Neotel – Seacom to provide ultra-cheap educational bandwidth

[BobbyMac]

They will probably not be landing the Seacom cable here anyway, so it doesn't really matter, does it?

 

[Tanarri]

UP is still giving students 200Mb per year on a connection that is, on bad days, slower than dial-up (Not kidding). So it's good news.

I think the universities are using internet access to subsidize other parts of the IT department. e.g. Cap beyond the 200Mb has to be bought at R1.00/Meg! And the get it for what? Maybe R0.10 if they are unlucky.

Slower than dial-up? Dude that's an understatement. At the library I once downloaded a 200kb pdf journal in no less than 10 mins!! If you want to download a big journal would have been faster to walk from UP to the CSIR, make the copies and walk back instead of trying to download it. Ok it was an exception but sometimes I wish each PC there had it's own full-speed 28.8 kbps phone line.

 

[AirWolf]

Certainly a step in the right direction But what's the story with landing in SA: can they or can't they land the cable on SA soil?

 

[Alchemist]

We'll, government's chooning them not so quickly.

 

[dogphish]

What SEACOM forgot to mention is that there is a 3gb cap.

 

[jasweb]

Tenet looking for new service provider

After only 3 years with Telkom, Tenet is looking for a new service provider... so this might make Neotel more popular.

Look here (Gen 3) http://www.tenet.ac.za/#GEN2

But until the contract is signed, I for one is very scheptical...

Although international Internet access is slow, the past 3 months the main problem at many universities was LOCAL access

If we get 1 Mbps for R30 per month I will DEFINITELY try to stay at the University... Imagine the "research" opportunities!

 

[ToxicBunny]

Tenet are not necessarily looking for a new supplier, the previous contract has now been concluded and a new one needs to be put in place. Its standard practice really.

 

[jasweb]

Perhaps true... lets just hope they don't choose Telkom again

 

[ToxicBunny]

If Telkom come with the best tender option, they'd be stupid not to chose Telkom.

I'm a realist, and in the business world, its whoever comes with the best tender option that will win the tender.

 

[AirWolf]

That's true unless it's a government contract - BEE companies get preference

 

[AirWolf]

Just read an article in the Sunday Tribune that states that the cost to ISPs will be *** drum roll *** R275/MB/month Still way cheaper than Telkom

 

[andres101]

That would be for uncapped, I had a 3GB cap in mind...

and it would be dedicated bandwidth (not shared with 50 other people like telscum adsl).

I will not get ADSL until I can get a reasonable connection (512K+), with a reasonable cap (10GB+), for a reasonable amount (<R200), all inclusive.