Sign up with Google
antowan
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2003
- Messages
- 13,054
<font color="blue">I am trying to get a "quick introduction to South African ADSL" document together. Please help. This is the current outline. Please add to it. It will belong to the South African Internet community under the editorial control of the www.myadsl.co.za forum. Thanks. Antowan</font id="blue">
This is a short introduction to Telkom ADSL / ADSL in South Africa. The intention of this document is not to make an advanced internet user out of a newcomer to South African broadband, but to serve as a simple introduction to what ADSL is and what you can do with it. Before I get into the details, it is important to note the following.
1. Put a copy of your account details in safe storage. Make either a hard copy and put into a filing cabinet of sorts or put it into a secure folder on your own and somebody elses (whom you trust) computer. Preferably put this information in a password protected word document or a zip folder in order to keep it hidden from perusing eyes.
2. Keep track of your router settings and passwords. A good rule of thumb is to never use the same passwords for financial sites as you do for your network security.
What is ADSL?
ADSL is a broadband internet offering provided by Telkom in South Africa. ADSL is an international standard of transmitting data across ordinary telephone copper wires. It ranges in speeds from around 256Kbps up to 40 Mbps and more in certain regions of our beautiful planet. In South Africa, the norm is 512Kbps download and 256 Kbps upload. This makes for a refreshing change if you are used to the old (supposed to be defunct) 56Kbps dialup.
If you want to know more details about the workings of ADSL, please access the following open website for more in-depth information on how it works and where it is going.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dsl.htm
Other ADSL evolved services are already seeing daylight in the USA, which is good for South Africa because the newer generation services are easier and more affordable to enable on current ADSL infrastructure. Lets hope Telkom picks up on this.
What can you do with ADSL?
Well, a lot really! You can download stuff that took hours on dialup in a matter of minutes or even seconds (if you are one of the lucky people who live close to an exchange) on ADSL. The best way to explain what you can do with ADSL is to show you. Here are a couple of websites that would be a nightmare on ordinary dialup but is an absolute dream on ADSL…
www.joecartoon.com
www.ifilm.com
http://www.channel4.com/broadband/
Once you have browsed these sites, the difference should become apparent.
If not, visit this site…
http://www.isp-select.com/dsl_demo.htm
In short, ADSL should be around nine to ten times faster than dialup in South Africa… It primarily enables you to enjoy the audio and visual components of today’s broadband Internet. Trust me, it can bring a whole new dimension of the Internet right into your home if you use it right. You can make video and voice “calls” over the Internet. It is strictly speaking illegal in South Africa, but being the propagator of pushing the limits where they are unfairly placed, I urge you to use these functions when and wherever the opportuinity arrises!
What else can I do with ADSL?
Seeing as you are always connected to the Internet through ADSL, you can put up a private website on your home computer. It is not within the scope of this document to show you how, and that is half the fun of having this kind of connection. You have a world of information at your
fingertips at speeds you have never known before! Visit www.myadsl.co.za and find the answers you need!
· You can check email as often as you like whenever you feel like it.
· You can browse the web whenever you want, even during the day when it is most expensive on other service options like dialup and ISDN.
· View financial data and other data services only available to people with always on Internet.
· It is brilliant if you are studying online at a University or other educational institution offering this service.
· Use peer to peer download and upload services like Kazaa and E-mule for downloading music and videos.
· The list goes on and on!
Who provides me the access and who provides me the line?
Telkom actually provides the total service from the line to the internet access account. However, in the name of “fair play” they have made it possible for free market ISP’s to resell the service. Thus, you can get ADSL through other companies who usually provide extra content as “bonus” for using ADSL through them.
It all depends on what you want. The advantages of avoiding Telkom as the Internet access account provider are:
1. Better response time when a problem arises! This is probably the single biggest advantage.
2. Access to extra exclusiv content.
Sites you should be aware of when using ADSL in South Africa
1. www.myadsl.co.za (for friendly company on a rather rough sea of Internet in South Africa)
2. www.noticeboard.saix.net (to see what is happening in the world of maintenance) the username is “guest” and the password is also “guest”
He who does not understand the value of war at the right time, cannot comprehend the value of life at any time - Anonymous
This is a short introduction to Telkom ADSL / ADSL in South Africa. The intention of this document is not to make an advanced internet user out of a newcomer to South African broadband, but to serve as a simple introduction to what ADSL is and what you can do with it. Before I get into the details, it is important to note the following.
1. Put a copy of your account details in safe storage. Make either a hard copy and put into a filing cabinet of sorts or put it into a secure folder on your own and somebody elses (whom you trust) computer. Preferably put this information in a password protected word document or a zip folder in order to keep it hidden from perusing eyes.
2. Keep track of your router settings and passwords. A good rule of thumb is to never use the same passwords for financial sites as you do for your network security.
What is ADSL?
ADSL is a broadband internet offering provided by Telkom in South Africa. ADSL is an international standard of transmitting data across ordinary telephone copper wires. It ranges in speeds from around 256Kbps up to 40 Mbps and more in certain regions of our beautiful planet. In South Africa, the norm is 512Kbps download and 256 Kbps upload. This makes for a refreshing change if you are used to the old (supposed to be defunct) 56Kbps dialup.
If you want to know more details about the workings of ADSL, please access the following open website for more in-depth information on how it works and where it is going.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dsl.htm
Other ADSL evolved services are already seeing daylight in the USA, which is good for South Africa because the newer generation services are easier and more affordable to enable on current ADSL infrastructure. Lets hope Telkom picks up on this.
What can you do with ADSL?
Well, a lot really! You can download stuff that took hours on dialup in a matter of minutes or even seconds (if you are one of the lucky people who live close to an exchange) on ADSL. The best way to explain what you can do with ADSL is to show you. Here are a couple of websites that would be a nightmare on ordinary dialup but is an absolute dream on ADSL…
www.joecartoon.com
www.ifilm.com
http://www.channel4.com/broadband/
Once you have browsed these sites, the difference should become apparent.
If not, visit this site…
http://www.isp-select.com/dsl_demo.htm
In short, ADSL should be around nine to ten times faster than dialup in South Africa… It primarily enables you to enjoy the audio and visual components of today’s broadband Internet. Trust me, it can bring a whole new dimension of the Internet right into your home if you use it right. You can make video and voice “calls” over the Internet. It is strictly speaking illegal in South Africa, but being the propagator of pushing the limits where they are unfairly placed, I urge you to use these functions when and wherever the opportuinity arrises!
What else can I do with ADSL?
Seeing as you are always connected to the Internet through ADSL, you can put up a private website on your home computer. It is not within the scope of this document to show you how, and that is half the fun of having this kind of connection. You have a world of information at your
fingertips at speeds you have never known before! Visit www.myadsl.co.za and find the answers you need!
· You can check email as often as you like whenever you feel like it.
· You can browse the web whenever you want, even during the day when it is most expensive on other service options like dialup and ISDN.
· View financial data and other data services only available to people with always on Internet.
· It is brilliant if you are studying online at a University or other educational institution offering this service.
· Use peer to peer download and upload services like Kazaa and E-mule for downloading music and videos.
· The list goes on and on!
Who provides me the access and who provides me the line?
Telkom actually provides the total service from the line to the internet access account. However, in the name of “fair play” they have made it possible for free market ISP’s to resell the service. Thus, you can get ADSL through other companies who usually provide extra content as “bonus” for using ADSL through them.
It all depends on what you want. The advantages of avoiding Telkom as the Internet access account provider are:
1. Better response time when a problem arises! This is probably the single biggest advantage.
2. Access to extra exclusiv content.
Sites you should be aware of when using ADSL in South Africa
1. www.myadsl.co.za (for friendly company on a rather rough sea of Internet in South Africa)
2. www.noticeboard.saix.net (to see what is happening in the world of maintenance) the username is “guest” and the password is also “guest”
He who does not understand the value of war at the right time, cannot comprehend the value of life at any time - Anonymous