Need ADSL - but no luck

R

rudirautenbach

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OK so sometime last year I asked Telkom if I could have an ADSL line, specifically asked for the 4 Mbps line. Was told that the 4 Mbps service rollout in my area was only planned for Feb 2010. I asked to keep the order in the system.

This morning I went to the Telkom shop in the Benoni Mall, was told that the 4 Mbps service is actually available in my area, but that no "infrastructure" is available ie. no physical space in the exchange I presume?

My questions are:
1. I am not sure who to believe whether ADSL 4Mbps is really available or not. How can I check reliably if it is?
2. Is there a backdoor/alternative channel to getting ADSL (even a lesser speed for now will do) than going through their super-efficient call centre?
3. Are there firms out there that assists with the ADSL line installation if you sign up for their bandwidth/data packages?

Thanks for your time looking forward to some good replies, Rudi
 
I feel your pain

I ordered a Telkom line in July 2006, and also got a story that they will roll out infrustructure soon, today, I am still waiting...
 
rudirautenbach said:
OK so sometime last year I asked Telkom if I could have an ADSL line, specifically asked for the 4 Mbps line. Was told that the 4 Mbps service rollout in my area was only planned for Feb 2010. I asked to keep the order in the system.

This morning I went to the Telkom shop in the Benoni Mall, was told that the 4 Mbps service is actually available in my area, but that no "infrastructure" is available ie. no physical space in the exchange I presume?

My questions are:
1. I am not sure who to believe whether ADSL 4Mbps is really available or not. How can I check reliably if it is?
2. Is there a backdoor/alternative channel to getting ADSL (even a lesser speed for now will do) than going through their super-efficient call centre?
3. Are there firms out there that assists with the ADSL line installation if you sign up for their bandwidth/data packages?

Thanks for your time looking forward to some good replies, Rudi
Click to expand...

Have you asked Telkom for Wimax yet? Great product....
 
deweyzeph said:
That's complete and utter nonsense. You won't see any difference between Wimax and copper ADSL as far as latency is concerned.
Click to expand...

If this is true I would certainly consider WiMax, although I would have liked to have the 4 Mbps choice, which I believe will not be achieved ever with WiMax.

If one opts for Wimax, could one still use offers from say Axxess as per ADSL, or is one bound to use Telkom as an ISP?

Anyone else here with WiMax experience playing COD4?

Thanks for the reply, Rudi
 
Telkom Wimax is a direct connection into the Telkom Saix network, just like a copper ADSL connection, so any PPPOE session you are able to initiate on an ADSL line, you can use on a Wimax connection.

I'm not a gamer myself, but I swear by my Wimax connection. I have an Axxess Uncapped Express+ account that I use on it.

Give me a gaming server to ping on my connection and I'll let you know what latency I get on my Wimax connection.
 
Not sure how to ping a COD4 server from outside the game (ping cmd does not work) but the IP address of the SGS TDM Warfare server is 196.4.79.82:28960.

From within the game I usually get just over 100. The guys using ADSL 384 usually talk about 30-40.
 
deweyzeph said:
That's complete and utter nonsense. You won't see any difference between Wimax and copper ADSL as far as latency is concerned.
Click to expand...
That's complete and utter nonsense. Latency on copper ADSL varies from 6ms to about 20ms in extreme cases - all depending on your distance from exchange and modem. Latency on WIMAX is no less than 40ms. There's a massive difference in competitive gaming from a ping of 6ms and a ping of 40ms. Obviously you're playing RTS games, not FPS games...
WIMAX does offer the second lowest stable latency you'll find on the south african market, so it's the best GAMER's choice alternative to DSL, but it certainly doesn't compare. That's like telling a downloader that they wont notice a difference between 512k WIMAX and 4Mbit DSL. To a non-gamer, sure the latency difference means nothing, but to a gamer every 10ms makes a big difference. Why do you think LAN is so heavily favoured for competitive play when guys could just play tournaments online with 10ms DSL connections?
 
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I tend to agree more with fragtion on this one. I am a keen FPS gamer, and the differences in scores I achieve between high-ping servers and low-ping servers is definitely noticeable.

Lets hope Telkom has a solution for me soon!
 
I have Telkom Wimax. Awesome product. Stable. Low Latency. And I use my NORMAL ADSL account with it. Meaning I can switch to whoever I want in terms of service, unlike iBurst/Vodacom/MTN where I'm forced to connect on their bandwidth and pay their stupid prices. I actually have a choice.

Plus, because it links directly to the Telkom network, you can get a CPG unit, they allocate a phone number to you and Bob's you're uncles auntie. Plus, Telkom's Wimax VOIP doesn't cut you off from the internet (unlike Neotel) when someone phones you ;)
 
I am quite an avid gamer and have found that there is no difference in my score/skill what have you when playing on a ping of 50 or a ping of 15 the most important thing especially with FPS games is that your ping does not vary. The more your ping jumps around the more laggy your game will feel.

So if you can get a stable ping of around 50 with wimax go for it, but an unstable ping will give you nightmares.
 
Point taken Th3NaRRoW.

Does Telkom offer a testing service ie. will the technician mount a temporary antennae and test the site prior to one forking out the installation fee and signing a contract? Or do they have another means of testing, or is it just "hope for the best"?

My other main issue with WiMax remains the download speed. With only 512Kbps on tap, it still does fall way short of the copper alternatives (granted which I do not currently have available to me) and iBurst, which offers me a constant 1 Mbps download speed when using a download accelerator. iBurst ping does jump quite a bit, which is understandable I believe given the technology and nature of their infrastructure (wireless at a different frequency to that of WiMax).

I am not even considering Neotel, I did my research here and on other places and the overwhelming response was to stay away.

Thanks for the reply anyway, lets hear it from others too...

Cheers Rudi
 
rudirautenbach said:
Point taken Th3NaRRoW.

Does Telkom offer a testing service ie. will the technician mount a temporary antennae and test the site prior to one forking out the installation fee and signing a contract? Or do they have another means of testing, or is it just "hope for the best"?

My other main issue with WiMax remains the download speed. With only 512Kbps on tap, it still does fall way short of the copper alternatives (granted which I do not currently have available to me) and iBurst, which offers me a constant 1 Mbps download speed when using a download accelerator. iBurst ping does jump quite a bit, which is understandable I believe given the technology and nature of their infrastructure (wireless at a different frequency to that of WiMax).

I am not even considering Neotel, I did my research here and on other places and the overwhelming response was to stay away.

Thanks for the reply anyway, lets hear it from others too...

Cheers Rudi
Click to expand...

Telkom does not do the installation, it is outsourced to an installation company and yes, when they come to do the installation they obviously test to make sure you have a good signal.

There is no "contract", Wimax is month by month service and only requires a month's notice to cancel.
 
deweyzeph said:
Telkom does not do the installation, it is outsourced to an installation company and yes, when they come to do the installation they obviously test to make sure you have a good signal.

There is no "contract", Wimax is month by month service and only requires a month's notice to cancel.
Click to expand...

NO CONTRAAAAAAACT

Plus you don't pay for the equipment they install upfront like other companies make you do (and use their bandwidth only) if you don't take a contract.

Telkom (or their installers) won't do an installation if you don't have a good enough signal. Plus, with ONLY 512kbps on "tap" and with Wimax capable of going higher, I'm sure once Telkom are satisfied that their towers and infrastructure is coping, they'd up the speed relative to your upload speed (remember, with Wireless it's usually not the download speed that counts, but the upload speed as you have a weaker signal compared to the tower in terms of upload)

But thus far I'm pretty damn happy. My tower was down due to a lightning strike for a couple of days though, but I hear that's very rare.
 
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