MWEB Business launches GSM data centre access

I got so happy till I read the prices. Seriously ridiculous pricing. It would be a lot cheaper for companies to put monetary limits on accounts, usage policies for users and VPN access for networks in place instead.

I would really like to see a case study where the ROI of this would make sense.
 
I'm wondering if someone from Mweb can maybe comment here and explain what exactly they are trying to achieve with this.
 
I had such a chuckle when I scrolled to the pricing.....
 
I dont think many around here understand what infrastructure is required to run a private APN or how they get used.

Heres a simple scenario; a retail chain has a VPN linking its 50 stores to the head office (business systems/patrner extranets etc.). Each store has a primary ADSL link and 3G redundancy failover. It is assertained that during any month there will be roughly 5 ADSL line failures, during which up to 1 Gig traffic may still need to be transfered (ADSL could be down for a few days) . It is also determined that such failures would cost up to R100K in business per month, so ADSL failover is a must.

The non APN solution to the above scenario would be to purchase 50 x 1Gig data packages (sans hw) at ~R289 each, or a total of R 14450 per month. So although private APN solutions are expensive, when used appropriately, they do make sense.
 
Roman4604 said:
I dont think many around here understand what infrastructure is required to run a private APN or how they get used.
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I don't think that you understand how much MWEB is ripping people off at those prices. ;)

Private APN's aren't cheap - its not the type of thing you get as an individual. But for a company - they should not have to pay a price like that. My private APN cost much less than that :p
 
ambo said:
My private APN cost much less than that :p
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Granted, APNs are cheap, but its the backhaul thats going to get you (generally Telkom's Diginet). By private I mean; not carried via the public Internet in any shape or form.
 
Roman4604 said:
Granted, APNs are cheap, but its the backhaul thats going to get you (generally Telkom's Diginet).
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I'm talking about the entire solution - backhaul and integration included - cost me much less than MWEB is charging.
 
ambo said:
I'm talking about the entire solution - backhaul and integration included - cost me much less than MWEB is charging.
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Well then you must have a sweet deal.

In my experience the total costs involved with terminating/integrating 3G traffic securely into enterprise MPLS networks generally exceed those being quoted.

If one adds up costs of the APN rental, traffic bundles, backhaul links (sometimes requiring redunancy/failover themselves), additional router equipment & the manhours of competent networking professionals to integrate routing, monitoring & securtiy policies, the figures seem in the ballpark.

As usual everything can be done on shoestring budget if one is prepared to cut some corners, but thats not how business critical communication infrastructure should be put together.
 
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Judging from my own rather turbulent recent experiences with MWeb, I hope this works for them -- they have a history of promising what their admin staff cannot deliver. I've had at least two major billing disputes in the past year, both of them eventually conceded and refunded by MWeb, and I'm about to launch into a third, with enormous frustration and a determination never to sign another contract with them as long as I live.... (This time, in April, their MTN Wireless Broadband counter went down for the entire month and customers who moved their modems between a variety of machines and could thus not keep track of their usage, seem to have been hit with unexpected excess data charges -- even if they had signed a R10 excess usage cap form! Grrrrrrr....)
 
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