iburst throttling capping?

[dsd]

Just got iBurst this month and hit my cap yesterday. I'm on the 1GB service, so according to the advertising I should be receiving 64kbps after capping.

BUT what happened was that SMTP, POP and HTTP were blocked while other services seemed to work correctly (HTTPS, DNS, ICMP etc). Interestingly enough these all worked at what seemed to be more that 64kbps.

So I called the help line and after lots of resetting and reconnecting still had no joy. Ended up buying more bandwidth as it will at least carry over for next month.

Seems their capping/throttling is not working correctly. Anyone had a similar experience?

What is the problem here?

 

[guest2013-1]

Similar experience? Well... let me put it to you this way, this happend from day 1 since they started capping. So I'm not suprised. Thats the reason why I opted to wait around for ADSL to get installed, at least when I want to access my mail then I can.

 

[swordfish1]

iburst is a joke, I had it for 2 months last year, and it worked properly for about a day from those two months! Their staff/management are so incompetent that the telkom staff are Gods compared to them!

I stll don't understand people that fork R2000+ investment for an obsolete technology modem to get no service whatsoever ... If you want mobility, go for 3G, otherwise go for ADSL. Even though ADSL is bloody expensive (by international standards), at least it works all the time, well SAIX at least. One year since I have ADSL, I don't think I have had any downtime, only few slowdowns ... and all protocols do work at all times, assuming you are not capped!

 

[dsd]

No everything is working fine (speeds up to about 90kB/s averaging about 70-80) with no downtime. I'm pretty happy and have very specific reasons for the choice of modem etc.

What is concerning me is that the advertised way of working (i.e. throttling to 64kbps) is not working, but capping certain services. I'd actually be happier if they had just said, "We don't know how to do it properly so we'll just cap you" - at least I would have known what to expect

 

[codemonkey]

...I stll don't understand people that fork R2000+ investment for an obsolete technology modem to get no service whatsoever ... If you want mobility, go for 3G, otherwise go for ADSL...

What I don't understand is why certain ADSL users insist on lurking around the iBurst forum, taking every oppertunity to post some drivel about how bad they perceive iBurst to be.

With the cost of Internet connectivity being as high as it is in this country, I'm sure everyone did their research before deciding on a connection method, ISP, data package etc.

For future reference, if you have something constructive to add, go ahead and post. If, on the other hand, you feel the need to pitch in your personal opinion on why ADSL is the ultimate way to connect to the Internet, please refrain from posting. If you absolutely feel you must have your say, rather give Telkom a call and tell them you're one of their supporters. I'm sure they need all the love and support they can get.

 

[swordfish1]

What I don't understand is why certain ADSL users insist on lurking around the iBurst forum, taking every oppertunity to post some drivel about how bad they perceive iBurst to be.

With the cost of Internet connectivity being as high as it is in this country, I'm sure everyone did their research before deciding on a connection method, ISP, data package etc.

For future reference, if you have something constructive to add, go ahead and post. If, on the other hand, you feel the need to pitch in your personal opinion on why ADSL is the ultimate way tp connect to the Internet, please refrain from posting. If you absolutely feel you must have your say, rather give Telkom a call and tell them your one of their supporters. I'm sure they need all the love and support they can get.

well, it seems that most iBurst subscriber today are using iBurst for a narrow set of activities which happen to work fine for them. When somebody new gets on the ride and has problems (due to the WBS utter incompetence), all people like yourself, for which iBurst does work simply because you are not using certain protocols or services, tend to ditch the newcomer and tell him/her that "it works fine", which obviously is not the case!

I have had a numerous arguments about that, and people don't seem to udnerstand that companies SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TELL YOU WHAT TO USE THE ITNERNET FOR!!! I can undestand ISPs restricting speed, capping etc, but telling you you can use HTTP, but not streaming, or SSH or whatever (those are just random examples!) should be AGAINST THE LAW! And WBS is doing exactly that! They shape the traffic in such a way that many protocols either don't work or work unreliably! I am sorry for NOT supporting that, if you are happy with it, so be it!

I think people should be aware of those facts and should avoid providers that do that! If you want to support them, fine! In regards with Telkom, I am not their supporter, but given that there is nothing better out there, what do you suggest? To move in a cave without internet? ADSL at least works, I am yet to experience protocol level problem with ADSL, even though they say it is shapped, all protocols DO WORK at all times, and as far as I can tell, they work for everyone, not just for the choosen few!

And BTW, the R2,100 (or something like that) iBurst modem can be found overseas for around R1,000! Rip-offs!

 

[Raithlin]

/me ignores the fist-fight in the corner...

I'm capped on G3, and still able to use SMTP, POP, HTTP as well as everything else (Gaming & FTP since being capped). In short, I'm able to carry on with my daily activites as before - if a little slower than usual.

It's not unusual that the helpdesk is unable to solve your problem. I've found in the past that the knowledgeable technicians are in the field - not behind the phones. I haven't had too much trouble (none since moving closer to a tower ) in the last 18 months though. Call me one of the lucky ones, perhaps.

 

[Hein_JHB]

I am using Iburst and i get 100% signal and 1Mbit connection. I can download from p2p, torrents and my speed on torrents is 100KB/s and sometimes 113KB/s and when i am capped i can STILL download from p2p and torrents and i can also listen to www.di.fm streaming audio in winamp and i can have a ip adress for 1 week or 2 weeks or 1 month.

The adsl connection at work sometimes is slower than dailup and it happens alot that we have downtime and sometimes only skype works.

Sentech does not have good signal where i live and it takes months to get ADSL and ADSL will be to expensive for me because on Iburst i can use about 30 gigs and more p/m. I agree that they are a bit expensive but it works for me.

 

[codemonkey]

...because you are not using certain protocols or services...

Indeed. The service does work fine for me, in part because certain protocols and services are being throttled. If filesharing/P2P was allowed with no restrictions, the entire network would grind to a halt under the load of pr0n/warez/pirated movies being moved between users. So I am totally in favour of throttling certain ports and protocols.

As this is a contested service, steps need to be taken to ensure the service level stays at an acceptable level for all users.

 

[kingrob]

Well, ADSL will only be OK if you're using the 1mb ADSL - and that's bloody expensive, as far as I know.

I'm on a 1mb connection, downloading @ 112kb/s with iBurst (depending on the web site), and the best I ever got from my 512kb BT (British Telecoms) line was about 55kb/s.

So, for the sake of not making Telscum any richer (I hate them with a passion) and the fact that iBurst works exceptionally well where I live (100% signal, downspeed 912kbps & up 236kbps) why would I dance with the devil?

 

[swordfish1]

Indeed. The service does work fine for me, in part because certain protocols and services are being throttled. If filesharing/P2P was allowed with no restrictions, the entire network would grind to a halt under the load of pr0n/warez/pirated movies being moved between users. So I am totally in favour of throttling certain ports and protocols.

As this is a contested service, steps need to be taken to ensure the service level stays at an acceptable level for all users.

lol, so what is the cap and the speed restriction for????

why they don't do that in other countries? They just charge you more for faster connection exactly because you can download more!

I don't see how downloading 30GB from HTTP is much different than downloading 30GB from P2P!?

but this is besides the point, when I had iBurst, even though I had good signal strength and HTTP was flying at the speeds mentioned above, I was unable to use applications like ISQ/MSN and data streaming applets! Having issues with your daily work/communications related application is absolute crap! I do not support companies that do that!

EDIT: dsd complains above that "SMTP, POP and HTTP" do not work! Those are essential protocols, and if they don't work therefore the service doesn't work! The fact that he is experiencing this issue after being capped basically means that it is a software issue! Why they do not advertise the FACT that after you are capped you can't use essential services!? Why mislead people that they still have proper internet conenction, only at a lower speed! In any other country company doing that will be shut down in a matter of days, only in SA this is allowed and deemed acceptable and even good! Pathetic!

 

[swordfish1]

The adsl connection at work sometimes is slower than dailup and it happens alot that we have downtime and sometimes only skype works.

yeah if you are on IS, it does happen indeed ... no such issues on SAIX though

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

lol, so what is the cap and the speed restriction for????

why they don't do that in other countries? They just charge you more for faster connection exactly because you can download more!

I don't see how downloading 30GB from HTTP is much different than downloading 30GB from P2P!?

but this is besides the point, when I had iBurst, even though I had good signal strength and HTTP was flying at the speeds mentioned above, I was unable to use applications like ISQ/MSN and data streaming applets! Having issues with your daily work/communications related application is absolute crap! I do not support companies that do that!

EDIT: dsd complains above that "SMTP, POP and HTTP" do not work! Those are essential protocols, and if they don't work therefore the service doesn't work! The fact that he is experiencing this issue after being capped basically means that it is a software issue! Why they do not advertise the FACT that after you are capped you can't use essential services!? Why mislead people that they still have proper internet conenction, only at a lower speed! In any other country company doing that will be shut down in a matter of days, only in SA this is allowed and deemed acceptable and even good! Pathetic!

Um dude.. I dont get it. Why are you making like Iburst are some huge enemy that CAP and SHAPE!! SAIX (your beloved) do that too. They did it first, you know if it wasnt fo rtheir restrictive costs on bandwidth to SA, maby companies like Iburst wouldnt shape?

And the capping works fine for me and everyone I know with Iburst, every time. But their is a problem, and it can be fixed by giving Shaun green your details, he is on this forum (much better than anything Telkom or IS does) and can sort that problem out ina few minutes. Its good customer service you know. And I have never had any problems with Ibursts staff myself, the helpdesk isnt bad and its pretty efficiant.

And you couldnt use MSN? Then you probably set something up wrong,everyone on Iburst can use MSN. And I can watch webcams and listen to peoples recordings on MSN too.
Your edit?? Dont you even know that the death of cap is a problem. HTTP, SMTP and POP are what you should be able to use once capped. That is what needs to be sorted out with Shaun Green. They arent misleading anyone, that is simply a problem and doesnt happen to that many people as far as I can tell. Seriously, you actually thought that was the service they provide once capped? maby you should do some research before you flame them like that.

 

[Hein_JHB]

The adsl connection at work is a saix based connection and i know of 3 ppl with saix based accounts who got problems and a friend in the IT field who also told me that alot of his clients also got problems and downtime

 

[swordfish1]

Um dude.. I dont get it. Why are you making like Iburst are some huge enemy that CAP and SHAPE!! SAIX (your beloved) do that too. They did it first, you know if it wasnt fo rtheir restrictive costs on bandwidth to SA, maby companies like Iburst wouldnt shape?

And the capping works fine for me and everyone I know with Iburst, every time. But their is a problem, and it can be fixed by giving Shaun green your details, he is on this forum (much better than anything Telkom or IS does) and can sort that problem out ina few minutes. Its good customer service you know. And I have never had any problems with Ibursts staff myself, the helpdesk isnt bad and its pretty efficiant.

And you couldnt use MSN? Then you probably set something up wrong,everyone on Iburst can use MSN. And I can watch webcams and listen to peoples recordings on MSN too.
Your edit?? Dont you even know that the death of cap is a problem. HTTP, SMTP and POP are what you should be able to use once capped. That is what needs to be sorted out with Shaun Green. They arent misleading anyone, that is simply a problem and doesnt happen to that many people as far as I can tell. Seriously, you actually thought that was the service they provide once capped? maby you should do some research before you flame them like that.

you are completely missing my point!!!

all I am saying is that iBurst should not make ANY restrictions on a protocol level, that make a given protocol unusable! They can cap you if they want, they can reduce your speed if that is what it says in the contract, but they MUST not restrict you from using one protocol or another! Even though SAIX does shapping, their shapping is done properly, so all protocols still work fine, maybe some are slower than others, but none is unusable!

I have had issues with MSN and tons of other non-HTTP applications, this was almost a year ago, I did phone their useless support many times, they were telling me all the time that THIS IS HOW IT WORKS!

I am glad that everyone here is finding their service excellent, pity that the new subscribers will have to suffer and go through the same pain that I went through!

 

[swordfish1]

The adsl connection at work is a saix based connection and i know of 3 ppl with saix based accounts who got problems and a friend in the IT field who also told me that alot of his clients also got problems and downtime

well, I am conencted 24x7 and I spend most if not all of my time online, and I am yet to see one of those many problems ... and are you sure it was a global SAIX problem or it was that some construction company cut the cable or something ...

I live in a fairly old, well established residential area, and there is no construction work whatsoever in the area, so maybe that makes it so reliable for me, don't know

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

you are completely missing my point!!!

all I am saying is that iBurst should not make ANY restrictions on a protocol level, that make a given protocol unusable! They can cap you if they want, they can reduce your speed if that is what it says in the contract, but they MUST not restrict you from using one protocol or another! Even though SAIX does shapping, their shapping is done properly, so all protocols still work fine, maybe some are slower than others, but none is unusable!

I have had issues with MSN and tons of other non-HTTP applications, this was almost a year ago, I did phone their useless support many times, they were telling me all the time that THIS IS HOW IT WORKS!

I am glad that everyone here is finding their service excellent, pity that the new subscribers will have to suffer and go through the same pain that I went through!

I still havent found may protocols that ar eunusable. Which ones did you have trouble with? Besides MSN or streaming. cause I think those are sorted out. Unless some streaming protocols dont work, but I stream radio and some video from You-tube and Winamp etc.

oh.. haha sorry, I didnt really read your reply in context, i was a bit too lazy so early in the morning (for me..)

but still, you realise that HTTP and email not working isnt part of the plan, its a fault. You just didnt need a whole rant about that in your post and talking about closing them down and all that silly stuff.

 

[swordfish1]

I still havent found may protocols that ar eunusable. Which ones did you have trouble with? Besides MSN or streaming. cause I think those are sorted out. Unless some streaming protocols dont work, but I stream radio and some video from You-tube and Winamp etc.

oh.. haha sorry, I didnt really read your reply in context, i was a bit too lazy so early in the morning (for me..)

but still, you realise that HTTP and email not working isnt part of the plan, its a fault. You just didnt need a whole rant about that in your post and talking about closing them down and all that silly stuff.

well I clearly remember speaking many times to the WBS support, and being told as many times that there is nothing wrong with the way it works, or rather the way it is not wroking

as I said this was a year ago, things may have changed now, although reading the first post in this thread, maybe not ...

I have had problems with more or less all protocols except HTTP (I don't use SMTP/POP email though). I use text data streaming applets (transfer data every few seconds), as well as quite a few text based chat/communication apps, as far as I remember SSH wasn't working too. I think that P2P wasn't working too, but I was so furious about the other not working stuff that I didn't look too much into it. And yes, I have played with all MTU and other settings, nothing helped .. at the same time HTTP was going at 100+ KB/s

I would love to know if the guy who posted this thread got his problem sorted by the iBurst support, or they are going to tell him that there is no problem whatsoever ..

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

Well you can just use a proxy to unshape any protocol you want. If you are looking for a solution.

The poster needs to get in touch with Shaun greem, send him a PM or ask to speak to someone who works at WBS besides the normal helpdesk staff. They should know what you are talking about.

P2P is ahped and does work, but VERY slowly. A proxy however gets me around 70kb on P2P.
I can use IRC and MSN, as well as all the other MSn type apps.
But im shure some stuff doesnt work too well.

 

[mashu]

This is my 2nd month with iBurst and overall I'm more than satisfied with it. It works with all the protocols I use (http/https/ftp/smtp/pop/udp).

I hit the "cap of death" during the 1st month but leaving it disconnected overnight cured that. I've been throttled to 64kb since Tuesday this week and VPN (both Cisco and Hamachi) to TS, which is my main daily activity, works just fine, web browsing is reasonably speedy - and it's the only time I can get a high ID on both the ed2k and kad networks. Not that I'm a big P2P'er (cough). Also, I'm going to Durban for a week later in July and will be taking it with me - another advantage.

And, very importantly, it's not Telkom.