iBurst response to current ADSL pricing.

ZombiePriest said:
Turn around your packages completely. Provide the throttled service as a standalone, then allow users to top-up fast gigs as the 'Value Added Service'. In effect, you are then competing with the new uncapped ADSL pricings with your current services, because you know you can't afford another network update, you will lose what little victims (I mean clients) you have left on contract to small court claims.

This is exactly the opposite of what you guys are currently doing, because currently you are forcing people to take 'unthrottled' gigs that are not really discernible from the throttled speeds because your throttling doesn't work properly (a rough estimate that goes throttled at roughly the same time each month is not a working system). It also alleviates your inaccurate bandwidth monitoring problem because you don't need to monitor everyone's bandwidth - only the bandwidth of those who top up (which I don't believe are more than those who sit on throttled speeds, as uncapped throttled speeds remains your only selling point). The throttled users are already shaped, so no need to worry about them. This frees your understaffed tech department and much of your financing department's time so they can finally get to that creeping backlog so you tick less people off and hopefully lose less customers due to your silly 'migration packages'.

Since R200 seems to be the standard for ADSL, uncapped at 384 kbps, a slower, wireless service provider would have to provide an uncapped service at a cheaper rate. This because we want to compare apples with apples and you are supposedly not on Telkom's infrastructure (which I don't believe for a second, but anyway).

Does anybody else agree with my idea?
Click to expand...

We accurately monitor each byte used by subscribers on the network. The method described here is not the one we use and the statement is false. Can you post proof of the claims?

We don't use the incumbents infrastructure. There is not one Telkom line attaching any of our 260 base stations to the core.
 
Mental-Tree said:
^uhm with your torrent, 20 seed mean 20 people who are uploading the file. 300 peers means 300 people who are downloading the file from the 20 seeds... Ofc. you'll get **** speeds.
Click to expand...

Not how torrents are designed to work as you would also download from non-seeds who have already grabbed portions of the file. Speed is proportional to the overall number of peers, not the ratio of seeders to leechers.
 
r00igev@@r said:
We accurately monitor each byte used by subscribers on the network.
Click to expand...

Not to throw a cat among the pigeons, but here are some usage emails I've got while the throttled service was still in effect.

26 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 464.45 MB
Downloaded 1,583.55 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

27 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 512.55 MB
Downloaded 1,535.45 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

How did my download usage go DOWN?
 
eltherza said:
Not to throw a cat among the pigeons, but here are some usage emails I've got while the throttled service was still in effect.

26 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 464.45 MB
Downloaded 1,583.55 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

27 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 512.55 MB
Downloaded 1,535.45 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

How did my download usage go DOWN?
Click to expand...

I used to get a bunch of those...
All of a sudden the Mbs disappear or reappear for no reason.
 
r00igev@@r said:
We accurately monitor each byte used by subscribers on the network. The method described here is not the one we use and the statement is false. Can you post proof of the claims?

We don't use the incumbents infrastructure. There is not one Telkom line attaching any of our 260 base stations to the core.
Click to expand...

iBurst crisis? What crisis?

I installed a bandwidth monitor on my pc and it does not correlate with my usage as indicated on the iBurst dashboard or on the iBurst bandwidth monitor page. This is not my own experience alone, but that of many of your subscribers as indicated elsewhere on this forum.

As an aside, could you please post the method you use to monitor bandwidth?
 
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How many peers do you think actually let the files upload at full speed instead of 0.1kbps? Btw I've posted links to show how to speed up torrents on iburst so if anyone is interested just search the forum... and make sure the torrent that you are downloading has more seeds than peers ☺

Back to more serious matters. Mweb now have TV ad's for their uncapped, I rate that if iburst don't do something soon they'll be out of the game for good by the end of the year.
 
ZombiePriest said:
iBurst crisis? What crisis?

I installed a bandwidth monitor on my pc and it does not correlate with my usage as indicated on the iBurst dashboard or on the iBurst bandwidth monitor page. This is not my own experience alone, but that of many of your subscribers as indicated elsewhere on this forum.

As an aside, could you please post the method you use to monitor bandwidth?
Click to expand...

I have also installed a bandwidth monitor on my PC to do the same (and additionally correlate it against the bandwidth monitoring of tomato) To date I haven't picked up an issue against my iBurst usage report. An issue might exist on an individual's account which if you inform us we'll investigate. This is usually related to an upward/downward migration or system change. These were addressed by the gratuitous allocation of double bandwidth for two months. Every subscriber would have had more bandwidth than purchased.

The bandwidth is monitored using radius accounting records. All iBurst sessions are terminated on PDSNs. (I won't state the vendor or we'll have people trying to hack it) The PDSNs send start/stop records and at a predetermined interval they also send interim accounting records. The billing system uses these to remove bandwidth from the bucket.
 
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r00igev@@r said:
Discrepancies in usage reporting are usually related to upward or downward migrations. In December and January, the whole base was migrated to the new packages.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but if your bandwidth monitor goes bananas after an upward or downward migration, then I'd say there is a major flaw in the design of the monitor or the guys who wrote that were not the sharpest pencils in the packet. Those figures that are emailed will only be seen as valid after a good six months of accurate reporting without a single flaw (that includes modems switched off not downloading).
 
PeterCH said:
I get full 1Mb/sec 99% of the time - since I joined iBurst in late 2007.
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Well, you must be one of the lucky ones - I think I may have seen that on very few occasions, and because of regular dropouts, usually trying to download any file over 200 MBs is an exercise in futility and irritation. If iBurst could up their speeds and make it more stable, I'd most likely stay a happy customer.
 
Just signed up with Mweb on the 4mb line at my brothers house.

:) Must be some kind of record.

Just have to wait for the iburst contract to run its course and just keep it as a backup.
 
How about this for a product line-up Iburst:
(Excluding modems)(shaped BW)

256k uncapped R400
512k uncapped R650
1024 uncapped R900

I am willing to bet this would be a damn site easier to manage as well, uncapped users don't call in to complain they were incorrectly billed, they don't go to the website to top up and you get a fixed revenue for a fixed service. You just make sure torrents and high volume websites like rapidshare are low on the shaping priority list. Simple...

Then all you do is make sure your cost base is well controlled instead of only looking for new sales(suckers) as this market has to be drying up.

Oh and to reduct your BW cost you may want to get an internal file share service running like a GOOD dc++ hub. That way your BW would be clogged with rapidshare etc users.
 
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r00igev@@r said:
Discrepancies in usage reporting are usually related to upward or downward migrations. In December and January, the whole base was migrated to the new packages.
Click to expand...

Discrepancies? What discrepancies? I thought every byte was measured accurately. You have the proof of the discrepancies and you admit that they are there.

Regardless, I'm glad to see some CUSTOMERS (you know, people who put your kids through school and who put the food on your table) agree with my suggestions. Maybe if iBurst were interested in CUSTOMERS we wouldn't be migrating to other ISPs.
 
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+10000000000

You know Ronald, you should tell Jannie that if you guys fixed your products and actually started to give a **** about your customer base, then the business would do a 360 degrees for the better but we all know that this won't happen because you're trying to milk all of your contract members while they are tied in, for everything you can milk them for. However, you all know that once their contracts are up, they're gone..... Where is the logic?!
 
Zodiak said:
+10000000000

You know Ronald, you should tell Jannie that if you guys fixed your products and actually started to give a **** about your customer base, then the business would do a 360 degrees for the better but we all know that this won't happen because you're trying to milk all of your contract members while they are tied in, for everything you can milk them for. However, you all know that once their contracts are up, they're gone..... Where is the logic?!
Click to expand...
They don't have choice. There is a bunch of places where Telkom is not covered or lines stolen either.
 
eltherza said:
Not to throw a cat among the pigeons, but here are some usage emails I've got while the throttled service was still in effect.

26 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 464.45 MB
Downloaded 1,583.55 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

27 Jan (2010)
Uploaded 512.55 MB
Downloaded 1,535.45 MB
Total In-Bundle Data Usage 2,048.00 MB

How did my download usage go DOWN?
Click to expand...

Don't you know that what ever you upload you effectively give back to iBurst? That's why your downloaded figure came down by the difference between Uploaded 26/01 and 27/01...simple really ;)
 
Have you tried actually applying for an ADSL line from Telkom? I have - their sales desk is jammed and they don't reply to on-line applications either. I admit I have not tried going to an actual Telkom Direct shop - that would be the next step.
 
Shayd said:
How about this for a product line-up Iburst:
(Excluding modems)(shaped BW)

256k uncapped R400
512k uncapped R650
1024 uncapped R900

I am willing to bet this would be a damn site easier to manage as well, uncapped users don't call in to complain they were incorrectly billed, they don't go to the website to top up and you get a fixed revenue for a fixed service. You just make sure torrents and high volume websites like rapidshare are low on the shaping priority list. Simple...

Then all you do is make sure your cost base is well controlled instead of only looking for new sales(suckers) as this market has to be drying up.

Oh and to reduct your BW cost you may want to get an internal file share service running like a GOOD dc++ hub. That way your BW would be clogged with rapidshare etc users.
Click to expand...

Love it!
 
Monad said:
Have you tried actually applying for an ADSL line from Telkom? I have - their sales desk is jammed and they don't reply to on-line applications either. I admit I have not tried going to an actual Telkom Direct shop - that would be the next step.
Click to expand...

I did applied 3 years ago for line: every weekend my line was losing signal. Then cancelled.

There is neighbour next door, he says that 3/6 of his lines disappearing completely every weekend. ADSL is 600kbits maximum (seen speedtest).

Not nice perspective.
 
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