ISP’s starting to use Wireless Local Loop

Sadly I don't see the above picture changing soon and if you ask me, I realy think wireless is going to dominate. In part because of the above reasons, but mostly because it makes sense to be able to connect to the internet and other networked services regardless of where you are, and not be confined to one location as in the case of Telkom's ADSL.
 
Telkom underwhelms us again. Pricing aside, this can only be a good thing.
A bit of LLU, and Telkom will sit with virtually nothing, I hope.
 
Wireless still sucks for online gaming :(
Even 56k is better...
 
rendan said:
Wireless still sucks for online gaming :(
Even 56k is better...
Click to expand...

But who knows what the future holds ... if they can work out that latency problem.

Saw a timeline for wireless services worldwide and 2006 is earmarked for HSDPA phase 2 and HSUPA. Download speed 14 Mbps, upload 1.8 and latency ~50 (online gaming a reality with this service).

This is not when the service can be rolled out etc. so don't expect it in SA in 2006 but it's the way forward.

Cost always the problem though. And for our guys connecting their towers using Telkom.
 
Cara said:
But who knows what the future holds ... if they can work out that latency problem.

Saw a timeline for wireless services worldwide and 2006 is earmarked for HSDPA phase 2 and HSUPA. Download speed 14 Mbps, upload 1.8 and latency ~50 (online gaming a reality with this service).

This is not when the service can be rolled out etc. so don't expect it in SA in 2006 but it's the way forward.

Cost always the problem though. And for our guys connecting their towers using Telkom.
Click to expand...

There is no latency problem. Latency comes with the territory in wireless. I suggest you read up on Sentech/iBurst forums or msg TheRodent re: why latency is such a problem with wireless providers.

In a nutshell, they use tunneling from the tower to their main centre which sends out your request (including thousands of other people's request) to the internet, then when your response gets back, it gets queued in a first come first serve kind of way. Thats the reason for packet loss because when you ping you get a confirmation from the server re: round trip time. However, if that request gets queued and you get the other requests before that one, you lose that packet.

UDP is no problem because it doesn't require any confirmation of the packet actually being sent. Thats the reason for latency and packetloss on wireless networks and you won't get away from that unless the company involved change their whole infrastructure.

Hey, but I might be talking out my ass, ask people who know. This is just what i read
 
Telkom aint worried, they are a goverment protected agency
 
Interesting the number of "illegal" wifi broadband reselling going on.

People effectively reselling their ADSL lines in suburbs for R100-R150 a gig.

I don't know about any, but the winds are wispering :)
 
Both these offerings have been developed partly due to Telkom’s inability to deliver stable, affordable ADSL in a timely fashion.
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Cant agree with that as it stands. Inability to deliver stable ADSL - yes - but where available it rapidly becomes more affordable after a gb or two when compared with cellular rates.
 
:rolleyes: I agree its a good thing but lets be serious. What can you do with this. I cancelled my edge account basically due to speed. Its true. 56K over a landline is faster if you plan to be online for an hour or so. In fact I saw little difference between edge and gprs. I know some will disagree but even at 0,50c a Mb it sounds great except it take forever to download so its worthless. 5Mb takes about 7-10 minutes. I rarely got above 18KB/s.
 
Hi Bwana

The reason for this line was that the wireless providers (specifically iBurst and Sentech) can compete favourably against Telkom on price. Internationally we do not see this wired-wireless competition (yet) as ADSL is so cheap, fast and generally stable that it becomes a de-facto primary internet connection. If Telkom was able to bring people uncapped 4 Mbps ADSL at around R 200-00 per month, in most areas, and was able to install within 14 days I doubt that many people would have considered either Sentech or iBurst…

I hope this explains the statement.

Regards,

RPM
 
rpm said:
Hi Bwana

The reason for this line was that the wireless providers (specifically iBurst and Sentech) can compete favourably against Telkom on price. Internationally we do not see this wired-wireless competition (yet) as ADSL is so cheap, fast and generally stable that it becomes a de-facto primary internet connection. If Telkom was able to bring people uncapped 4 Mbps ADSL at around R 200-00 per month, in most areas, and was able to install within 14 days I doubt that many people would have considered either Sentech or iBurst…

I hope this explains the statement.

Regards,

RPM
Click to expand...
Fair enough - I've always contended that iBurst and MyWireless were overshadowed by the more expensive cellular offerings. However, to me, the statement seemed to be a direct comparison between ADSL and Verizon/IS's new offerings and nothing to do with iBurst and MyWireless.

I would switch to iBurst or MyWireless were they in my area but I wouldnt even consider using the cellular services as I like to surf with a roof over my head and food in my stomach :)
 
Wired or Wireless

At the end of the day, wireless currently in South Africa is not online gaming-friendly.

That aside, the important factors for consumers taking up any service - be it wired or wireless is:
1) Availability
2) Cost
3) Customer Service (important thanks to the Telkom Experience (TM) over the past few years) :p

Here's a thought I had recently: A current fault which IMO is dragging out much longer than it should has once again pointed out the apparent apathy on the part of the Telkom technician and 0800 653 653 personnel (not all admittedly, but in my case the one's I've had dealings with) to the point that I wonder if they're aware that if they as telkom representatives do not provide the customer with satisfactory service, I may take my business elsewhere and if enough people become so disgruntled, Telkom will be forced to retrench even more staff as revenues decline. In other words - their poor services will cost themselves jobs.

Likewise with the wireless providers where there is at least some competition, Sentech not prepared to provide coverage, iBurst gets the business by default. Sentech then provides coverage, iBurst stands to lose that business if the service they provide is unsatisfactory.

Unless a country-wide wireless coverage blanket is planned in the next year or so, I do not foresee much change or threat to Telkom's revenues as South Africa has proven it is capable of catering for niche markets .. like Telkom's ADSL :D
 
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Well with WiMax coming its suppose to reduce prices due to increased coverage + bandwidth(tho Telkom can impede that ;)) I am interested in seeing the effect on prices esp if the uptake is alot. The whole fixed line competing in terms of cost is just F$%^ amazing in SA esp when fixed line is suppose to offer better + faster + reliable service. Thank you Ivy.

WiMax from what i read, its a man technology that can also be accessed by a normal user ie distro for a few towers/adsl exchange OR direct to user pending setup though as its getting closer to release the latter is being pushed more (coming to a laptop near you) and the 1st left for rural areas. -shrug- Either I wonder how it will affect pricing and whether cell operators will for the first time offer comparable pricing to current scenario of adsl pricing.
 
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