Mweb Fixed LTE (MTN) Network Bad

[SupremeHoopz]

This outage is more than 24hrs old and when you visit Mwebs website they say this matter is being attended to. How? When We are out of internet for this long! Besides this outage the speeds you pay for are not accurate. I pay R500+ for a 25mbs line but I get under 10mbs everyday with Mweb and MTN... Absolutely horrible.

Anyone please recommend another FIXED LTE ISO. as I live in a area where Fibre infrastructure is only being built now

 

[BBSA]

LTE can really depend on where you are. Like, in my area, Afrihost Fixed LTE works pretty cool, unless there's load shedding. But that doesn't mean it's gonna be just as good in your place.

Grab a bunch of SIM cards from different companies and give 'em a spin. That way, you can see which one is the best for you.

 

[Echolab]

I agree 100% with SupremeHoopz. I also have an mtn fixed lte 100mbps line. At the best of times my speeds are 17mbps but when it's holiday season (I live in a holiday destination area) and the place is crowded with holiday makers my speeds jump up to 70mbps. This tells me that the capacity to give me better speeds is available but they are in effect actually throttling my speeds and charging me for a 100mbps line. As soon as the holiday season is over then my speeds drop back to 16mbps.
I have lost all trust in mtn as a service provider.

 

[voxisslowasballs]

LTE can really depend on where you are. Like, in my area, Afrihost Fixed LTE works pretty cool, unless there's load shedding.

I have the same experience with loadshedding. MTN really need to get their **** together regarding backup power. Loadshedding is a fact of life now. Vodacom and Rain are normal during loadshedding, what's stopping MTN from doing the same?

 

[Echolab]

Is there any representatives from mtn on the forum that can give us some feedback here?

 

[SupremeHoopz]

LTE can really depend on where you are. Like, in my area, Afrihost Fixed LTE works pretty cool, unless there's load shedding. But that doesn't mean it's gonna be just as good in your place.

Grab a bunch of SIM cards from different companies and give 'em a spin. That way, you can see which one is the best for you.

I actually have tried different SPs. Seems like MTN is trash in most areas.. remember they told us if you're on a FIXED LTE line. You are not on the same traffic as prepaid customers. That was a lie. I clock the same speeds with a fixed line and a prepaid one. What's the use of paying R500+ per month Where's you can buy a bundle of 100GB for less than R300 with any other network? However my main concern now is the outage with Mweb. Seems like the guys are slacking and not attending to the issue. We can't be fixing such a minot tech issue for more than 24hrs. Surely this is unacceptable.

 

[BBSA]

I actually have tried different SPs.

Which SP worked the best for you.

 

["D"]

I pay R500+ for a 25mbs line but I get under 10mbs everyday with Mweb and MTN... Absolutely horrible.

I also have an mtn fixed lte 100mbps line. At the best of times my speeds are 17mbps

MTN really need to get their **** together

I have found that the Category-4 routers are pretty much useless.

Got my hands on a Category-6 router and attached antennas to it, then placed it as high as I could.

Category-6 (and higher category) routers make it possible to get "LTE+" or "LTE-A" connections, instead of only establishing "LTE" connections with the base stations and/or towers. (You can log into your router's GUI and view the status of your connection quality, connection type, etc.)

Getting a better router made a bit of a difference with download speeds, and especially with upload speeds.

 

[SupremeHoopz]

Which SP worked the best for you.

Sounds like you are trying to defend MTN for being the worst SP in most areas across the country.... IT SHOULD NOT BE A NORM especially in urban areas. To answer your question. Telkom seems to be quiet stable lately. But a few month ago it was on the same scale as RAIN pure garbage. MTN should step up or step out. And also if you read my above comment you would understand why I chose fixed lte with mtn through mweb

 

[SupremeHoopz]

I have found that the Category-4 routers are pretty much useless.

Got my hands on a Category-6 router and attached antennas to it, then placed it as high as I could.

Category-6 (and higher category) routers make it possible to get "LTE+" or "LTE-A" connections, instead of only establishing "LTE" connections with the base stations and/or towers. (You can log into your router's GUI and view the status of your connection quality, connection type, etc.)

Getting a better router made a bit of a difference with download speeds, and especially with upload speeds.

I actually use a CAT6 router which came with the sim pre-installed. I believe if you try using any other unsupported router with your Fixed LTE Sim, your connection will be blocked by ISP

 

[BBSA]

Sounds like you are trying to defend MTN for being the worst SP in most areas across the country...

Wow, how on earth did you come to that conclusion?

 

[SupremeHoopz]

Wow how on earth did you come to that conclusion?

I could be wrong. If I am I apologize

 

[BCR]

Anyone please recommend another FIXED LTE ISO. as I live in a area where Fibre infrastructure is only being built now

My recommendation is Telkom LTE but capped. I happen to be using it signed up through Axxess, and to my knowledge, all they supply is the SIM card ; the connection is therefore Telkom's alone, so no interference from the 3rd party.

Not saying Mweb are interfering in your case, but with MTN through Afrihost / Axxess, they have their own infrastructure, and that's why their speedtests are listed as "Air Mobile".

I had connection dropout issues a few years ago (MTN fixed capped LTE through Afrihost), so went to the sister-company, Axxess (better rates) for Telkom LTE.

Depends on how much you're willing / able to pay, but 2 TB Telkom LTE is available through Axxess for around R700 ; is that enough data for you per month ?

EDIT - the 2 TB package is R795, so not an insignificant amount ; think it's cheaper through Telkom directly but pretty sure it's on contract which I'm not keen on.

Otherwise, the next one down is 180 +180 GB for R399. Might be more than Mweb, but I trust the month to month cancellation processes more through Axxess and Afrihost (as I've used them before).

By the way, a speedtest a few minutes ago :

Speedtest Custom - Test your internet speeds

Seems as though you're paying for uncapped, currently ?

 

[B-127]

I actually use a CAT6 router which came with the sim pre-installed. I believe if you try using any other unsupported router with your Fixed LTE Sim, your connection will be blocked by ISP

I doubt the speed is guaranteed, except you are paying for up to x speed. LTE is a best-effort service that is affected by many factors - including time of day and if your neighbor maxes out their connection.
Router placement plays a huge part in terms of signal. For example, I have this sweet spot in my office above a cupboard. If I place my router on the desk in the same room, I have a weaker signal. Have you tried different locations for the router?

 

[BCR]

I have found that the Category-4 routers are pretty much useless.

Got my hands on a Category-6 router and attached antennas to it, then placed it as high as I could.

Category-6 (and higher category) routers make it possible to get "LTE+" or "LTE-A" connections, instead of only establishing "LTE" connections with the base stations and/or towers. (You can log into your router's GUI and view the status of your connection quality, connection type, etc.)

Getting a better router made a bit of a difference with download speeds, and especially with upload speeds.

I actually use a CAT6 router which came with the sim pre-installed. I believe if you try using any other unsupported router with your Fixed LTE Sim, your connection will be blocked by ISP

I see mine is also Cat 6 - an old, by now, Huawei B525-65a. Have 2 of them, and they're rock solid.

No dropped connections on Telkom, except when loadshedding kicks in, plus my tower takes around 2 hours to get back to full signal strength after it, but we don't do anything time sensitive, and I've more downloaded to watch / listen to than I can ever get through on my phone.

My only concern going forward is the article last week stating Telkom wanting to sell all their towers (then lease them back) ; I wonder if the new owners would care about maintenance, connectivity etc. as much as Telkom have to this point.