Internet and broadband in numbers

Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.
 
Either way, it is hard to tell. I have a connection at home, and another at work. When the occasion demands, I use 3G on phone. Does that count as 3 internet users?

Perhaps the number of unique users is really low... Internet is expensive! [in SA:(]
 
I think one of the biggest problems with these statistics is that people use terminology without defining them first.

For example; What is an 'internet' user? Or a 'broadband' connection?

If I use my cellphone to check my e-mail, am I an 'internet' user? Probably. Am I a 'broadband' user? Probably not.

What if I browse VodafoneLive every now and then. Am I an 'internet' user? I'd venture, yes.

What if I have an active IP connection of some sort. Am I using the 'internet' in some way? Chances are pretty good.

We should start by getting a consistent set of definitions in the market. Then numbers like these can be better qualified:

Goldstuck said that while many media reports are creating hype surrounding the use of cellphones to access the Internet - often quoting figures as high as 10 million - the reality looks vastly different.

Goldstuck's research suggests that there were only 180 000 users in 2008 who used their cellphones as a primary method of connecting to the Internet. According to Goldstuck this figure is likely to climb to 450 000 in 2009 and jump to 1.6 million in 2013.
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On Vodacom's network 2013 must have arrived early as we have more than this number of concurrent ACTIVE IP sessions with a total monthly unique count 2 to 4 times that.

Are these all 'internet' users? Most must be.

I'd offer that an 'internet' user is anyone who connects to the internet to perform some function and a 'broadband' connection would add an additional speed qualification. (Think the official local spec is still stuck on 256Kb/s :))

Let's convince rpm to create a consistent, industry-specific set of definitions. ;)
 
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I would guess and say any internet user is somebody connecting to the internet go has an IP address?

Somebody correct me if i am wrong
 
How about when 4 people in in a household use the same pc? Or alike at an internet cafe or library?
 
vodacom3g said:
On Vodacom's network 2013 must have arrived early as we have more than this number of concurrent ACTIVE IP sessions with a total monthly unique count 2 to 4 times that.
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And after you subtracted the mxit users? :D
 
Goldstuck said that there were a total of 1.35 million broadband connections at the end of 2008.
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Actually - not true. Maybe 1.35m users who can burst at broadband rates - but that is not broadband.

We don't know broadband in South Africa yet...
 
"a communications network in which the bandwidth can be divided and shared by multiple simultaneous signals (as for voice or data or video)"
 
Prof.Merlin said:
"a communications network in which the bandwidth can be divided and shared by multiple simultaneous signals (as for voice or data or video)"
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That is actually the origin of the word 'broadband'. I.e. a network that can carry a 'broad' range of services.

But nowadays, speed is mostly used as the parameter to define broadband. I think the local standards still state 256Kb/s while other standards bodies have higher numbers.
 
ScrooV said:
I'll try again: http://www.google.co.za/search?q=define:+broadband

There are a few definitions there... Many of them refer to multimedia broadcasting. And not one of them talk about data thresholds or caps...
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Probably because it's not part of the definition. :rolleyes:

As posted above, 'broadband' used to be a generic term to describe a network with a 'broad' range of services available. In this context nearly every network in SA today is broadband, even GPRS allows you to do many different things.

So, to answer your statement that we don't have broadband in SA, you're actually completely wrong. By its very definition, we have broadband in SA.

But it's become more popular to equate 'broadband' with speed. And this number tend to move up as technology increments.

The question is, what is a relevant number? 1Mb/s?
 
vodacom3g said:
So, to answer your statement that we don't have broadband in SA, you're actually completely wrong. By its very definition, we have broadband in SA.
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OK - you are right then. BUT - if we use it for a few hours (or at best a few days at top speed), then it gets turned off.

No very good broadband if we can only look at it... sneeze and it's gone.

Kind of like having a Ferrari, but can only use it for one trip to the mall a month.
 
vodacom3g said:
As posted above, 'broadband' used to be a generic term to describe a network with a 'broad' range of services available. In this context nearly every network in SA today is broadband, even GPRS allows you to do many different things.
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:eek: Oh!?
I learn something new every day! Never thought of it that way, thanks V3G :)
 
ScrooV said:
OK - you are right then. BUT - if we use it for a few hours (or at best a few days at top speed), then it gets turned off.

No very good broadband if we can only look at it... sneeze and it's gone.

Kind of like having a Ferrari, but can only use it for one trip to the mall a month.
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If you only have enough petrol money for that one trip, yes. ;)

When you buy a Ferrari, you buy the ability to go 300KM/h. That does not give you unlimited fuel (you still pay per tank of fuel and if you run out of fuel, you stop), nor do you get any guarantees that the roads will always be open for you to run at top speed all the time. :)

To get back on topic, local networks are 'broadband'. But the cost of data is prohibitive.

But it does not stop you from running downloads 24x7, you just need to pay for the data. Just like you must pay for the petrol if you want to race around in your red car, 24x7.

South Africa has lower copper speeds and capacity. And more expensive data, for sure. But it's still broadband.
 
vodacom3g said:
If you only have enough petrol money for that one trip, yes. ;)

When you buy a Ferrari, you buy the ability to go 300KM/h. That does not give you unlimited fuel (you still pay per tank of fuel and if you run out of fuel, you stop), nor do you get any guarantees that the roads will always be open for you to run at top speed all the time. :)

To get back on topic, local networks are 'broadband'. But the cost of data is prohibitive.

But it does not stop you from running downloads 24x7, you just need to pay for the data. Just like you must pay for the petrol if you want to race around in your red car, 24x7.

South Africa has lower copper speeds and capacity. And more expensive data, for sure. But it's still broadband.
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Sorry - you'll not convince me that 1gb or 3gb per month constitutes broadband. Your right though - you can buy extra - I have 2 x 4mbs uncapped accounts - but both are constantly rate limited for "abuse".. So I pay twice the price for half the advertised speed of 4mbs. That is expensive.

Still, could be worse. I could be paying your bosses R2/mb... no thanks!
 
vodacom3g said:
That is actually the origin of the word 'broadband'. I.e. a network that can carry a 'broad' range of services.

But nowadays, speed is mostly used as the parameter to define broadband. I think the local standards still state 256Kb/s while other standards bodies have higher numbers.
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Indeed, ICASA defines broadband as "an always-on data connection that is able to support various interactive services, and has the ability of a minimum download speed of 256 Kilo bits per second"
 
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