ISP comparison - Costs, "Soft Caps" etc

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Dubes

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Hi guys,

I'm fairly certain I'm not alone is spending ages trying to research the different costs, soft caps etc of the various ISP uncapped offerings. The soft caps tend to be the hardest. The information is often on here but it is scattered between multiple threads often hundreds of posts long.

I realise it might be a mission due to constant changes but I'm trying to put together a spreadsheet summarising the different ISPs in one place, as much for my benefit but others may find it useful too? I haven't found something like this on here in one place but if it exists please point it out.

I need assistance though as I haven't been able to find info on all the ISPs. I have started the spreadsheet with what I do know. Please feel free to ask me to correct or add as necessary. I also realise there are plenty of ISPs out there but I will obviously focus on the bigger name ones.

Current spreadsheet can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1re41hY7BJENtbsKXM9AavgaytYFGlIxpZfCMcB8jb1Y/pubhtml

Information needed:

* MWeb 6Mbps Premium Throttling level - DONE
* Axxess "caps" and rolling period
* Telkom "caps" and rolling period - DONE
* I also need throttle speeds for the different ISPs if known

Thanks.
 
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Mweb 6Meg Premium throttles at 600Gigs. Not sure about the rest.

Why not run the Axxess 4Meg business account on your 6Meg line? Then no throttling or shaping at all.
 
Thanks, Chevron, I'll put in that 6Mbps throttle number. I personally am considering a higher data package on a slower line to benefit from higher "throttle caps" but for now just trying to make sense of it all and publish it for the benefit of others.
 
Just search these forums, it's been discussed to death.
 
Afrihost do not throttle after a certain amount of usage as far as I know...
 
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falcon786 said:
Oh and just checked the list now telkom is usually 100gb per mb so the 2mb should be 200gb and 4mb/400gb etc
Click to expand...

Do you have any confirmation of this? I'm happy to add it but I want to make sure the numbers are fairly accurate. I see on the Telkom site it refers to having a right to throttle if they feel the need.

Does anyone have experience of throttling on the Telkom accounts?

fingerprintz.mgr said:
Afrihost do not throttle after a certain amount of usage as far as I know...
Click to expand...

Thanks. This is part of the problem, all these policies seem to be fluid and constantly changing. Those Afrihost limits were taken from an Afriman post on here late last year but reading elsewhere it seems they do not have set limits but rather based on network demand. I think putting numbers to it, even if they are estimates, still gives the consumer an idea of the "acceptable usage".
 
fingerprintz.mgr said:
Afrihost do not throttle after a certain amount of usage as far as I know...
Click to expand...
Nope, but they do shape certain things when their load becomes heavy. In CPT at the moment, this happens about the time I get home from work till way after I go to bed.

Their shaping also shouldn't affect realtime services, but for me and a LOT of other users, it negatively impacted Netflix severely.
 
Dubes said:
Do you have any confirmation of this? I'm happy to add it but I want to make sure the numbers are fairly accurate. I see on the Telkom site it refers to having a right to throttle if they feel the need.

Does anyone have experience of throttling on the Telkom accounts?
Click to expand...

Ive never been personally throttled but from the Telkom usage indicator values(After 50gb the bar is a quarter way down to get to the red zone where you are throttled)) and from users on the Telkom thread that was indeed the last values Telkom were using,I believe even ranger confirmed it.
 
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falcon786 said:
Ive never been personally throttled but from the Telkom usage indicator values(After 50gb the bar is a quarter way down to get to the red zone where you are throttled)) and from users on the Telkom thread that was indeed the last values Telkom were using,I believe even ranger confirmed it.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I have now added "throttle" levels for Telkom slightly higher than yours based on a thread found on here. This was pre-Dec line upgrades though but again just nice to get an idea of the numbers we are talking with each ISP.
 
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Updated spreadsheet in OP with capped options too. Seems with all the shaping and throttling these large cap accounts may actually be the way to go. Specifically WebAfrica with their free midnight to 6am data.

Use it, don't use it :)
 
Dubes said:
Updated spreadsheet in OP with capped options too. Seems with all the shaping and throttling these large cap accounts may actually be the way to go. Specifically WebAfrica with their free midnight to 6am data.

Use it, don't use it :)
Click to expand...

Not all.

Just buy the right account.
 
Chevron said:
Not all.

Just buy the right account.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately "the right account" usually means paying more money. My monthly usage averages around 60GB per month on my current MWeb 1Mbps uncapped account with the odd month going over 100GB. In total I pay around R513 for it.

As mentioned in another post I am looking to increase my line speed. My options are:

1) To consider another ISP for uncapped with better UAPs. MWeb's standard accounts have ridiculous "soft caps" (70GB on the 2Mbps account) and are unusable once hit so effectively a capped account anyway, and their premium accounts cost far more than their competitors; or

2) To consider capped accounts with far less shaping and a definite, known cap, not some vagaries about "network demand and usage blah blah"; or

3) Pay a lot more.

3 makes no sense to me so I'll scrap that one. If money weren't an issue for anyone we'd all have dedicated fibre running straight into our houses.


The choice for me has boiled down to 1 (2Mbps uncapped with Afrihost for R545pm in total) or 2 (WebAfrica on a 2Mbps line with a 60GB capped account + 60GB Download Plus between 12am and 6am for R497pm in total).

The former gives me peace of mind about not running out of data and their shaping policies do not seem too bad with talk of being throttled to 1Mbps during busy times, but they exist.

The latter seems to offer less stringent shaping, although it does still exist. It also gives me the option of being "greedy" and even going up to a 4Mbps line speed for only R597pm.

So, for similar prices, do I want faster speed and less concerns about shaping but concerns about running out or do I want unlimited data, with some shaping, and lower speeds? That is my current thought process and why I am playing around with those spreadsheets :) Shared them as they may help one other person with their choices :P

PS You only have to read through the uncapped threads on here for the different ISPs to realise that there are complaints about all of them
 
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Dubes said:
Unfortunately "the right account" usually means paying more money. My monthly usage averages around 60GB per month on my current MWeb 1Mbps uncapped account with the odd month going over 100GB. In total I pay around R513 for it.

As mentioned in another post I am looking to increase my line speed. My options are:

1) To consider another ISP for uncapped with better UAPs. MWeb's standard accounts have ridiculous "soft caps" (70GB on the 2Mbps account) and are unusable once hit so effectively a capped account anyway, and their premium accounts cost far more than their competitors; or

2) To consider capped accounts with far less shaping and a definite, known cap, not some vagaries about "network demand and usage blah blah"; or

3) Pay a lot more.

3 makes no sense to me so I'll scrap that one. If money weren't an issue for anyone we'd all have dedicated fibre running straight into our houses.


The choice for me has boiled down to 1 (2Mbps uncapped with Afrihost for R545pm in total) or 2 (WebAfrica on a 2Mbps line with a 60GB capped account + 60GB Download Plus between 12am and 6am for R497pm in total).

The former gives me peace of mind about not running out of data and their shaping policies do not seem too bad with talk of being throttled to 1Mbps during busy times, but they exist.

The latter seems to offer less stringent shaping, although it does still exist. It also gives me the option of being "greedy" and even going up to a 4Mbps line speed for only R597pm.

So, for similar prices, do I want faster speed and less concerns about shaping but concerns about running out or do I want unlimited data, with some shaping, and lower speeds? That is my current thought process and why I am playing around with those spreadsheets :) Shared them as they may help one other person with their choices :P

PS You only have to read through the uncapped threads on here for the different ISPs to realise that there are complaints about all of them
Click to expand...

I would definitely make speed my priority and price a close second, so 4mb FTW :)

Afrihost if you live in the north.
Connection.co.za if you're a light user
@lantic fat pipe plus bolt-on which is where i will be next month
 
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wingnut771 said:
I would definitely make speed my priority and price a close second, so 4mb FTW :)

Afrihost if you live in the north.
Connection.co.za if you're a light user
@lantic fat pipe plus bolt-on which is where i will be next month
Click to expand...

Haven't even look at @atlantic, thanks, I've added them to my capped offerings. Pricing seems to be inline with WebAfrica but without the free after hours data (EDIT: Ah, I see the bolt on looks to do this). I like that for scheduled downloads. Their OOB is a little costly at R40. Roll over of unused data is awesome!

Is that Apple TV free with the higher packages?

EDIT: FatPipe seemed very appealing when I read this:
Fat Pipe is DATA designed to allow consumers the best possible experience at an affordable price. Highly-prioritised data for access accounts such as ADSL and VDSL. Prioritised/Unshaped usage

Less so when I read this:
Fat Pipe Consumer is prioritised during off peak hours. The supplier reserves the right to shape usage.

Those lines seem to contradict each other. The latter makes it much like the WebAfrica offering.
 
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Just reading that @lantic has no free news server access so it means an added monthly cost for my usage.
 
Dubes said:
Haven't even look at @atlantic, thanks, I've added them to my capped offerings. Pricing seems to be inline with WebAfrica but without the free after hours data (EDIT: Ah, I see the bolt on looks to do this). I like that for scheduled downloads. Their OOB is a little costly at R40. Roll over of unused data is awesome!

Is that Apple TV free with the higher packages?

EDIT: FatPipe seemed very appealing when I read this:
Fat Pipe is DATA designed to allow consumers the best possible experience at an affordable price. Highly-prioritised data for access accounts such as ADSL and VDSL. Prioritised/Unshaped usage

Less so when I read this:
Fat Pipe Consumer is prioritised during off peak hours. The supplier reserves the right to shape usage.

Those lines seem to contradict each other. The latter makes it much like the WebAfrica offering.
Click to expand...

No, they make you sign a 24 month contract. Rather pay cash for it.

Fat-pipe is on VOX backbone, and am tired of monitoring star ratings with IS so giving these guys a chance. I've been using 1gig bolt-on over the weekends with no issues, and getting 50gig next month.

If the shaping get's too bad, then I will go back to IS.
 
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