Moving back to SA tips?

[Whatzmyname]

So against all advice we decided we are returning to SA next year. Eeek!
Few Questions...

Which cellphone service provider is best? What package for just phone calls and wifi?
For TV...is DSTV worth it? (we are not major tv watchers)
For internet at home is Telkom still the go-to people? We need fast internet. I cant stand slow internet and we use it regularly.
Is a home telephone necessary?

TIA!

 

[Drifter]

You cant have internet without a home phone, sucks, but true.

Internet,depends on where you are going to stay, if you are lucky you might have fibre, else it's VDSL or ADSL. Use VOX or Crystalweb. (Define fast)

DSTV, no it sucks, rather get a media player and Netflix, a lot cheaper.

Where you moving back from?
Cellphone provider, I would say Vodacom.

 

[mak2000]

Welcome!

One piece of advice, choose your area carefully where you want to stay. All your requirements can be met if you stay in area where these is good coverage. Location, location, location.

 

[Foxhound5366]

1: Vodacom. You pay a bit more, but the customer care (in my experience) is generally far better than all competitors.
2: Not really. I have the cheapest (R29/month) DSTV package (just for access to free news in case of emergency), and find the rest of my entertainment online. Paying R800+/month for DSTV's sub-par content isn't worth it.
3: Fast internet isn't a function of your internet service provider, but rather the apartment you live in (i.e. the sad truth is that even 10Mbps ADSL is rare in South Africa still, and fibre is still prohibitively expensive and even rarer). For what it's worth, once you have a fixed internet connection, you can migrate your line to a different service provider (I personally prefer WebAfrica) which delivers better service but has no real impact on bottom-line speed (the bottlenecks still occur at the shared infrastructure upstream).
4: I find it's convenient, yes. Telkom has great deals on free calls to other landlines on many of its packages, so if you've got family you phone a lot it's a no-brainer.

 

[Sinbad]

fibre is still prohibitively expensive

It is?

Cheaper than ADSL...


ps good luck. I hope you don't regret your choice. I would have chosen differently.

 

[Vaughan]

Don't that is the best advice I can give.......
But if you have to:
1. Not telkom or MTN (rest are fine)
2. DSTV is only worth it for sport (Rugby)
3. Depends completely where you live, you either in a fibre area (not quite international standards but the fibre is bearable) or you get some complete garbage from telkom (ADSL or VDSL) or some fast but extremely low capped LTE product from afrihost )there are otther options but they quick cheap).
4. Depends completely on you, I never used mine because only advertisers phoned it to harass me.

 

[NeonNinja]

Fibre isn't expensive. Get your facts straight .

 

[Drake2007]

So against all advice we decided we are returning to SA next year. Eeek!
Few Questions...

Which cellphone service provider is best? What package for just phone calls and wifi?
For TV...is DSTV worth it? (we are not major tv watchers)
For internet at home is Telkom still the go-to people? We need fast internet. I cant stand slow internet and we use it regularly.
Is a home telephone necessary?

TIA!

Get one MTN and one Vodacom so you and partner have better chance of coverage.
DSTV is not worth it
Fast internet? what's that?
physically you have cell phones so the unit is not necessary

Do your children have a future in this country if they are white? No

 

[Whatzmyname]

It is?

Cheaper than ADSL...


ps good luck. I hope you don't regret your choice. I would have chosen differently.

It was not an easy decision... We are just extremely unhappy in Dubai so it was basically choosing between the two. We are not qualified to immigrate to any other countries. We are moving to Somerset West.

 

[bwana]

You cant have internet without a home phone, sucks, but true.

More accurately you can't have ADSL or VDSL without a phone line but there are other options such as fiber and wireless.

 

[Voicy]

It is?

Cheaper than ADSL...


ps good luck. I hope you don't regret your choice. I would have chosen differently.

what sorta speeds are you guys getting?

 

[Sinbad]

what sorta speeds are you guys getting?

 

[MickeyD]

what sorta speeds are you guys getting?

100Mbps

 

[Voicy]

100Mbps

That's fantastic! So glad you guys are finally getting included. Now you can stop being jelly

Is that uncapped or how does it work? Do you STILL need a phone line rental contract even if it's a complete separate fiber line?

Over here our fiber is usually bundled with set top boxes. So you generally get a DSTV type thing via fiber on an uncapped line.

 

[genetic]

(i.e. the sad truth is that even 10Mbps ADSL is rare in South Africa still, and fibre is still prohibitively expensive and even rarer).

Utter rubbish. Fibre is dirt cheap if you have it in your area. LTE is the other alternative to Fibre which is cheap as well.

 

[Sinbad]

That's fantastic! So glad you guys are finally getting included. Now you can stop being jelly

Is that uncapped or how does it work? Do you STILL need a phone line rental contract even if it's a complete separate fiber line?

Over here our fiber is usually bundled with set top boxes. So you generally get a DSTV type thing via fiber on an uncapped line.

Uncapped, stand alone.

 

[Voicy]

Uncapped, stand alone.

Jislaaik! So then why are you still always so grumpy?

What price dude?

 

[HeftyCrab]

We are moving to Somerset West.

Nice area.

 

[StellenboschStudent]

It was not an easy decision... We are just extremely unhappy in Dubai so it was basically choosing between the two. We are not qualified to immigrate to any other countries. We are moving to Somerset West.

Where in Somerset are you looking? Have a look at Kelderhof Country Village and Sitari. Both new developments.

 

[falcon786]

So against all advice we decided we are returning to SA next year. Eeek!
Few Questions...

Which cellphone service provider is best? What package for just phone calls and wifi?

Probably Vodacom,but they are also the most expensive,significantly so also,Cell C is the best value for money nice mix between price and quality.Cell C roams on Vodacom's network in areas where they don't have adequate coverage,however all the big cities are properly covered by Cell C.

For TV...is DSTV worth it? (we are not major tv watchers)

Only if you're a big sports fan,otherwise nah not worth it.

For internet at home is Telkom still the go-to people? We need fast internet. I cant stand slow internet and we use it regularly.

First prize would be if the area you're moving into is covered by fibre from a number of fibre companies directly like Vumatel etc,however if Telkom has upgraded infrastructure in your area then Telkom fibre or even, 20/40mbps VDSL is not bad at all.
There are unfortunately some areas still stuck on lowly 4mbps with Telkom though.And in those areas you will suffer unless you can get uncapped Telkom LTE,check the specifics of the area you intent moving to.

Is a home telephone necessary?

Only if you need a Telkom adsl/vdsl line.But mind you if your wife has family in SA with home phones then it works out great for them to chat on as it's free certain times of the day.