MWEB Uncapped Subscribers Feedback

[darxx]

i see... gaming's not a core Internet activity then i take it?... quite unfortunate.

 

[MWEBHelp]

well to be honest in terms of the local hosting issue, there are enough people within africa to warrant an african server at least?... regardless whether it be in central africa or here?... a petition for gamers to show that they play these kinds of games in south africa would likely result in tens of thousands of people.. most of them are just playing on cracked/private servers because of the latency issue...

Interesting points. I wonder what a demographic spread of MMO players across the entire continent would look like? Africa is developing so fast these days - culturally, economically and technologically - I think the results might actually be very surprising. Perhaps we can persuade Blizzard to do some market research

 

[darxx]

Interesting points. I wonder what a demographic spread of MMO players across the entire continent would look like? Africa is developing so fast these days - culturally, economically and technologically - I think the results might actually be very surprising. Perhaps we can persuade Blizzard to do some market research

YESSS!!!... lol. and if blizzard does it they all will.. i think. ofc some prioritization would have to occur internationally within african isp's to try and better the closer latency even more. but babysteps...


only problem is... how on earth does one convince blizzard to do anything?.... people have been waiting for diablo 3 for like 10 years after all...

 

[MWEBHelp]

i see... gaming's not a core Internet activity then i take it?... quite unfortunate.

Please check my response to Shayd and some discussion on this earlier in the thread. We're working on some options to improve on the gaming experience on the shaped products, please bear with us on this one.

 

[MWEBHelp]

YESSS!!!... lol. and if blizzard does it they all will.. i think. ofc some prioritization would have to occur internationally within african isp's to try and better the closer latency even more. but babysteps...


only problem is... how on earth does one convince blizzard to do anything?.... people have been waiting for diablo 3 for like 10 years after all...

Very true I clearly recall predicting at one point that I would be going grey before Starcraft 2 was released. You had to love the quote from Tychus in the opening cut scene : "Hell, it's about time!"

 

[GingerBeer]

darxx all Peer to Peer type activities are deprioritized (shaped) on the shaped products to ensure that core Internet activities get the best experience possible.

Services that rely on tunneling over SSL, or VPN effectively bypass the network shaping, by 'spoofing' themselves onto high priority unshaped protocols.

Shaping these protocols would provide a negative experience for the majority of our customers as it would impact on people doing things like Internet banking, or connecting to the office on a VPN. These services therefore have to be identified and shaped individually.

So no using one of these services is in itself, not in contravention of the AUP, but using one which is not shaped to the extent that it raises a red flag with our abuse team will get you a warning and a request to explain your activity and modify your behaviour.

Kind Regards
MWEB Operations(Tech Manager)

I think Mweb has forgotten that they
offer an uncapped product. How many
people need uncapped to do "internet
banking"?

It's a remarkable insight into policy
making at the company.

Beancounters & Killjoys!

 

[MWEBHelp]

I think Mweb has forgotten that they
offer an uncapped product. How many
people need uncapped to do "internet
banking"?

It's a remarkable insight into policy
making at the company.

Beancounters & Killjoys!

Thanks as always for the insightful feedback GingerBeer. Remember that the offer for technical support is a standing one, we are ready and waiting to address technical issues as a customer.

In the meantime consider that our uncapped products were designed and priced for the man in the street. We wanted uncapped to be accessible and affordable for every South African with an Internet connection and in this regard I believe we have succeeded. I'm confident that for those customers having an uninterrupted Internet Banking service is very much a concern. We do have a product for the power users who have a primary need to download files constantly, which is called Internet Addict. Perhaps you would find this more suited to your needs? If you contact me today with your details I would be happy to arrange for you to test drive it.

 

[xrapidx]

Gingerbeer I would like to issue you with a challenge - give us your customer details and give us the opportunity to provide you with technical support - seems fair doesn't it? Everytime we raise the issue you avoid it, yet you are constantly vocal about the quality of the service. Perhaps you would like to clarify why that is the case?

You accuse people of avoiding the issue - but you go ahead and avoid the issue when asked why you need details to sort out speed issues - when it applies to a broad spectrum of users, and only when using the home user MWEB uncapped accounts, and specifically @dslmweb.co.za?

Its a simple question - I'm not sure why it can't be answered - to me it seems you just want to put them in a another pool to shut them up.

 

[xrapidx]

In light of this we will be making a concerted effort to keep the signatures on our traffic managers as up to date as possible with all known services of this type. We can't promise you that it will be 100% foolproof, new services are springing up all the time, however as we do have a warning system in place now this should not be a problem. If someone is warned for using a bulk download service they thought was covered by the shaping and they are open with us about what was being used and willing to assist us with the neccesary server details we will make every effort to adjust the shaping policy to accomodate the service so that you can continue to use it without risk.

You're kidding? Now we can only download from sources approved by MWEB?

Whats next on MWEBs plans for restricting users? - Uncapped - but only to sites approved by MWEB.

 

[NaushadE]

i cant understand why people keep complaining about the mweb speeds...

from 5pm yesterday to 7am this morning i downloaded 4.5GB - and thats with a line sync of 2mbps.. only problem i have with mweb is that they shape the gaming ports.. please remove the shaping for PS3 gaming.. at the moment i am forced to use webafrica prepaid unshaped and it works gr8

 

[Chevron]

You accuse people of avoiding the issue - but you go ahead and avoid the issue when asked why you need details to sort out speed issues - when it applies to a broad spectrum of users, and only when using the home user MWEB uncapped accounts, and specifically @dslmweb.co.za?

Its a simple question - I'm not sure why it can't be answered - to me it seems you just want to put them in a another pool to shut them up.

They don't have IPC capacity. We all know that's the issue. Just wish it would get resolved.

 

[sand_man]

i cant understand why people keep complaining about the mweb speeds...

from 5pm yesterday to 7am this morning i downloaded 4.5GB - and thats with a line sync of 2mbps..

Clearly you are in contravention of their AUP!!! Best you call MWEB and notify them of the server/url from where you extracted this data at an unshaped rate...

During the lengthy discussions around the enforcement of our AUP several members of the community mentioned that they felt we should be more proactive in shaping these services and take the pressure of our customers to ensure that they are not inadvertantly unshaping themselves.

We heard this feedback and took it seriously.

In light of this we will be making a concerted effort to keep the signatures on our traffic managers as up to date as possible with all known services of this type. We can't promise you that it will be 100% foolproof, new services are springing up all the time, however as we do have a warning system in place now this should not be a problem. If someone is warned for using a bulk download service they thought was covered by the shaping and they are open with us about what was being used and willing to assist us with the neccesary server details we will make every effort to adjust the shaping policy to accomodate the service so that you can continue to use it without risk.

Kind Regards
MWEB Operations(Tech Manager)

 

[NaushadE]

Clearly you are in contravention of their AUP!!! Best you call MWEB and notify them of the server/url from where you extracted this data at an unshaped rate...

LoL i shouldnt have opened my big mouth then hey? well i dont see the point of uncapped if u dont have the freedom to download whatever u please... whenever i please..

276GB since the launch in March.. so im averaging 45GB a month..

 

[xrapidx]

They don't have IPC capacity. We all know that's the issue. Just wish it would get resolved.

Then they shouldn't be selling?

 

[MFour]

Correct Sandman. During the lengthy discussions around the enforcement of our AUP several members of the community mentioned that they felt we should be more proactive in shaping these services and take the pressure of our customers to ensure that they are not inadvertantly unshaping themselves.

We heard this feedback and took it seriously.

In light of this we will be making a concerted effort to keep the signatures on our traffic managers as up to date as possible with all known services of this type. We can't promise you that it will be 100% foolproof, new services are springing up all the time, however as we do have a warning system in place now this should not be a problem. If someone is warned for using a bulk download service they thought was covered by the shaping and they are open with us about what was being used and willing to assist us with the neccesary server details we will make every effort to adjust the shaping policy to accomodate the service so that you can continue to use it without risk.

Kind Regards
MWEB Operations(Tech Manager)

This is a good thing, all considered. I found myself unwittingly in breach of MWEB's AUP and with that the possibility of being kicked from their service. I have to admit that I found it a bit unfair that the user is given the responsibility to basically do thorough research about all things internet and how making use of various download options could potentially see you in breach of the AUP. With MWEB taking the initiative to shape protocols / methods of downloading to ensure default compliance by their users, and not simply banning them for doing something they might have not known was a "wrong thing to do", is in my opinion part of providing a good service.

We have to face facts here. Internet access is not cheap in SA. Uncapped and unshaped is basically not viable for the man on the street, unless you have a very healthy bank account. The shaped uncapped accounts from MWEB might not be everything we would like it to be, but it certainly beats paying R30/gig. Many people here are for the sake of their frustration (which I share) inferring that you are not allowed to do any downloading making use of the shaped uncapped account, but I am yet to see any one from MWEB saying that. All they are saying is that heavy download protocols are being shaped during high traffic times, which is what makes it possible for them to offer this product at this price. If they can't do this, they can't offer the product, and we are all back to square one.

Look at is this way, let's say you have a 512 shaped uncapped account for R300.00 and you are only able to download 30 gigs for a month. It translates to paying only R10/gig! It might not be the fastest 30 gig download you have ever had, but it certainly will be the cheapest from all the products available out there. So for me it is still worth it, shaping and all. Maybe look at it this way, instead of expecting a shaped account to act as a un-metered and unshaped account.

 

[MWEBHelp]

You're kidding? Now we can only download from sources approved by MWEB?

Whats next on MWEBs plans for restricting users? - Uncapped - but only to sites approved by MWEB.

Thanks for your feedback xrapidx, please allow me the opportunity to clarify this.

If you read back through the lengthy discussions around this issue, I think you will find that this stance is very much in keeping with the biggest concerns that were raised by the most vocal members of this community.

We were asked to issue warnings and give an opportunity to rectify the behaviour; we have complied with this request.

We were asked to manage the situation more proactively from our side and ensure that we were shaping these services correctly, rather than limit the customer's ability to use them. This is very much an effort to align ourselves with that request and should not be construed as anything else.

The service is a shaped one and we have a primary responsibility to provide the best possible experience to the majority of our customers, who I can assure you from looking at the data analysis do not have peer to peer as their foremost need. This means that we will shape all peer to peer services that we are aware of and we will actively seek out ones that we are not aware of in the interests of maintaining the integrity of our network and the quality of service.

We provide an unshaped service specifically for customers who have a primary need to engage in these types of activities.

We have been open about the need for load balancing and the planned network upgrades and you personally along with many other members of this community have been given an alternative connection to use in the interim which has I believe, based on your feedback, proved to be satisfactory.

Is there anything else we can assist you with at this point?

Kind Regards
MWEB Operations(Tech Manager)

 

[sand_man]

LoL i shouldnt have opened my big mouth then hey? well i dont see the point of uncapped if u dont have the freedom to download whatever u please... whenever i please..

You do so long it's at 20% of your maximum line speed...

 

[MWEBHelp]

This is a good thing, all considered. I found myself unwittingly in breach of MWEB's AUP and with that the possibility of being kicked from their service. I have to admit that I found it a bit unfair that the user is given the responsibility to basically do thorough research about all things internet and how making use of various download options could potentially see you in breach of the AUP. With MWEB taking the initiative to shape protocols / methods of downloading to ensure default compliance by their users, and not simply banning them for doing something they might have not known was a "wrong thing to do", is in my opinion part of providing a good service.

We have to face facts here. Internet access is not cheap in SA. Uncapped and unshaped is basically not viable for the man on the street, unless you have a very healthy bank account. The shaped uncapped accounts from MWEB might not be everything we would like it to be, but it certainly beats paying R30/gig. Many people here are for the sake of their frustration (which I share) inferring that you are not allowed to do any downloading making use of the shaped uncapped account, but I am yet to see any one from MWEB saying that. All they are saying is that heavy download protocols are being shaped during high traffic times, which is what makes it possible for them to offer this product at this price. If they can't do this, they can't offer the product, and we are all back to square one.

Look at is this way, let's say you have a 512 shaped uncapped account for R300.00 and you are only able to download 30 gigs for a month. It translates to paying only R10/gig! It might not be the fastest 30 gig download you have ever had, but it certainly will be the cheapest from all the products available out there. So for me it is still worth it, shaping and all. Maybe look at it this way, instead of expecting a shaped account to act as a un-metered and unshaped account.

Thanks MFour

This is very valid and valuable feedback and I would urge everyone who is frustrated at this point to consider these factors and to consider that over time as the network grows and users become more used to having an uncapped experience (and the compulsive downloaders run out of hard drive space ), that the experience will level out and improve for everyone.

 

[remybfg10k]

This thread is heading south

 

[Degaron]

its all good and well MWEB but your Internet addict account should provide redundancy which was int the case when Seacom was down, so most of us who use it for business was out of order for a whole week, when I pay that huge amount for an internet account I expect to at least have some redundancy. and its pretty stupid that your router is locked when taking the business package. your routers cant even work with VOIP services because its locked.

Im not fighting with you here, just saying.

Also I cant understand why ppl need todo like 500 to 1000TBs a month, just because its uncapped doesint mean you should download the whole internet.