm not using Telkom but I have at the times they were offering the best value.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

@Alex$The$Alien: You're not seeing this from the correct perspective. For the record I'm not using Telkom but I have at the times they were offering the best value.

wait what? telkom offering best value? what sorcery is this?

there is no such thing as a correct perspective. perspective is based on prejudice, prejudgment, or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case.

I'm quite sure that the perspective I'm seeing it from is not with pure pessimism, which is a state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes or believes that the evil or hardships in life outweigh the good or luxuries.

I am seeing this as an oppertunity for change.. My perspective my friend is positive. 123Net has blessed this town and my community with an alternative that has been long awaited. with all that is crappy in this country fibre optic internet at affordable cost brings joy to the people. please don't try to ruin it by trying to find the smallest possible reason to discredit or instil disbelief or doubt.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

Swa ? I don't understand what you are on about , they cannot guarantee the service for more than 2 years , yes there is a risk to the consumer and the provider , yes it can happen 123net doesn't survive their 1st year of business , yes yes yes yes yes, the fact is these guys are rolling out fiber that is costing MILLIONS they are serious, they don't expect money from you until you are connected ? After 2 years anything can happen , they will asses the business model , make a decision if the free basic service is working as intended it to. At the moment nobody can give you the answer that you want as 123net themselves don't know what to expect after 2 years.

I agree with what quantic is saying

even if things don't go as planned and the free basic service changes to a monthly subscription, I would still rather count myself in to pay for it. because the copper lines running my ADSL connection is 30 years old and I will bet both my nuts that Telkom will not be putting fibre in my town in the next 100 years. if they cannot even maintain/replace old ass copper lines expecting them to provide their clients with AFFORDABLE fibre is like asking the president to pay back the money for nkandla.. it just isn't going to happen

I would rather live with 123Net's fibre for a year than struggle for another month just to get Telkom to get my line fixed that's right 30+ days of downtime.. an sms every day saying it will be fixed with a date of two weeks ago. at this very moment my line is up and I pray every day it doesn't go down again.

 

[Henry.de.kock]

I agree 100% with @Alex. Even if after 2 years they charge you 300 for the service that is now free it is still 100% cheaper then anything on offer today. Where could you get 5/1 line uncapped unshaped for even remotely close to 600 in this country? Let me tell you where. NOWHERE! And in 2 years time it is still going to be nowhere. Telkom and the isp's are just money hogs and that wont change anytime soon.

 

[Swa]

wait what? telkom offering best value? what sorcery is this?

there is no such thing as a correct perspective. perspective is based on prejudice, prejudgment, or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case.

I'm quite sure that the perspective I'm seeing it from is not with pure pessimism, which is a state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes or believes that the evil or hardships in life outweigh the good or luxuries.

I am seeing this as an oppertunity for change.. My perspective my friend is positive. 123Net has blessed this town and my community with an alternative that has been long awaited. with all that is crappy in this country fibre optic internet at affordable cost brings joy to the people. please don't try to ruin it by trying to find the smallest possible reason to discredit or instil disbelief or doubt.

That's exactly it, the facts are not being given and that alone has now made me concerned where before I wasn't. It's not about discrediting or instilling doubt but about getting answers to questions that are rightly being asked but you don't get this. I was one of the foremost campaigners with this but I won't be any more without being able to provide answers. I am not going to dance around the question when asked as it's being danced around here with scenarios of companies going out of business and all that.

There's only two possibilities going forward then. Either I stop campaigning or I present the worst case scenario. People can make their decision on receiving 2 years of uncapped 5/1Mbps at R150.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

That's exactly it, the facts are not being given and that alone has now made me concerned where before I wasn't. It's not about discrediting or instilling doubt but about getting answers to questions that are rightly being asked but you don't get this. I was one of the foremost campaigners with this but I won't be any more without being able to provide answers. I am not going to dance around the question when asked as it's being danced around here with scenarios of companies going out of business and all that.



There's only two possibilities going forward then. Either I stop campaigning or I present the worst case scenario. People can make their decision on receiving 2 years of uncapped 5/1Mbps at R150.

Please tell me exactly what you mean by "the facts are not being given" this is the fact -->. you pay for the construction of the fibre line. the service is free.

Facts are there.. they are clear as day. and to be completely blunt with you. the worst case scenario you envision is a best case scenario in comparison with telkom's absolutely pathetic business model(being charged for a telephone line and adsl rental with no option to choose data only, which to me is basically legal daylight robbery). to this day the only reason they make money is because they have monopoly and they enforce it by bullying other companies trying to start up(another FACT)

"It's not about discrediting or instilling doubt but about getting answers to questions that are rightly being asked but you don't get this"

Is everyone's question based upon the worst case scenario that may or may not materialize in the future? or based upon "It's not really free"

I am just trying to understand your point of view but you're being very unclear, please put your questions in bullets so that we can try to help you understand or Kalin can shed some light on it

1. What if ?

2. Why is this ?

3. Will it be ?

 

[Henry.de.kock]

I am sorry but you are just trying to be stupid now. I agree with @Alex, all the facts are there and it seems like no matter how many times we tell you that no one can predict the future you just dont seem to grasp it.

I cant see why ppl would complain about 300pm when they pay double that no matter what they have currently.
Even if they get it totally free without construction fee they would still bitch and moan. Seems like they want to get payed for changing over to 123net. Well if they dont want to take the chance when there is literally ZERO REASONS to not do so, it is fine by me.

Look on the bright side, when 123net took most of the telkom customers for them, the service from telkom would be verry great for the 10 or so existing customers.

Dont worry about trying to vouch for 123net, once their service is active it would speak for itself whether good or bad is totally up to them though.

 

[Henry.de.kock]

I am sorry but you are just trying to be stupid now. I agree with @Alex, all the facts are there and it seems like no matter how many times we tell you that no one can predict the future you just dont seem to grasp it.

I cant see why ppl would complain about 300pm when they pay double that no matter what they have currently.
Even if they get it totally free without construction fee they would still bitch and moan. Seems like they want to get payed for changing over to 123net. Well if they dont want to take the chance when there is literally ZERO REASONS to not do so, it is fine by me.

Look on the bright side, when 123net took most of the telkom customers for them, the service from telkom would be verry great for the 10 or so existing customers.

Dont worry about trying to vouch for 123net, once their service is active it would speak for itself whether good or bad is totally up to them though.

 

[quantic]

That's exactly it, the facts are not being given and that alone has now made me concerned where before I wasn't. It's not about discrediting or instilling doubt but about getting answers to questions that are rightly being asked but you don't get this. I was one of the foremost campaigners with this but I won't be any more without being able to provide answers. I am not going to dance around the question when asked as it's being danced around here with scenarios of companies going out of business and all that.

There's only two possibilities going forward then. Either I stop campaigning or I present the worst case scenario. People can make their decision on receiving 2 years of uncapped 5/1Mbps at R150.

Lets break this down to Facts:

1. You pay a R3600 for construction fee where the service is free for 2 years guaranteed.

2. You are not forced to use this service?

3. You are not forced to use the service after the 2 years if their new offering is not to your liking.

4. You will be paying less money for a better quality line / service for 2 years.

5. You say you are one of the foremost campaigners yet this information was on their site from day 1???????????????

6. They can not giving you an answer because they can not , yes your question is valid , no they are not ignoring you.

7. Reason for this is that they are using the 2 years as a test phase to asses and change this offering if needed after 2 years.

8. After you receive this offering you will be paying a lot less for better quality connection this is a fact.

9. After 2 years they change this offering ? now you are sad ? okay "life is hard" look at their new offering compare it with other offerings, like they said its an open fibre network , you should be able to use a different ISP after 2 years as you will have no obligation to 123 net?

10. What are you on about? As per all new business models they have to test and see what works , give them the benefits of doubt , you have nothing to lose.

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

LMAO! look at this

Telkom’s promotional fibre 24 month offers including:

20Mbps line with 50GB data package for R999 per month: R999 x 24 = R23976 NOPE
40Mbps line with 100GB package at R1,299 per month : R1.299 x 24 = R31176 NOPE
100MBps line with 200 GB of data for R1,799 per month R1.799 X 24 = R43176 NOPE

calculated download times

option 1 20mbps 50GB = 05:05:00 LOL
option 2 40mbps 100GB = 04:21:26 LOL
option 3 100mbps 200GB = 04:26:40 LOL

and this

http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?op...lkom-outlines-new-broadband-bundles&catid=147

Hilarious

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

To those who are concerned with the free internet plan from 123Net

Google Fiber has the exact same plan, If people can trust google why not 123Net, $300 construction fee. One time payment or $25/mo for 12 months No contract
Includes service guaranteed at $0/mo for 7 years per address

If it works for Google it will work for 123Net too

https://fiber.google.com/cities/austin/plans/#plan=basic

 

[Swa]

Please tell me exactly what you mean by "the facts are not being given" this is the fact -->. you pay for the construction of the fibre line. the service is free.

Facts are there.. they are clear as day. and to be completely blunt with you. the worst case scenario you envision is a best case scenario in comparison with telkom's absolutely pathetic business model(being charged for a telephone line and adsl rental with no option to choose data only, which to me is basically legal daylight robbery). to this day the only reason they make money is because they have monopoly and they enforce it by bullying other companies trying to start up(another FACT)

"It's not about discrediting or instilling doubt but about getting answers to questions that are rightly being asked but you don't get this"

Is everyone's question based upon the worst case scenario that may or may not materialize in the future? or based upon "It's not really free"

I am just trying to understand your point of view but you're being very unclear, please put your questions in bullets so that we can try to help you understand or Kalin can shed some light on it

1. What if ?

2. Why is this ?

3. Will it be ?

I've explained this clearly but will try one more time. A phrase saying "includes free service guaranteed for at least 2 years per address" isn't giving the facts. It is open ended with questions. Nobody reading it knows what to expect after 2 years or if it is a marketing tactic to sell a paid service for R150/month.

I realise you have a stake in this as Secunda is unlikely to get any service from another provider any time soon but you are covered now and there's no turning back once it commences. Nobody is doing this for charity. It is a business and as such will try to sell it in the most attractive package but you don't have to try to defend and market it any more.

5. You say you are one of the foremost campaigners yet this information was on their site from day 1???????????????

And as I stated it became a problem when it prevented signups.

6. They can not giving you an answer because they can not , yes your question is valid , no they are not ignoring you.

It would have been easy to say that and to expect the worst case. But then it can't be marketed as free and instead we had to go around in circles with speak of companies going out of business in a couple of months and such nonsense when such scenarios weren't of concern to anybody.

7. Reason for this is that they are using the 2 years as a test phase to asses and change this offering if needed after 2 years.

That could also have been said but it wasn't.

8. After you receive this offering you will be paying a lot less for better quality connection this is a fact.

That is an assumption. We still don't know the quality of the "free" service and if it is R150/month then it isn't an incentive for someone paying a similar amount on say Neotel.

9. After 2 years they change this offering ? now you are sad ? okay "life is hard" look at their new offering compare it with other offerings, like they said its an open fibre network , you should be able to use a different ISP after 2 years as you will have no obligation to 123 net?

That is the worst case scenario I'm now presenting to everyone. The second part however is still unclear. That's how it was presented in the first article but inquiring about it the answer we got was that it would not be a split provider and isp model as that would inflate the price. Seems that there's now once again contradictory information from the Secunda meeting.

10. What are you on about? As per all new business models they have to test and see what works , give them the benefits of doubt , you have nothing to lose.

I have given them the benefit of the doubt but it's not quite as good a sell as a paid service for R150/month. The Vumatel people are also providing a free service where you only pay for the isp. As more and more of these come out of the woodwork this will start to look less and less good if our suspicions pan out, and what if it delays deployment of competitors when there's already fibre in the area? It seems to me that the best course of action is still for communities that want fibre to let the providers tender for it.

It's interesting that Secunda didn't do that as there appears to be enough demand to justify it.

EDIT: Just saw the google thing. This copies the exact format and some of the wording as well.

 

[Reivanzyl]

123Net Fibre Secunda Community

Swa i have a sollution for you dont take it if you want to pay 500 rand from all the other service providers using telkom you are welcome but if 123net is wat they say they are and service is good i will help them to get more clients and one more thing they did not prevent more signups i signed 3 people up in the last week

 

[Alex$The$Alien]

EDIT: Just saw the google thing. This copies the exact format and some of the wording as well

What are you Implying ? because the format and wording is exact/similar it is illegitimate/dodge or reason to suspect a scam?

Don't Know if you missed this, But an Illegitimate/scam company wouldn't acquire a Legal Class License

download this PDF and look at the first entry

https://www.icasa.org.za/Legislatio.../ItemDetails/mid/950/ItemID/8319/Default.aspx

Once again I am going to be blunt with you, If you're here to somehow try and make people negative or spread disinterest. This thread was created for the Secunda community(where approximately 500 people have already signed up) if you're not living in secunda I can't see why you're here trying to convince people that this will cause them financial loss.

I've read approximately 200 of your 5670 posts and at least 80% of those were littered with pessimism.If you want to be a blight please go to any Telkom thread, I will join you there

although a new company is bound to encounter the unfaithful negative doubt spreading people. This one went through Legislation first and started their operations in Durban and has no intention of being dishohnest. Please take a trip to The Business Centre, Office Suite 126, 2 Ncondo Place, Umhlanga Ridge, Durban

"includes free service guaranteed for at least 2 years per address" : Contact Google Fibre and ask them if they know what will happen in 7 Years

"Nobody reading it knows what to expect after 2 years" Good job sherlock (maybe we should ask Hiro Nakamura to break the space time continuumm travel 2 years into the future, learn this information. Then travel back to inform us) IMHO Asking what will happen in two years after the guarantee period is not a valid or even logically Intelligent question.

 

[Kalin Bogatzevski]

And as I stated it became a problem when it prevented signups.

How did the signups get prevented?

It seems to me that the best course of action is still for communities that want fibre to let the providers tender for it.

It's interesting that Secunda didn't do that as there appears to be enough demand to justify it.

Actually, according to the law: South Africa is a free market. We can get a license and work. You can get a license and be our competitor. We do welcome you! At the end of the day: it is all a question of the customers to be happy and the business will be okay.
Even if another company wins some tender somewhere, it is not forbidden for another company to go there too, and start its own network. Again - the law, and the business practice. Oh, you may need some investment to start a business, but it is another story

So, nobody is obliged in getting a service from us, from Telkom, Vumatel, Mumatel, Anytel... Free market, free customer decision.
And if you know the lotto numbers after 2 years - please share.

PS. Sometimes the people don't know even the past and you want from me to know the future? Joking. The Free Internet service will be free as long as we exist as 123NET fibre. Is that okay for you? Now you will tell me "but there's no contract". Of course there isn't! It is a basic connectivity service, something that must be everywhere. Like electricity, water. The wires are there, the pipes are there.. now the fibre must be there too

Btw. which area are you located? As I forgot to ask before, or I forgot the answer.