iBurst or ISDN ...is that it??

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bosveld

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Currently using ISDN but sit with a R1500+ phone bill every month mainly due to fact that I need to dial in lots of times per day to get email and get on web. I have never measured my usage but guess it is average <3GB / month (possibly max 6GB/month).

OTHER OPTIONS LOOKED AT

- Cant get ADSL (to far from exchange)
- No MyWireless / Sentech reception
- MTN / Vodacom data offering to expensive for now.... (based on usage above)

I tested a friends IBurst connection & it works fine. I do use Skype(OUT) a lot to phone to Europe and was worried about the high latency -- definitely better on ISDN -although quite usable on iBurst. (I hope the last few days was representative….)

QUESTION

Reading the postings here I see a lot of unhappy users on iBurst. Is this all from heavy downloaders or also “normal” users?

Any other offerings I can possibly look at -- is there any <R1000 per month, minimum 64kb services?

The only thing bugging me about iBurst is the high setup fee (modem of R2800!!!!) -- (anyone want to sell their "modem"??). Reading all these problems make me extremely worried to sign a 24 month contract...

As long as iBurst give me a usable service and is cheaper than what I currently pay I still score .. am I missing something?

Many thanks & apologies for the long post.

Thanks
Bossie
 
I was a normal user until I hit my cap, and the speeds were less than that of a 56k, to the point I couldnt do VOIP or send an email!

Do yourself a favor wait and see what iBurst does before you sign up for this essentially **** service right now, I hit 3gig with only http browsing, and I am not joking!
 
I find it alriught at the moment, certainly better than ISDN or a diginet line ect.
I have been using this for a month and a bit now and so far so good, i basically browse use email and download a few vids from a motor racing website, and thats about it, got all my updates for XP ect and i still have 1.6 gig left for the month.
Until someone shows me another option thats the same cost it will have to do.
Just dont sign a contract lol, things change far to fast in this industry/
 
dude ISDN is a dead technology and doesn't count as broadband. It's simple, iBurst the product is fantastic when it works, it kills everything else we have in this country, when it works.

Yesterdays problems affected both heavy and normal users. I guess I would fall into the heavy user group however my brother bearly uses the internet and he was suspended too.

If you can wait another month or so, then do it but if not call a reseller get them to come to your place and test your signal for you and deal with them only, resellers have more clout with WBS because they can represent like 500 users.

If you get 100% signal and are not in a bad area, you will love it, and at times it will break your heart.
 
I've got no problem signing up on a month to month bases -- problem is the R2800! -- is there any way out of this?

is there a second hand / grey / other market for these equipment?

Thanks
Liam
 
yeah not specifically but after yesterdays antics you can make a post on this forum and I guarantee you get sellers
 
Bosveld, yesterday 4 people (including me) have cancelled our contracts with WBS yesterday, 4 cancellations are pending. I have not closely reached my cap yet, but I'm a little tired of the problems. The cherry on the cake for me was yesterday's suspension aof users. This displayed their attitude.

No thanks, no more iburst for me.
 
Iburst is good technology. WBS, the operators, however, need their nuckles rapped.

I had ISDN64 before Iburst, and despite the frustration of late, it is lightyears better than ISDN, and cheaper too, particularly if you are accessing the internet during office hours.

You must opt for the 30 day notice period, even if it means forking out for a modem. Given your current ISDN call costs, Iburst will pay for itself in 3 months.

If you are not a "power user" you are likely to have very few problems. For the most part, the network is stable and reliable, with virtually no downtime.

But get your signal strength tested before you buy.
 
Last edited:
I found my 56 Kbit modem connection being much more reliable than iBurst! Not because the iBurst technology is bad, but because there are too many retarted people managing that company!

I have not had problems for last year or even more with my dial-up connection! It always works, no limitation whatsoever, I can download as much as I like, I never had to worry about exceeding some bullsh1t monthly limit etc. From 2 weeks I got iBurst, and about 10 days out of those 2 weeks I either did not have internet at all, or I had only HTTP (web browsing) working, I can't even chat, not to mention using it for p2p or anything else.

So with modem you have 56 Kbits connection which is 99.99% reliable, with iBurst you know that you have realy expensive and great piece of technology, 1 Mbit connection, which seldom works if ever!

So the decission is yours, but if I knew that this is what iBurst is all about, I would not have signed for it at all!
 
swordfish1 said:
So with modem you have 56 Kbits connection which is 99.99% reliable, with iBurst you know that you have realy expensive and great piece of technology, 1 Mbit connection, which seldom works if ever!
Click to expand...

Yes, but the 2 weeks you've been using Iburst have not exactly been representative. And even though single threads were choked during that period, one could still multithread up to 1Mbit.
 
swordfish1 said:
I found my 56 Kbit modem connection being much more reliable than iBurst! Not because the iBurst technology is bad, but because there are too many retarted people managing that company!

I have not had problems for last year or even more with my dial-up connection! It always works, no limitation whatsoever, I can download as much as I like, I never had to worry about exceeding some bullsh1t monthly limit etc. From 2 weeks I got iBurst, and about 10 days out of those 2 weeks I either did not have internet at all, or I had only HTTP (web browsing) working, I can't even chat, not to mention using it for p2p or anything else.

So with modem you have 56 Kbits connection which is 99.99% reliable, with iBurst you know that you have realy expensive and great piece of technology, 1 Mbit connection, which seldom works if ever!

So the decission is yours, but if I knew that this is what iBurst is all about, I would not have signed for it at all!
Click to expand...

Dude, I've been with iBurst since December, and all my stuff has worked, barring the problems we have experienced. My network is stable, and although the speeds may be slow at times, they are steady. I'm not a power user, but I do have the odd torrent, ISO, IRC, IM (several), VoIP, etc. All work. It's all in the signal... (My UTD is sitting on the curtain rail ATM. ;))
 
Bosveld what makes you say you are not in the coverage area for MyWireless. Please remember the Sentech Zone Locator is VERY conservative in indicating if you have coverage. If you email me your address, I can tell you if you are within the coverage area. And we can send someone to come out and show you how it works. (We are resellers for the product.)

Cheers
 
Connection said:
(We are resellers for the product.)
Click to expand...

Does Sentech do a month-to-month contract? And if so, what is the cost of the modem? How much for the various options?
 
swordfish1 said:
I found my 56 Kbit modem connection being much more reliable than iBurst! Not because the iBurst technology is bad, but because there are too many retarted people managing that company!

I have not had problems for last year or even more with my dial-up connection! It always works, no limitation whatsoever, I can download as much as I like, I never had to worry about exceeding some bullsh1t monthly limit etc. From 2 weeks I got iBurst, and about 10 days out of those 2 weeks I either did not have internet at all, or I had only HTTP (web browsing) working, I can't even chat, not to mention using it for p2p or anything else.

So with modem you have 56 Kbits connection which is 99.99% reliable, with iBurst you know that you have realy expensive and great piece of technology, 1 Mbit connection, which seldom works if ever!

So the decission is yours, but if I knew that this is what iBurst is all about, I would not have signed for it at all!
Click to expand...
thats of course one side of the story, I have had mine for over a month now and havent encountered a single problem with disconection ect?
Its 100% mnore reliable service than a 56k modem through Telkom lol. in fact there is not even a comparrison
Isdn as well, they give so much **** (i know i fix the bloody things) again no comparrison.
I personally thingk far to many people are really nit piccking here (not accusing you) But again this is a democratic system, cancel I burst and go with someone else if its really that bad?
 
Let me put this into perspective.

ADSL 192Kbps = R375.00 + R250 for a 3Gb account (incl vat)

For R625 a month you can have 24x7 connectivity by the company that controls all bandwidth in South Africa. They have plenty of it. And it's dished out pretty fairly. Their traffic shaping works properly. After the cap you still get 100% free local access. For another R150 or so, you can get 64kbps browsing and Socks proxying international via any of the uncapped service providers. Or you can buy a 30Gb account or uncapped DSL. There are many choices right now in the ADSL landscape...

Yes, the monopoly are scum, and they are extorting money out of everyone. But hell, the fact is that their service works, is reliable, and functions as advertised. And pretty soon, they might be forced to lower their prices...

What has WBS delivered so far, aside from incompetence? Mobility? If that's your need then iBurst/Sentech/3G may be for you. But the fact is that less than 20% of broadband users require the mobility. (Many studies show this).

Other than that, their lack of choices, NON-dedication to local Internet activity is sickening.
 
TheRoDent said:
Let me put this into perspective.

ADSL 192Kbps = R375.00 + R250 for a 3Gb account (incl vat)

For R625 a month you can have 24x7 connectivity by the company that controls all bandwidth in South Africa. They have plenty of it. And it's dished out pretty fairly. Their traffic shaping works properly. After the cap you still get 100% free local access. For another R150 or so, you can get 64kbps browsing and Socks proxying international via any of the uncapped service providers. Or you can buy a 30Gb account or uncapped DSL. There are many choices right now in the ADSL landscape...

Yes, the monopoly are scum, and they are extorting money out of everyone. But hell, the fact is that their service works, is reliable, and functions as advertised. And pretty soon, they might be forced to lower their prices...

What has WBS delivered so far, aside from incompetence? Mobility? If that's your need then iBurst/Sentech/3G may be for you. But the fact is that less than 20% of broadband users require the mobility. (Many studies show this).

Other than that, their lack of choices, NON-dedication to local Internet activity is sickening.
Click to expand...
Sorry dude but i beg to differ.
Total cost and have a very good look at your bill for that service after absolutely everything is closer to R800 a month.
You have ot take phone rental ect into account.
I know i have been down this rout.
Plus what does your install cost? R800?
then Be honest about all the Hidden costs. Telkom are a bigger scam then I burst period.
Out of my experience i got back from the uk last year, Got Telkom home 386 DSL installed after 4 weeks of waiting, my first two months my Bill was well in excess of R3300. (argue fight scream i never resolved that one)
The ADSL service i had worked for 3 weeks of those 8.
I burst, i got same day started up, Havent had any **** with it since day one.
(Apart from the fact it aint a 1meg line lol)
So from my eperience i would take Iburst at twice the price over Telkom.
 
I agree with wls.

On principle I will not support Telkom. They are the root of all SA broadband evil, and quite a few other evils besides.

So you can sell your soul to the devil, Mr Rodent, but I'd rather stick to WBS and Iburst, warts and all.
 
Interesting

Thanks for all the comments here.

I applied for HomeDSL192 and after waiting 1 month and several calls to them, I was told that although the compliance testing worked, I must wait 4 months, 'cause they need to install 'equipment'. To hell with that.

I think I will give iBurst a go.

But just to re-cap (and based on all your comments), I should:

1) Get a 'reseller' to test my signal at my place
2) only if I get 100% signal strength, then I go ahead
3) buy the modem for R2800 and go on a mth by mth deal (do not go 24 month contract)

Is this the correct procedure?

thanks

ps. I live in Fourways (magaliesig)
 
I agree with that. I am going to follow the same procedure. I am in a worse boat. I won't have ADSL in my area until 2008 due to Telkom being as useless as usual. And I am very worried about getting a R3000 phone bill. I've had to fight many times in the past with Telkom for being charged for things I don't have. Once, I got billed for having a fscking payphone, I had to get an affidavit to prove that I NEVER ever owned one, nor have one on my premises.

At least on the month-to-month option I am getting what I pay for, no surprises, apart from probably being disconnected if I go over cap. The signal test has been done in my area with satisfactory results.
 
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