I have what might be a slightly unusual requirement. I'm not resident in South Africa so am not an expert on the broadband options here and would appreciate any ideas on the cheapest way to meet my requirements which are...
I'm in the process of buying a holiday apartment in Stellenbosch that will be occupied about 3 or 4 months a year. For the 3 or 4 months when I am there (escaping the UK winter) I will want at least 4Mbps with a minimum of 100GB per month of data so that I can do regular heavy web surfing and also stream live UK TV (using a SmartDNS service to get around region locks). For the other 8 or 9 months of the year I want as low a cost as possible since I will effectively be paying for zero usage.
With the hassles and delays of getting stuff activated I don't want to go down the route of cancelling when I leave and re-applying whenever I return, especially since my annual visits will probably be split into at least 2 if not 3 separate trips of 6 to 8 weeks each. The only viable options I can think of is to establish permanent accounts with Telkom and potentially a separate ADSL/data provider and then make use of the fact that pretty much every ADSL supplier that I've looked at allows package upgrades and downgrades on a monthly basis so I downgrade to the cheapest service that I can when leaving and upgrade back to the full service, ideally remotely for the UK, a few days or weeks before my next trip to SA.
With no local expertise and based purely on a lot of internet research here is the best plan that I've come up with so far. I would really welcome comments and suggestions for any improvements or issues that I haven't thought of.
For the landline I can't see an option other than entering into a permanent contract with Telkom for a fixed voice line currently at R166.50 per month. Switching that on and off as I arrive and depart is almost certainly impossible so my only costs saving might be if there is an option like some UK providers have to get a discount for paying 12 months line rental up front. Does such a discount exist? Do I have any cheaper options?
For data enabling the line I'm confused. Is the slowest line available 2Mbps? That's all I could find pricing for on everywhere I looked. What I'd really like to do is find someone (e.g. Telkom) where I could dynamically switch my account on away/in-SA months between a very slow DSL line (e.g. 384kbs) and a 4MB or even 10MB ADSL line. So far the only dynamic monthly upgrade/downgrade options that I've found are to switch between 2Mbs when away and 4Mbs when in residence. Not a great cost saving while I'm away.
Finally the data component looks pretty easy. Maybe capped but unshaped Afrihost switching between the free 1GB per month when I'm away and the current 50GB+50GB monthly R199 offer when in residence (hopefully the offer will be extended past September 2014. They do seem to be in a price war with people like Axxess so maybe the omens are good).
So that's it. Best plan is permanent 12 month Telkom voice line, Afrihost ADSL switched between 2Mbs when away and 4/10Mbs when in residence and between free 1GB capped and 50+50GB on the same basis.
Will the above work? Can I switch ADSL and data plans with someone like Afrihost remotely for the UK by logging onto my account and requesting the changes? Can I downgrade the ADSL line to anything cheaper than 2MB when I'm away, e.g. a much slower DSL line? (Note that I would want to be able to make the switches by logging on remotely from the UK before I arrive for bumping the speeds up.)
Finally, one last little point. As a non-resident I have confirmed with Telkom that they will sign me up with no SA resident status/ID-card and no credit history provided that I pay a R700 deposit. Are other providers such as Afrihost similarly flexible with non-residents and no credit history customers as far as ADSL lines and data packages go?
Sorry for the long post but I'd really appreciate any advice and feedback.
- Julian
I'm in the process of buying a holiday apartment in Stellenbosch that will be occupied about 3 or 4 months a year. For the 3 or 4 months when I am there (escaping the UK winter) I will want at least 4Mbps with a minimum of 100GB per month of data so that I can do regular heavy web surfing and also stream live UK TV (using a SmartDNS service to get around region locks). For the other 8 or 9 months of the year I want as low a cost as possible since I will effectively be paying for zero usage.
With the hassles and delays of getting stuff activated I don't want to go down the route of cancelling when I leave and re-applying whenever I return, especially since my annual visits will probably be split into at least 2 if not 3 separate trips of 6 to 8 weeks each. The only viable options I can think of is to establish permanent accounts with Telkom and potentially a separate ADSL/data provider and then make use of the fact that pretty much every ADSL supplier that I've looked at allows package upgrades and downgrades on a monthly basis so I downgrade to the cheapest service that I can when leaving and upgrade back to the full service, ideally remotely for the UK, a few days or weeks before my next trip to SA.
With no local expertise and based purely on a lot of internet research here is the best plan that I've come up with so far. I would really welcome comments and suggestions for any improvements or issues that I haven't thought of.
For the landline I can't see an option other than entering into a permanent contract with Telkom for a fixed voice line currently at R166.50 per month. Switching that on and off as I arrive and depart is almost certainly impossible so my only costs saving might be if there is an option like some UK providers have to get a discount for paying 12 months line rental up front. Does such a discount exist? Do I have any cheaper options?
For data enabling the line I'm confused. Is the slowest line available 2Mbps? That's all I could find pricing for on everywhere I looked. What I'd really like to do is find someone (e.g. Telkom) where I could dynamically switch my account on away/in-SA months between a very slow DSL line (e.g. 384kbs) and a 4MB or even 10MB ADSL line. So far the only dynamic monthly upgrade/downgrade options that I've found are to switch between 2Mbs when away and 4Mbs when in residence. Not a great cost saving while I'm away.
Finally the data component looks pretty easy. Maybe capped but unshaped Afrihost switching between the free 1GB per month when I'm away and the current 50GB+50GB monthly R199 offer when in residence (hopefully the offer will be extended past September 2014. They do seem to be in a price war with people like Axxess so maybe the omens are good).
So that's it. Best plan is permanent 12 month Telkom voice line, Afrihost ADSL switched between 2Mbs when away and 4/10Mbs when in residence and between free 1GB capped and 50+50GB on the same basis.
Will the above work? Can I switch ADSL and data plans with someone like Afrihost remotely for the UK by logging onto my account and requesting the changes? Can I downgrade the ADSL line to anything cheaper than 2MB when I'm away, e.g. a much slower DSL line? (Note that I would want to be able to make the switches by logging on remotely from the UK before I arrive for bumping the speeds up.)
Finally, one last little point. As a non-resident I have confirmed with Telkom that they will sign me up with no SA resident status/ID-card and no credit history provided that I pay a R700 deposit. Are other providers such as Afrihost similarly flexible with non-residents and no credit history customers as far as ADSL lines and data packages go?
Sorry for the long post but I'd really appreciate any advice and feedback.
- Julian