Finally ADSL

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kingmilo

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Cape Town
Hi all,

I am in the process of applying for an ADSL line at home and would like feedback from the mybroadband community regarding my choices.

From home I will use the internet mainly for browsing, email, admin of remote servers via a VPN or ssh, weekend podcast streaming and the occasional Xbox 360 online game.

My application for an ADSL line was done online via Telkoms website, obviously my area / exchange is ADSL capable and I even qualify for SIO (Self Install Option), which saves me a bit of cash. I chose the 'Fastest DSL up to 4096kbps' @ R413 per month. Currently I don't have a telephone number but do have a telephone line running to a wall jack inside of the house which I believe is all I really require. I also chose to purchase my own modem and I am familiar and a fan of Linksys. The ISP of choice after some research came down to WebAfrica because they provide a reasonable unshaped package for R125 per month. I understand that for my requirements shaped would probably be just fine and unshaped is geared towards the gamers and odd ports, however I am fussy when it comes to that and I am willing to pay a bit more and know I am getting good latency, just one of those things.

The breakdown is as follows;


* Telkom Fastest DSL up to 4096kbps @ R413 p/m
- Purchase own modem / router
- Billing Month to month no contract

* Linksys Router
- I will be the only user connecting to the router wireless
- Indoor use of course, single story house
- Experience with WRT54GL router

* WebAfrica DSL Unshaped 1GB @ R125 p/m
- Multi-Realm (Ability to switch between SAIX & Verizon networks)
- Able to top-up if 1GB does not suffice
- Unshaped
- Billing month to month no contract


* I think the Telkom ADSL is a no brainer, the faster things happen online the better.
* Need some advice regarding a modem/ router. I do understand that many people prefer Billion or Netgear but I would like to stick with Linksys, which model is best suited to my needs?
* WebAfrica, purely for the unshaped bandwidth.

Any feedback / comments or recommendations are welcome.

Thanks,
milo
 
I think you've pretty much got everything figured out, from no contract, to self install, to Web Africa as ISP. Going month to month is the most important thing, so that you can cancel at any time with either Telkom or your ISP, if things don't go so well.

With regards to the modem, I am also migrating to ADSL in the coming week, as soon as Telkom give me an activation/installation date.

I will be going for a Netgear all-in-one modem/router/wifi device, as I've used Netgear many times before and have become accustomed to setting it up, and I trust their products.

With regards to your ISP, I recommend subscribing to an AfriHost package at R29 per GB, shaped, IS-fibre bandwidth. It's currently a special that will expire soon. I've already susbscribed for a 10GB account at R290 per month, even though I haven't gotten my ADSL activated by Telkom.

Goto www.afrihost.co.za. Sign up now, before the special ends. If it doesn't work out for you (shaped bandwidth) you can always cancel, as it is a month to month subscription.
 
If you don't have a phone number you will have to get this activated and only then you can apply for ADSL.

They will probably also come out to get the phone working and might charge you for it.
 
Best ADSL

Hi there,
In response to your posting, I recommend that you give Cybersmart a call (Google it).
You will be saving a whole lot than any other ISP.
They offer a 3gig cap, unshaped broadband including line rental for R524 (thats for the 4mbs package). You cannot go wrong with them. I have supported them for the past 9 years without any hassles and they offer professional 24hour support.
You say that telkom would be charging you R413 for the line and Webafrica R125 for just a gig,that's like R538 in total for only 1 gig. Get Cybersmart, you'll be saving R264.
 
only problem I see is your bandwidth 1 wont last u very long esp on a 4meg line

you may be the exception but generally the faster your connection the more your download try looking at 3 gigs or maybe 5

or better yet try the 1 gig and see how it fairs
 
I signed with afrihost and am pretty much a similar type of surfer as kingmilo.

I have a 4mb line my local I get full speed! international around 50-60k with afrihost. Ok so perhaps my line? loaded up another (shaped) account with another provider and got full international speed comparable to my local. I will be using the afrihost account for long huge downloads in the backround. But for fast international I will not recommend them at all or if like me maintain a routing table to the sites I want at speed. I believe they have hit the contention ratio now.
 
miteshpmb said:
Hi there,
In response to your posting, I recommend that you give Cybersmart a call (Google it).
You will be saving a whole lot than any other ISP.
They offer a 3gig cap, unshaped broadband including line rental for R524 (thats for the 4mbs package). You cannot go wrong with them. I have supported them for the past 9 years without any hassles and they offer professional 24hour support.
You say that telkom would be charging you R413 for the line and Webafrica R125 for just a gig,that's like R538 in total for only 1 gig. Get Cybersmart, you'll be saving R264.
Click to expand...

miteshpmb makes a good point. I'd recommend Cybersmart then.
 
Thank you all for your input.

I think the positive thing here is that if I find I am unhappy with WebAfrica as an ISP I can give 30 days notice and move onto a different ISP. Further to that and as ToxicWazte pointed out I can have more than 1 account with different ISP's.

@ToxicWazte, thanks I have signed up for an Afrihost account as backup. Regarding the router, I feel the same way, so I guess it just comes down to personal preference. But how do I then make certain that the router I purchase is designed for DSL? What specifications of the router make it ADSL compatible?

I am fortunate enough to have different means of connecting to the internet, at work, while I am on the road etc. but the only problem I have found when at home is that my 3G is temperamental & expensive, obviously depending how strong the signal is which depends on where I am sitting in my house. So I think the perfect scenario is to use the unshaped from WebAfrica when browsing and switch over to shaped from Afrihost when I am scheduling downloads and so forth.

@gregmcc - Of course. I am renting the house and have never needed a land-line but I am assuming because of the wall jack that there might already be a number, if not then I guess Telkom will advise and I will have to take it from there. It's just strange that when you sign up they don't ask for your telephone number, so that hopefully means that they will investigate and advise if there isn't already one. I definitely think the Telkom part of the process is going to take the longest unfortunately.

@miteshpmb - good idea, I have had a look at their site and although I couldn't see the price comparison between shaped / unshaped off the bat, they do definitely provide a good deal. As I mentioned above, the beauty of not signing a contract I guess is that I can switch ISP's at will.

@mineer - right now I am happy with the 1GB and if I do get decent speed, anywhere near the 4096kbps then I will most probably increase the bandwidth. I am just a sceptical SA, when I see the speed then I will believe it :)


Once again, thank you all for your input!

milo
 
If you want a 4MB line you might at well take the Do3 offering. It is only R141 more than if you took a clean ADSL line, and includes 5GB data.
 
kingmilo said:
@ToxicWazte, thanks I have signed up for an Afrihost account as backup. Regarding the router, I feel the same way, so I guess it just comes down to personal preference. But how do I then make certain that the router I purchase is designed for DSL? What specifications of the router make it ADSL compatible?
Click to expand...

You're welcome. AfriHost deserves our support and marketing efforts :-)

Just make sure the modem says ADSL2+ compatible. That will ensure it is compatible with the current ADSL implementation, as well as the ADSL2+ standard which we hope (and pray) Telkom will be rolling out soon. In any case, I think any router/modem/wifi device brought into the country has to be ICASA type approved. This should also ensure that it is compatible with Telkom's ADSL network.

kingmilo said:
I am fortunate enough to have different means of connecting to the internet, at work, while I am on the road etc. but the only problem I have found when at home is that my 3G is temperamental & expensive, obviously depending how strong the signal is which depends on where I am sitting in my house. So I think the perfect scenario is to use the unshaped from WebAfrica when browsing and switch over to shaped from Afrihost when I am scheduling downloads and so forth.
Click to expand...

You may want to investigate GConnect. They offer Wi-Fi, 3G and ADSL from one easy-to-manage account. I don't think you can have multiple concurrent connections though, which kinda sucks. This was the last time I checked, don't know if they've changed it yet. Would be cool to be able to connect to ADSL and 3G simultaneously, without disconnecting either of them.

kingmilo said:
@gregmcc - Of course. I am renting the house and have never needed a land-line but I am assuming because of the wall jack that there might already be a number, if not then I guess Telkom will advise and I will have to take it from there. It's just strange that when you sign up they don't ask for your telephone number, so that hopefully means that they will investigate and advise if there isn't already one. I definitely think the Telkom part of the process is going to take the longest unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Have you applied already with Telkom? The existing line in your place is probably connected to the exchange, but not activated, or live, on Telkom's network. It won't have a number allocated to it. When you apply for a new line (which is what you are doing), they won't ask you what's your number, coz you don't have one.

kingmilo said:
Once again, thank you all for your input!
Click to expand...

You're welcome...
 
Last edited:
@ToxicWazte;

* 10/4 regarding the modem, makes perfect sense.

* The Telkom part is a little bit confusing because they don't make it clear that if you don't have a number one will be provided to you when your applying online, but I can only guess in this instance that they assume I do not have a number and will make the necessary arrangements. However I would like to avoid delaying the installation because of it. Still waiting for their call, I should probably expect it tomorrow but I am not going to hold my breathe!

Many Thanks ToxicWazte
 
Yeah the Telkom part is a bit confusing.

I wonder if you can get ADSL without being allocated a Telephone number. My guess is probably not. It probably acts as your primary identifier on Telkom's network, in their billing, administration and call center systems etc...
 
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