HSDPA vs iBurst

Hi, I've posted this reply in your original thread:

Salesteam said:
Which should we go for, iBurst or Vodacom 3G? Relating to:
- coverage of central areas
- access within buildings
- speed (will obviously impress clients)
- will there be significant changes in the factors above in the following 6-12 months?
QUOTE]

From a Vodacom 3G perspective: (not a sales pitch, merely facts)

- Most city & business centers covered by 3G at 384Kb/s max. An aggressive roll-out will increase this substantially over the next 6 to 12 months
- nationwide coverage at around 40-50Kb/s on GPRS (comparable to dial-up) as fall back to the above.
- Access within buildings: You should never be out of coverage, If you can make a call, you can do data.

In addition to the above, GPRS/3G is truly mobile. Some people stream radio stations in their cars while driving! You could do your sales pitch in a restaurant or where ever the customer chooses.

You can also get Vodacom to build a dedicated VPN for you with a high speed fixed line back to your corporate environment. This can ensure that the demo systems can only be used for demoing and not massive downloads. Many similar options exist.

Vodacom have specifically constructed solutions for the travelling sales guys. PM me for more info.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Vodacom3G

Thanks for this information. I often receive calls from people who would like to know what their options are in a ‘non-adsl’ environment. It is great to hear that Vodacom will extend their rollout in the next six months…the poor guys in the quieter towns/areas will at least have one 24-7 access option (what most of them are looking for).

Regards,

RPM
 
I'm not very technical. Have read some of the threads. Seems like the marketing talk of iBurst (1Mb/s) and Vodacom (1.8Mb/s) is just talk. What should I buy? My Telkom dialup is sooo slow (even with Accellerator). Don't want to wait for ADSL.

I am currently using my Nokia 6020 as dialup using pay-as-you-go at R2/Mb. My laptop's network connection says I am connected at 115.2Kbs. Is that good and will either iBurst or HSDPA give me any better.

According to iBurst I will have 'dark green' coverage. The sales rep said approx 800Mbs. Don't want to buy their modem if I'm not going to get much better than I have now.

I have read the threads on Vodacom HSDPA and it seems there is as much problems with speed there.

According to the article "HSDPA versus iBurst" on the Broadband Forum (dated 11 July 2006), the test showed that HSDPA outperformed iBurst in download speed and latency.
 
Depends on your distance to tower...and the tower load your connecting to...in good reception areas iburst has low latency and 1mbps speeds.

"The sales rep said approx 800Mbs" impossible 800kpbs yeah

i think i read the "HSDPA versus iBurst" article u mentioned....trust me when i say something really bad was wrong with that iburst connection they used for testing purposes.

My advice would be to get iburst and trial it for a week. duno if u can trial hsdpa though.
 
Let me give you my experience of the two since I use HSDPA and my best friend went iBurst.

If you are only looking at browsing and not gaming then I would say go for the one that gives you the best coverage in your area. In allot of cases that would be Vodacom and not iBurst.

If you are looking at low latency or stable latency both is also an option but remember that you would have to get an external antenna to improve or prevent packet loss. On Vodacom you must just switch to the internetVPN APN to have decent gaming. Since I moved over to the VPN APN my connection has been rock solid. Also throughput isn't everything when it comes to gaming. I switched to a closer tower with lower throughput because the connection was more stable (ping wise).

If you are planning on downloading allot I would go the iBurst route, the more bandwidth you utilize the more affordable they get!

So there is my suggestions, you can call 155 to get a techie to test your Vodacom signal but please from my experience take their advice with a pinch of salt since they do not always understand your needs, so explain to them properly.

Hope my advice helps.

Nictron
 
Thanks. I am not into gaming, just normal e-mail and browsing. I am also stationary and don't travel with my laptop.
 
If you are stationary iburst in dark green areas is more than sufficient. It will also be much more affordable. Hope this helps
 
3G sometimes very slow

Can anyone help?

had 3G for about 2 years now. Generally ok. Portability great.

BUT

Sometimes it just so slow (50% of the time about). I don't know why?

I live in Krugersdorp. Does anyone know if IBURST will be faster?
 
There is no quick answer to your questions. Each have their pros and cons. The quality of the coverage in your area should be your biggest decider, but if you plan to travel a lot, especially out of town, you are more likely to get a HSDPA/3G/GPRS connection than you would with an iBurst connection.

To recomend the right solution for you I need to know a little more about what you plan to use your internet connection for.
 
Forget I Burst - that company is about to go Bust - Pun Intended.

HSDPA = faster downloads, less ping, more coverage.
 
3G vs iBurst

So I moved to a complex, and telkom doesn't have lines here yet, so I'm forced to get 3G or iBurst, which option is the cheapest per GB? Neotel isn't an option yet as I don't have coverage in my area yet...
 
I use iBurst for continuous downloads (64kb Openbrowse facility after cap) and Vodacom's HSDPA service for web browsing, small app updates, and emails.

Depeding on what you going to use it for, i'd recommend V3G over iBurst.

Besides, iBurst don't even have a proper Accounting Department so stay away from them - i've personally had bad encouters with them and so have many in the iBurst forum.
 
limnos said:
Go over to this thread, you'll sniff even more ;)

I honestly wish we had one of you over at iBurst... Keep up the great support!
Click to expand...

Bawling my eyes out!

I hope Neotel put someone on here soon. One of the biggest advantages Vodacom (and its subs) got was to be here from day 1 of the 3G service and Neotel can start with a clean slate. (literally!)
 
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