Neotel problems continue

Pls do not insult the pigs, at the very least they are good for pork chops :D

I just wanted to find out about licensing terms, on a serious note, it must be against the law for a national operator to have patchy services and almost all revenue coming from corporates.

I am sure they are not meeting their licensing mandate.

Can something be done to revoke their licenses?
 
I've been with Neotel for 2 months, and I've had enough. It's worse than iBurst. I'm going the Telkom ADSL route. AfriHost as the ISP and a Telkom 4mb ADSL Line. It's actually cheaper than NeoFlex for the same amount of bandwidth with guaranteed connectivity and 100X faster internet connection.

Sad that Telkom is the only decent service provider.
 
haxxor said:
Collusion with Telkom comes to mind:(

Neotel should have done more to ensure their network was up to task.
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How????

Why does everyone forget that Neotel was going to use an existing connected backhaul network when they were formed, only to be trumped by Alec Duhwin and his Infraco dream? 4 years on and Infraco isn't even licensed yet - let alone providing services. Neotel were blindsided by the government. Telkom, on the other hand, were not only handed tax-payer funded infrastructure - they were protected for the better part of two decades after their semi privatisation. Neotel sucks ass, I agree, but blame must be apportioned appropriately.

Edit :mad: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/docs/081029comm-infaco.pdf:

I, Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Minister of Communications, in accordance with
Section 3 (5) of the Electronic Communications Act 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005),
hereby publish for public comment, my intention to issue the following policy
direction to ICASA with the view to provide a licensing framework for Broadband
INFRACO (Proprietary) Limited
Click to expand...
 
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Json C said:
How????

Why does everyone forget that Neotel was going to use an existing connected backhaul network when they were formed, only to be trumped by Alec Duhwin and his Infraco dream? 4 years on and Infraco isn't even licensed yet - let alone providing services. Neotel were blindsided by the government. Telkom, on the other hand, were not only handed tax-payer funded infrastructure - they were protected for the better part of two decades after their semi privatisation. Neotel sucks ass, I agree, but blame must be apportioned appropriately.

Edit :mad: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/docs/081029comm-infaco.pdf:
Click to expand...

Say what you want about backhaul capacity, network issues blah blah. There is still no excuse for the horrific helpdesk and support service people get from them.

Also doesn't excuse the lack of a service for checking on your bandwidth usage. How long have they been working on that again?

If the network wasn't ready and they were denied vital infrastructure then fine, but their current network has limitations they should have at least had a vague idea of and when it approaches those limits or problems start filtering in showing that the network is under strain don't blindly continue to add new customers. Resolve the problems first.

Also why are they forcing people to purchase their terrible hardware? That isn't the fault of Infraco either. They should've offered hardware with removable chips if you wished to purchase them or they should've just offered the chips and got people to buy third party products that aren't held together with gum and tape. They are a telecoms company, not a hardware vendor. A lot of the problems people are encountering seem to be connected to the devices and Neotel's software.

Well at least I know I made the right choice by staying with Telkom. Honestly I feel that Neotel have damaged their brand pretty badly and it will take a lot to get it back on track.

EDIT: It also seems more often than not that people seem to have a problem with, their phone dropping the connection to the tower. Unless I misunderstand how Neotel operates (and perhaps I do) that has nothing to do with backhaul.
 
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Json C said:
How????

Why does everyone forget that Neotel was going to use an existing connected backhaul network when they were formed, only to be trumped by Alec Duhwin and his Infraco dream? 4 years on and Infraco isn't even licensed yet - let alone providing services. Neotel were blindsided by the government. Telkom, on the other hand, were not only handed tax-payer funded infrastructure - they were protected for the better part of two decades after their semi privatisation. Neotel sucks ass, I agree, but blame must be apportioned appropriately.

Edit :mad: http://www.pmg.org.za/files/docs/081029comm-infaco.pdf:
Click to expand...

oops.... forget about part.... apologies on that.
Is Neotel still connected to another network for backhaul purposes or are they using there own network?
 
porchrat said:
...
Click to expand...

All excellent points. I was just trying to point out the Neotel were not exactly given a fighting chance by our government.

As for forced hardware purchases.... Are you kidding? iBurst, Vodacom, MTN and even Telkom did exactly the same. How many people here still have those crappy marconi modems telkom basically forced down your throat?
 
Json C said:
How many people here still have those crappy marconi modems telkom basically forced down your throat?
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I had my own modem from day one (early 2005) :confused:

Telkom never forced anyone to use their modems, you could go and buy any standard ADSL modem of you own choice.

No try and go buy a third party Neotel approved phone/modem.
 
Nod said:
I had my own modem from day one (early 2005) :confused:

Telkom never forced anyone to use their modems, you could go and buy any standard ADSL modem of you own choice.

No try and go buy a third party Neotel approved phone/modem.
Click to expand...

You could go buy your own modem, however Telkom gave free modems with contracts... who would go buy a new modem then?

iBurst forces you to use their device. MTN forced the same on contract as did VC.... what's ur point?
 
Json C said:
You could go buy your own modem, however Telkom gave free modems with contracts... who would go buy a new modem then?

iBurst forces you to use their device. MTN forced the same on contract as did VC.... what's ur point?
Click to expand...

My point is, that if the "crappy Marconi" is giving you problems, you can always buy your own.

With Neotel, if their device is giving your problems, you can go only with another Neotel device. There is no option to buy your own brand.

As for iBurst, MTN and VC, I wouldn't know. Never used their modems, so wouldn't if it is better quality.

3G modems is a standard, so you should be able to buy any 3G modem, insert your SIM, and be ready to surf. iBurst is thus the only unknown for me.
 
Json C said:
You could go buy your own modem, however Telkom gave free modems with contracts... who would go buy a new modem then?

iBurst forces you to use their device. MTN forced the same on contract as did VC.... what's ur point?
Click to expand...

I'm not a contract because I didn't want their useless modems, I use my own, always have.

Point is with Telkom you do have an alternative, if you want to you can throw their modem away and use your own, Neotel gives you no choice and it does bother me.
 
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porchrat said:
I'm not a contract because I didn't want their useless modems, I use my own, always have.
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Yeah, that's kind of irrelevant. Hundreds of thousands of people will opt for the contract and will thus take the included, network locked device. It's probably even more devious as the "free" device is used to force a contractual lockin anyway....



Back on topic: I am NOT saying Neotel are saints (I will never use them because they're not able to deliver what I need), simply pointing out that they've been ****ed over (by the government and Alec Erwin), and now they're taking 100% of the blame - it may be just a little unfair, no?
 
Json C said:
All excellent points. I was just trying to point out the Neotel were not exactly given a fighting chance by our government.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on this point. They were screwed when PoisonIvy (may she rest in pieces) denied them the fibre links.
 
Json C said:
Yeah, that's kind of irrelevant. Hundreds of thousands of people will opt for the contract and will thus take the included, network locked device. It's probably even more devious as the "free" device is used to force a contractual lockin anyway....
Click to expand...

It isn't irrelevant, what I'm saying is that with ADSL you have a choice, despite the fact that Telkom owns all the lines and could have attempted to create an artificial system that forces you into using their modems only. They didn't do it. Neotel did just that. I fail to see how that is irrelevant.

Neotel and Telkom are supposed to be providing the exact same service, just using different technologies. Why does Neotel force you onto their brand of hardware while Telkom doesn't? It really should be illegal.

I agree that they were screwed over with regard to Infraco, but that is the least of their problems. IMO most of their woes are self-inflicted. Perhaps they don't deserve 100% of the flak, but IMO they deserve at least 95%.
 
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And it's even scarier to think neotel does NOT have a facility for you to login, look at your bill or your usage!

After MONTHS of begging and screaming that you can not run a freaking internet provider service without a basic account management facility, they still don't have it!

Currently you are forced to phone their helpesk for any of this "self-service" type of information...and now they can't keep their helpdesk online or efficient to cope with all these queries? Why ain't i surprised?

Geez, pathetic.
 
I really hoped this article would at least garner a response out of neotel but not a peep.

I don't think there is anyone else to blame for these problems but neotel. The government is not a charity and neotel is a for profit company that seems to deliver to their corporate clients so if they were having backhaul issues why aren't corporates affected?

They should really learn from pick 'n pay and communicate with their customers when serious issues arise and not just run and hide.
 
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