need some advice.

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FoRmFacTor

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Hey Everyone,

i currently have a iburst 10g account. i use it up about half way through the month and spend quite a lot on top ups. i was looking at the NEOCONNECT PRIME UNLIMITED option for R999. Is it worth it? Is it really unlimited data? Should i change over or is there a catch?

any advice is greatly appreciated:-)
 
FoRmFacTor said:
Hey Everyone,

i currently have a iburst 10g account. i use it up about half way through the month and spend quite a lot on top ups. i was looking at the NEOCONNECT PRIME UNLIMITED option for R999. Is it worth it? Is it really unlimited data? Should i change over or is there a catch?

any advice is greatly appreciated:-)
Click to expand...

Hi FoRmFacTor,

uh umm, yes it really is uncapped, Please pop me your details and I'll check if we can get you sorted out.
 
Hi Neotel :)

I'm also planning on getting this service, but scared to take it on a 24month contract and it is not what I expected/need.

Is there any way of returning it if I do not get the service I expected?
 
I have a 4mbs Telkom line at the moment, which I do have to say has been pretty good on the whole, a few hours with no internet occasionally, sometimes a whole day, but that is to be expected in Africa. If it weren't for the high price tag I would probably stay with them, but I am looking around at comparisons eagerly hoping to get my share of this 10 mbs line that seems to be the stuff of myth and rumor.

I don't think that I am the only one hoping to find a good reliable fast connection at the best price!

Can anyone help with the questions I have?

Is Neotel still running at 2.4 mbs, and if so, when will the Seacom broadband link start to increase that bandwidth?

As Method asked, if you sign a 24 month contract now at the current price with 2.4mbs, will you be able to commute to the cheaper faster packages that are bound to come out in the next 2 years?

Does Neotel have a collective threshold? This is a nice benefit to using Telkom, as you effectively get a few gigs of data for free, if you are a high user. If you exceed your limit you go onto the collective limit for your exchange, until that exchange limit has been reached by the whole area. After that limit is reached you have to top up, but for me anyway, it is usually on about the 20th to th 25th of the month, by which time I have usually used about twice the 3 gigs I pay for in my package.

The only problem is the price :( My bill is seldom below R1000 a month and can go up to R 1500, and it is a home line! I get the feeling I am being (very politely) robbed!
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't sign any new contracts or change any service right now - 24 months is a VERY long time. Be patient, wait a while and watch what is going to happen in the Broadband playground.

I couldn't wait to dump Telkom, but in my experience, Neotel simply doesn't have the support structure to handle customer complaints or queries.

I can promise you that once you've signed, you are on your own & locked in.

As quickly as Neotel deployed their network, so must they now deploy & setup support structures for their clients.

Don't believe anything anyone from Neotel tells you, just look @ what is going on outside of their marketing promises, read this forum as well as other sources of real information e.g. http://www.hellopeter.com/search_results.php?search=Neotel

You have seven days in which to deploy & test your purchase - Use this time wisely.

Also, remember base station contention - your service will degrade as more users connect. In addition to this, bad weather etc. has a very negative effect on connectivity.
 
People keep bringing up the 24 month "contract", like this should be the main concern. The contract isn't a contract in the way you probably think about it. You aren't trapped in the contract for 24 months and don't pay any penalty fees if you cancel it. If you want out you just say so and pay whatever you still owe on your device.

What should be your main concern is the crappy speeds many of us have been getting on and off. So far Neotel is okay for some games, downloads are quick some of the time... I'd recommend it above Vodacom HSDPA if you live in an area with Excellent coverage... but that's about as much as I can give to them.

My experience is sometimes kickass, sometimes not. Video streaming sometimes works, sometimes it's slow, even when downloads are fast. They say they don't shape, but it sure does seem like it sometimes.

If you live somewhere you can get a fixed line solution, I'd still rather go with that. I'm not sure wireless will ever really compete with ADSL in terms of reliability and ping times.

If you don't, you have excellent coverage and you're going to be mostly downloading things / e-mailing / surfing then by all means go for Neotel, but maybe get them out to do a site test first.
 
Neotel performance

As the network grows the connection speeds should stabalise...

@Tmoose - your infor regarding the "contract" is bang on
 
amysmuts said:
I have a 4mbs Telkom line at the moment, which I do have to say has been pretty good on the whole, a few hours with no internet occasionally, sometimes a whole day, but that is to be expected in Africa. If it weren't for the high price tag I would probably stay with them, but I am looking around at comparisons eagerly hoping to get my share of this 10 mbs line that seems to be the stuff of myth and rumor.

I don't think that I am the only one hoping to find a good reliable fast connection at the best price!

Can anyone help with the questions I have?

Is Neotel still running at 2.4 mbs, and if so, when will the Seacom broadband link start to increase that bandwidth?

As Method asked, if you sign a 24 month contract now at the current price with 2.4mbs, will you be able to commute to the cheaper faster packages that are bound to come out in the next 2 years?

Does Neotel have a collective threshold? This is a nice benefit to using Telkom, as you effectively get a few gigs of data for free, if you are a high user. If you exceed your limit you go onto the collective limit for your exchange, until that exchange limit has been reached by the whole area. After that limit is reached you have to top up, but for me anyway, it is usually on about the 20th to th 25th of the month, by which time I have usually used about twice the 3 gigs I pay for in my package.

The only problem is the price :( My bill is seldom below R1000 a month and can go up to R 1500, and it is a home line! I get the feeling I am being (very politely) robbed!
Click to expand...

Yep, was thinking the same thing. Phoned Neotel, but we are awaiting coverage. :(
 
As an ex-10gig iburster I've been happy since day one. There was an issue initially which was sorted.

Speed tests as follows:
Speedtest.net: http://www.speedtest.net/result/568906448.png &
Neotel Speedtest: Last Result:
Download Speed: 1453 kbps (181.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 111 kbps (13.9 KB/sec transfer rate) :D:D:D

Dloading large files eg. HD movies, series, OS's, etc is an absolute pleasure. S'pose one has to check their coverage before 'signing' up. Look @ the benefits:

- No fixed line costs
- Voice & internet in one device & true uncapped internet @ the about the above speeds (I average nothing less than 1meg during peak time). I dloaded 180gigs last month and spent nothing on extra bandwidth :D.

But like I mentioned in previous posts, I'm crossing fingers that the Durban towers doesn't get congested any time soon (q for Mr. Neotel Rep to re-assure me ;) ). As mentioned above there's no binding deal as such, check coverage, liaise with Neo Rep if call centre is a bit slow and get Neotel Prime FT absolute Winner :D
 
The service you get is entirely dependent on the tower you use. Slap on an antenna and an amp, it will set you back around R2000 extra. A bit pricey at first, but worth it if you decide to stick with neotel.

And all of you moaning about slow speeds. Wait for a month, give it a chance. Im on uncapped, and usually my speeds stick around 40kB/s peak and 130kB/s off peak. I can easily do 100 gigs a month. I don't really care how slow it is for dling games off steam, only when I'm youtubing and such.

IMHO, neotel is worth the uncapped. Speeds may or may not leave something to be desired, but still, 100 gigs a month for under R1000, + something dumb like 2000 free sms's p.m, is worth it, no matter the speed.
 
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