former SAOL.com 384kbps uncapped user looking to change - opinions needed

R

ramjet

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Right so I was one of those guys that got in early with SAOL (around the beginning of this year) when they were offerring uncapped + unshaped on 384kbps for R499. I was happy with them as I happily downloaded everything I wanted (yes I use torrents - get over it) and was also completely happy with my ability to do all my VOIP, FTP, SSH, desktop collaboration etc work duties. I also, luckily, wasn't one of those guys that got a personal booting from SAOL for downloading too much a few months ago (even when I went close to 60GB's per month - sorry to all the other guys that experienced this).

However this month they've suddenly changed the rules (coined by the ever so popular "fair usage" policy) and now I'm being shaped so bad that I can't do my work dutes at all. They have jack-all info on their website (not that that matters much) and after a phone-call to tech support I've been told that because I've downloaded too much for the last 6 months (without ever being informed of these fair usage rules mind you) I've been put into a "shape-unbearably" bucket for being sucha a naughty bandwidth hog. And because I can't lower the average of my usage over the last 6 months very easily to avoid being shaped, I'm now being forced to either:
(a) pay R100 more and have to monitor & limit my downloads (which lets face it is something I shouldn't have to do) to 10GB per month between 6am-6pm and no more than 60GB in total per month
or
(b) pay double what I use to pay to be truly uncapped, unshaped and carefree again like in the good old days.

So I'm looking for opinions on what other ISP's to consider for 384kbps, no shaping (during office hours at least) and no caps (below 60GB's at least). From what I've read Openweb's Gold Uncapped seems to be the next best thing. Any thoughts?
 
Hi Ramjet.

I was in the exact same position as you as i also started with SAOL at the beginning of the year.

Only once did i ever go beyond 30gigs(32 to be exact), and they throttled me as of last month.

I then saw the updated terms and conditions and wasn't happy that i was not informed about it and looked at better offers.

My alternative of choice was Openweb gold unshaped uncapped for R599, but i wasn't sure if that deal included line rental or if SAOL would even transfer the line over, as i know that they normally terminate your line.

Also with Openweb, you get throttled if you manage to make it to the top 20% percent of the highest downloaders for the month, so i would never be sure of the amount i would be allowed to download or how well P2P performed.

I emailed SAOL and got offered a fixed cost asdl package which performs excellently at R100 more with a 60 gig F.U.P(which i now consider a major upgrade for the extra cash because 30gigs was my limit before being throttled)

I thought of my situation and the hassle of having to experiment with a new package i wasn't sure would be any better.

I also could not afford to pay for a 4meg line rental so only the highest quality unshaped 384kbps would do as i too use my dsl for torrents.

Still now i am very annoyed at the way SAOL change these terms at a moments notice and have culled so many users BUT!

Its all about your convenience and what YOUR best alternative is.

I chose the fixed cost asdl option from SAOL.

Its 60gigs per month, its incredible speedy with excellent latency, and on pingtest for the very first time gave my line an 'A' rating since using this new package on the SEACOM backbone.

Ultimately the choice is yours but i want to say that their new offering is incredibly good from a performance perspective.

SAOL play dirty at times but i cannot fault their service or their product, and since Friday have been using this product to torrent and its always a consistent 38kbps.

@Ramjet 60 gigs is pretty decent for an unshaped service and P2P being really nippy and latency being great for gaming etc.....

It just depends if you really feel like fighting with them and going elsewhere because your are pi**** off with them.(I was)

As soon as a better offer comes along with a higher line speed im gone, and hope whatever decision is made that you post it here.

Regards DEMON.:p
 
Cheers DEMON! Pi**** off is the word alright - changing the rules without even informing us seems pretty standard practice thesedays.

And you're right about the hassle of transferring the line over as that may be just a big enough hassle to make me stay with them and do the same upgrade you did. I still haven't got a clear answer from them about how that works because if I do decide to switch to say Openweb Gold uncapped (who don't offer ADSL line's) I'd have to go back to Telkom taking care of it so I hope the switch is interruption free. I'll need to check that with them.

And yes I was very happy with the performance and consistency over the many months since the start of the year (and especially after reading the complaints on this forum) however I don't believe sneaky tactics should be rewarded. Also I think you should check with them about the R599 for 60GB offer as it was explained to me that it would be a 10GB limit per month from 6am-6pm and 50GB after hours per month so you might experience some throttling again if you use torrents during the day. And monitoring my usage like that is just too big a waste of my time. I need to upload/download large amounts of data for my work so I might even find myself being penalised for legitimate usage.

I'll check with OpenWeb if their unshaped packages have an 80%/20% throttling rule and post back what I eventually decide. If not I think I'll go with them as the next best hassle-free 384 uncapped unshaped option.
 
ramjet said:
Cheers DEMON! Pi**** off is the word alright - changing the rules without even informing us seems pretty standard practice thesedays.

And you're right about the hassle of transferring the line over as that may be just a big enough hassle to make me stay with them and do the same upgrade you did. I still haven't got a clear answer from them about how that works because if I do decide to switch to say Openweb Gold uncapped (who don't offer ADSL line's) I'd have to go back to Telkom taking care of it so I hope the switch is interruption free. I'll need to check that with them.

And yes I was very happy with the performance and consistency over the many months since the start of the year (and especially after reading the complaints on this forum) however I don't believe sneaky tactics should be rewarded. Also I think you should check with them about the R599 for 60GB offer as it was explained to me that it would be a 10GB limit per month from 6am-6pm and 50GB after hours per month so you might experience some throttling again if you use torrents during the day. And monitoring my usage like that is just too big a waste of my time. I need to upload/download large amounts of data for my work so I might even find myself being penalised for legitimate usage.

I'll check with OpenWeb if their unshaped packages have an 80%/20% throttling rule and post back what I eventually decide. If not I think I'll go with them as the next best hassle-free 384 uncapped unshaped option.
Click to expand...

Why don't you leave your line with saol which will cost you R139 and then just choose another isp? Still bit cheaper then to get your line from telkom. The 20% throttling only applies to the uncapped lite packages.
 
I'm confirming with SAOL now whether I can keep my ADSL line with them or not as I was initially told that if I don't have a package with them then they'll boot me back to Telkom (interruption free though).

As for OpenWeb's "Uncapped Gold + Unshaped" package for R599, yes they don't do the 20% throttling for being a hog but they do shape P2P and torrents during 6-6 weekdays and can't guarentee full speeds other times so now I'm wondering whether a truly uncapped + unshaped 384kbps package exists out there ... (without costing close to R1,000 a month)
 
Yeah Ramjet i just got off the phone with SAOL again and you are right about the 10gb during office hours and 50gb after hours.

I am disappointed that i wasn't told about that until i inquired.

I did know about Openweb's shaping torrents during office hours and that did put me off initially for the amount you pay.(R599 + 384 line rental)

The problem is you were weaned on an incredibly good and stable connection when SAOL was still playing nice and were spoiled in terms of torrenting.

Im still sticking with SAOL because i work normal office hours so downloading at night was my norm anyways.

MWEB'S unshaped uncapped deal is good because my friend up the road has it and i have experemented with it before.

However his speedtests and torrents are far slower then mine and it seems from the MWEB thread that 25kbps is supposed great for that package.(although im sure it differs)

I was being throttled at 20kbps and couldn't even stand that!

Maybe im just very fussy about a 384kbps line speed and am used to nearly maxing it.

Perhaps you should ask for trial accounts if they would permit it and determine the best deal for yourself.

The Openweb gold account is on special and traffic is semi shaped on a under congested connection, so you could save yourself some money if you wanted to.

And if SAOL do let you transfer without paying a transfer fee, its a great deal to be back on Telkom and go wherever you please.

Good luck man.
 
Yep if I were you I'd stick with SAOL too but for me I just know that I'll creep over the 10GB limit weekdays and then be forced into unbearable shaping again where even my Gmail doesn't work.

I have been able to keep my ADSL line rental with SAOL for R139 (instead of Telkom's R152) and I get a free gig for emergencies which is pretty nice.

And (thanks to who.is.michael) I think by the new year I'll be trying out Afrihost's capped gold packages where they're offering double the GB's on the gold packages (till March next year) and they're completely unshaped. For example I can get my 60GB that I'm used to (and keep my 384kbps line maxed out for most of the time) for R575 and with the SAOL line rental for R139 = R714 total per month which is only an extra R214 a month more than what I was paying before SAOL changed the rules. Plus Afrihost's client zone is pretty nifty so I don't have to keep track of how much I'm using and can get auto-notifications when I'm getting close to my peak usage.

Compare that to Openweb Gold unshaped where I'd be paying R599 and my torrents still get shaped and I think Afrihost's capped gold accounts for a 384kbps line speed is the winner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X