Marconi Modem Questions

rpm

rpm

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Hi folks

I am busy with the ICASA complaint, and am trying to gather information about the Marconi ADSL Modem/Router. To the best of my knowledge Marconi does not produce ADSL modems, and it might therefore be another manufacturer that supplied Telkom/Marconi with these products. I contacted Marconi, but received no reply yet. The support website is http://www.m-newera.co.za/product7-d.htm, definitely a far cry from the true Marconi (http://www.marconi.com/html/homepage/home.htm) website. Why would Marconi not support their ADSL modems? Marconi New Era is not Marconi as we know it, and it is co-owned African Renaissance Holdings and Marconi Communications Africa.

This whole modem situation seems quite strange, and if you have any relevant information please let me know. It will be interesting to find out who produced these modems, and at what price they were made available to Telkom. We were possibly overcharged for these products, and it will be great if we can discover the truth.

Regards,

RPM
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A little birdie whispered in my ear that they were produced in India and re-badged: Telkom picked them up for a song... I can't confirm this nor do I have any details, however...
 
Just as a matter of intrest,if you agreed to pay of the modem how much is it a month?
The reason I ask this is that I cant see anywhere on my bill where they are deducting the payment for the one they installed by me.
 
Hi SK33T

The monthly charge of the modem is R 189.49 if you purchased it when ADSL was first rolled out. You should find this amount under the heading “Contracts: non-taxable”.

Regards,

RPM
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Hi guys

I did not know this, but Marconi is directly involved in ADSL in South Africa. From http://www.marconi.com/html/news/marconiandtelkomtakebroadbandtothehome.htm: “Marconi (London: MONI) is to play a key role in the deployment of broadband communications and services in South Africa. The company is to supply and install Telkom South Africa's first commercial Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) network under a frame contract that will run initially for two years with a value that will depend on subscriber demand.”

I don’t think Marconi produces ADSL modems, so it might be that they decided to strike a deal with a small company and make a quick buck on the modems as well. It is interesting that the ADSL Modem (mine at least) contains no Marconi branding or “made in”, and is not supported on the Marconi site. I am still waiting for a response from Marconi regarding their modems…

Regards,

RPM
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Hi RPM,

A while ago I found the manufactures web site, but I cant remember the name, I have been searching all day and can't find it again. I do recall that it had a price of $19 for the USB POTS modem and was from the east.

Perhaps another member has the link?

Cheers
Chris
 
See this post:
http://www.myadsl.co.za/forum/post.asp?method=ReplyQuote&REPLY_ID=1579&TOPIC_ID=266&FORUM_ID=12

But the link given there doesn't work.

The closest thing I see for DAX is this:
http://www.daxnetworks.com/Dax/Products/Modem/DivaADSLUSB.htm
but that isn't the Telkom model.

Maybe it's not being made anymore?
 
Hi RPM
Ive had a good look on my bill and cant find it anywere,seems Telkom has forgoten to put it on the bill.
Anyway guess im lucky,atleast I got someting out of them [:D]
 
Hi guys

I have contacted Marconi-New Era’s MD, Keith Pengelley, and he promised to publish the details of their Technical Support department where all questions regarding the Marconi Modems can be directed on this forum. I will try to gain some more clarity about these modems and publish the findings here.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]
 
Don't count on it SK33T. i thought telkom had forgotten to bill me for the modem when suddenly four months after installing ADSL it appeared on my telkom bill[:(]
 
Hi folks

I just contacted James Futter, Divisional Director-Products Group at Marconi-New Era, and gained some information about the modems from him. It is pleasant to see that Marconi New Era is very helpful and dedicated to supporting their product and clearing up some of the uncertainty regarding their modems.

The Marconi modems are supported by Marconi New Era, and I will publish the details of the support desk as soon as I receive it. Unfortunately James could not supply any information about the where these modems are produced, but confirmed that Marconi itself does not produce ADSL modems. He said that the very high cost of these modems was easily justifiable, but that he could unfortunately not supply any information about this justification.

I will try to gain some more clarity about these modems and high costs, and will publish any new information here.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]
 
I was just at the Telkom office to buy a new phone for the office and saw the ADSL router pots for 1499.00.
I thought it would have been much higher than this from what was said in the begining of our ADSL
 
I doubt if that modem is very modern.

The one the Telkom techie had when he installed my ADSL line had a LAN connector running at only 10Mbit/s

I doubt if such "connector units/cards" are still made - 10/100 has been in the market for ages.

I'm sorry, but the moment I saw that, I made a final decision not to use the Telkom modem. If I buy computor equipment, I don't want many years ago's hot stuff :-)

Regards


South Africa needs World Class Broadband at World Competitive Prices.
 
Hi Folks

I had a look at what USB ADSL modems go for wholesale, and saw that brand new AOL surplus stock goes for $ 7-50 per unit. That is around R 50-00 per modem. One must keep in mind that there is no import tax on most electronic goods. The initial price of over R 2000-00 per modem might be described as exorbitant by some.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]
 
Ja, its a ripoff whichever way you look at it. I've mentioned on a previous post that i got mine for free with my connection while in the UK(Alcatel Speedtouch 330 USB), which is a good indication.
On a similar note, I've just bought an ISDN modem(Telkom ISDN tiny USB Modem), for R549, and now see there is a Marconi label on the box. They are extremely stingy with the length of the usb cable, doesn't even reach the top of the PC, can you believe it.

Telkom - South Africa's Handbrake to progress.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by rpm</i>
<br />Hi Folks

I had a look at what USB ADSL modems go for wholesale, and saw that brand new AOL surplus stock goes for $ 7-50 per unit. That is around R 50-00 per modem. One must keep in mind that there is no import tax on most electronic goods. The initial price of over R 2000-00 per modem might be described as exorbitant by some.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Is there a stronger word than exorbitant? I don't think it's posibly to verbally explain just how badly we're being ripped off by Telkom.


----------------
United we stand!
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By using the quoted model no.s alongside the supplied Telkom adsl products, I found the manufacturer in Taiwan at this link. http://www.lectron.com.tw/index.html
If you compare the various pictures, you will see these are the ones we are getting. The adsl routers pots models outer casing is different but this just confirms that we are getting the old model. In fact the new wireless model looks exactly like our local model without the aerial. The adsl usb pots modem is identical.
I downloaded the manual and it is definitely the router we are using.
I hope this will help.
 
Here is an even clearer picture of there product range at this link. All the Telkom products are pictured here

http://pc.globalsources.com/gsol/GeneralManager?&design=clean&language=en&action=GetSupplier&page=supplier/Showroom&supplier_id=6008800001284&showroom_type=&action=GetPoint&point_id=3000000153319&catalog_id=2000000003844&prod_id=18030

Perhaps somebody in the import export trade, would like to approach them and inquire about pricing just to see if we are being charged fairly.
 
Found an online shop in Switzerland selling the same product as Telkom at R1255.00. I suppose it compares to the R1450.00 currently paying although they should be looking at reducing the price due to the improvement in the Rand.
 
Hi George

Good work on the research. I searched quite a bit but could not locate the specific model. I think this is it! It also carries the Alcatel chipset.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]
 
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