Neotel network speed degradation update

Aha therein lies the beauty of it. Bulleted events below:

  • Early Feb '09: Decide to go with Neotel NeoConnect Lite (EXCELLENT coverage) as there was no Prime coverage in our area
  • Voice quality wasn't bad but trying to connect to the Net was folly
  • End of Feb: Check coverage map and all of a sudden Lite only has Fair coverage and Prime has excellent coverage
  • Lite device starts to consistently drop voice calls. Connect to the Net...What is that?
  • After much consideration decide to go with Prime (Who wouldn't, with the purported connection speeds)
  • 1st week on Prime: No voice calls dropped but Net connection was slow
  • Enquire about connection speeds with "Customer Service" and they say hang in there the "Optimisation" will sort us out.
  • Early March: Check the coverage map to ensure we still have Prime coverage. Indeed we do, we have EXCELLENT Prime coverage. Woop woop.
  • Skip to the end of March: Voice calls start being dropped; connecting to the Net becomes an issue. Let me check our coverage, again:o
  • OH, nice one. We've been "Optimised" alright, optimised right out of the coverage area.:eek: No Prime coverage anymore and only a tiny speck of Lite coverage of the Fair variety.
  • By this stage toys are being thrown out of the cot, and "Customer Service" keep stringing us along saying that they may be able to give us some money back while we wait and/or they'll install an antennae and and and
  • Finally Steven Ligege mans up and tells the truth about our little foray into CDMA. It's not happening anymore, BYE.:p

We're in the process of weighing up our legal options...

This kind of service really gets under my skin. I highly suggest you take this matter to the small claims court. Contact ISPA as well and lay acomplaint.
 
Same situation is currently happening to me,

Coverage map changes, from Excellent to good.

Degrading services, and Im just waiting for the call to say no more.

Am discussing legal options already , if this is not resolved.
 
Same situation is currently happening to me,

Coverage map changes, from Excellent to good.

Degrading services, and Im just waiting for the call to say no more.

Am discussing legal options already , if this is not resolved.

If someone gets legal representation, please let us all know, then maybe we can get one person to handle all the lawsuits.
 
If someone gets legal representation, please let us all know, then maybe we can get one person to handle all the lawsuits.

You don't need legal representation when taking a case to the Small Claims Court. You represent yourself. But it would be a good idea to seek legal advice before doing so and building a good case. Going to the judge with your hands in your pocket and telling him Neotel is screwing you over isn't going to go down well with him ;)
 
All well and good, but what about those of us who don't have the time. I want to pay someone to take care of this.

Neotel rep contacted me again today. He seems just as frustrated with this whole thing as the rest of us.

what more can you do but *sigh*
 
I Agree.

Also spoke to Enoch today and another operator after The Reeds was down for 4HRS today.

They seem to be very frustrated as well. Seems like the problems lies higher up??

Not that it helps to escalate something to Neotel's HO complaints department as they are just as full of empty promises
 
...They seem to be very frustrated as well. Seems like the problems lies higher up??..

Their frustration shouldn't be our concern. They keep trying to fix things, and in most cases don’t succeed. So where's the problem? The equipment or the techs? I would strongly suggest getting in some help. If you can take incompetence out of the equation, you can quickly determine if it's the equipment causing all this.

Unfortunately it's going to cost you some money Neotel, but it will be less expensive than losing the majority of you customers and doing even more damage to your name. Are you trying to lose some customers to lighten the load on the network?

I think I speak for all when I say we have had it with bullsh*t upgrade notices. Why do you have to keep fixing things? Take one area, switch that entire network off...fix it and switch back on. Most people will gladly sacrifice a day or two of browsing to get this crap fixed. I have to say, I'm utterly disappointed. Especially because you are still actively promoting and selling packages while your network is collapsing.
 
Eish, it has been a week since Neotel last responded in this thread. :eek:
 
Anyone in Douglasdale Fourways using Neotel Prime? How's your connection?
 
As much as some customers have experienced improved speeds in the areas that have been optimised and upgraded, other customers may not have experienced this improved performance for various reasons.

More sites are being fast tracked to cover those areas where customers are still experiencing speed issues.
 
I must be honest, for the last 2-3 weeks ive had zero problems aside from the fact that speeds tend to be slow during the day (20-40KB/s) - towards midnight it speeds up to about 100-110KB/s.

Ive been quite happy regardless of the above- hopefully things only get better from here :)
 
Just goes to show the inconsistencies! Centurion and the Reeds has been so called "optimized"

For a week i got great speeds, but since Monday i was down to under 300kbps again, and even tonight i can't get anything higher than 360kbps but now again my uploads are over 1100kbps????

Neotel, did you guys un-optimize me again?

And then some people say they have slow speeds during the day but fast at night? For me it's just the opposite..During the day the speeds are good(From 9am to 4pm) after that it slows down to a grinding halt, and stays that way till 9am the next morning??

Neotel, Honestly, how much longer do you expect me to pay you the full amount each month if my connection is not usable for more than 80% of the time?

As i said in a previous post. It's time we all stand together and get a petition signed to hand over to Neotel to get some kind of reimbursement.

Anyone out there with some Legal background, please PM me with some suggestion. I would like to get the ball rolling..
 
As much as some customers have experienced improved speeds in the areas that have been optimised and upgraded, other customers may not have experienced this improved performance for various reasons.

More sites are being fast tracked to cover those areas where customers are still experiencing speed issues.

Which areas?
 
I agree, my speeds have been slow but not as slow as it was before the optimisation of the Midrand area. Connection is otherwise always connected, I'm only concerened at the inconsistency of speeds. 9am-4pm is fast, after that its slow again till next morning.
I hope there will be new towers in the midrand area. (theres a big piece of veld next to my house with a cellphone tower on it)
 
I agree, my speeds have been slow but not as slow as it was before the optimisation of the Midrand area. Connection is otherwise always connected, I'm only concerened at the inconsistency of speeds. 9am-4pm is fast, after that its slow again till next morning.
I hope there will be new towers in the midrand area. (theres a big piece of veld next to my house with a cellphone tower on it)

Only getting good speeds between 9am-4pm? I only browse after around 7'ish. No wonder I only get crap speeds! Speed is really really crap. Even the upload speed is pathetic.
 
Only getting good speeds between 9am-4pm? I only browse after around 7'ish. No wonder I only get crap speeds! Speed is really really crap. Even the upload speed is pathetic.

Browsing speed isn't that bad, like 30KB sometimes 60KB after 7pm but torrents and downloads down to 30KB between 5pm and 3am.
 
Neoconnect Lite- Bad!

I stay in Sunnyside Pretoria, and anybody who ever wants to get Neotel Lite, do it if you are happy with the following:

Speed: kbits/sec, day and night
18 = 40%
28 = 30%
48 = 20%
163 = 10%

Time out on 30% of web browsing…. NORMAL browsing

The connection stays open even when the bandwidth drops to zero and requires a reconnect.

Most downloads time out and need to be reconnected. Neotel should supply you with a kettle and one months supply of coffee for Lite – you can go make a cup each time you try to open a page.

Tired of phoning and complaining… they seemed to promise, but just dont care…
They should start advertising they deliver as non-existent service for YES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BELIEVE IT OR NOT a mere R480 per month, for unlimited Data and unlimited Time outs… now how about that…

When I spoke to Neotel this morning, I promised them I will advertise their dubious achievements.. it should make them proud.:eek:
 
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