Neotel Question - Need Your Advice Please

Hi,

I can youtube fine with an unshaped account but not with a shaped account :(
receiving files of 400mb will take about 2hrs or so, sending them will probably take about 4hrs or so, as the upload is limited to 256k.

Otherwise other wireless connections i'd rather reccomend is iBurst which has download speed of 1mb/s and upload of 512k, then it will take you half of the time as mentioned above.

Your best bet would be to get Telkom Wimax or iBurst as a temporarily solution untill your 4mb-10mb adsl arrives, I'm only using Telkom Wimax as I too don't have Lines here as this is also a new development.

My order for 4mb-10mb adsl is still active, and until that arrives I'm stuck with Wimax which I thought would be crap, but it's actually very usable, and I might just keep both when my adsl finally arrives :)

I've had iBurst as well, although it's not as stable as Telkom Wimax, through put speeds were faster, which might work better for you as iBurst basically covers the whole of Sandton.

Whatever you do, don't sign up contracts, as I had my fingers burnt with Neotel Prime Unlimited.

Yup you were right 512k ADSL ISP with Wimax works hundreds.

Regards,
 
za1 said:
Your son wont be able to youtube or play games with neotel.

I had prime and canceled it, I currently have the neoflex data and its too slow for gameing, I recently canceled xbox live and cant even connect to Play station network.

Jusy patiently waiting for cell c 4g network so I can dump this Neofail router.
Click to expand...

This is the biggest nonsense I've ever heard! I'm using Neotel (previously on 10GB NeoFlex now on uncapped WiMax), and I've NEVER had problems with gaming, skype, downloads or browsing. On Neoflex I got excellent speeds and performance while playing games like MAG, COD etc. Now on WiMAx, it's even better. No lag time, skype is awesome, downloading is the way it should be... quick. Seriously, if you can get the Neotel WiMax solution, it's just so easy to use.
 
These guys are confusing you bing!

Let me put it simply... NeoFlex gives you approximatly 100Kb/s, which means you will download 1MB in about 10 seconds. This means it will take you roughly 45 minutes to download/upload a 400MB file.

My Neotel WiMax is a 2Mb/s connection and is basically double the speed... I'm getting 250Kb/s on average which means I download 1 MB in about 4 seconds. This means a 400MB file will take roughly 25 minutes to upload/download. Also, with WiMax, the upload and download speeds are virtually the same.

You can get a higher speed WiMax from Neotel (5Mb/s) but I know those are more expensive. However, in my opinion it's worth it because you're getting excellent speeds, brilliant latency and an uncapped connections.

I use my PS3 for gaming, and it works brilliantly with Neotel WiMax.
 
I just called Neotel to enquire about Neotel Wimax. It costs R1500 to install it! Just for installation!!

I asked about Neoflex Data 15GB since it's on their website and they said they no longer offer it. Duh!

My goodness.. Neotel is sounding more and more like a rip-off.

Does anyone have any further suggestions for me? I just saw an ad in the newspapers where I live now for residential internet speeds of 100mbps. It got me depressed about my future in JoBurg.
 
@bing

To avoid confusion, here are a number of articles you can browse explaining why you should stay clear of Neotel:

Article on MyBroadband from Neotel Stating that they dont care for residential consumers:
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/14873-The-Neotel-slap-the-face.html

Threads chock full of complaints about crappy service and endless hassles from MyBroadband members ( and former clients like myself )
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/forumdisplay.php/169-Neotel-NeoConnect-and-NeoFlex

Numerous complaints from Neotel customers posted on HelloPeter.com
http://www.hellopeter.com/search_results.php?search=neotel

I would strongly suggest you look for alternatives besides Neotel. I promise you, you will have hassles with them.

Speed and convenience may be one thing, but quality and customer support is non-existent with these morons.

My experience with Neotel was as follows:

* Constant dropped connections where I had to write my own code to run every 30 minutes to ensure I dont get kicked off
* Horrible speeds ( had a 2.1Mbps connection and my local speedtests would get 0.09Mbps at full signal )
* Online gaming was frustrating as the latencies would spike up from 300ms to 1500ms+ ( Latency is the speed your connection talks to the server and back, in short the games will be very jerky and unplayable)
* Calling customer support is like explaining heart surgery to a diesel mechanic. Their own people dont know what the hell they are doing and you will frequently get "We'll sort it out as soon as possible" meanwhile you have to phone them 7 or 8 times to get it sorted ( after shouting at them )
* Incorrect billing as their billing department is run by McDonalds rejects ( refer to the forum links provided, it even went so far as Neotel handing you over to attorneys for no valid reason )

I \ We strongly advise you to stay far away from Neotel
 
bing said:
I'm relocating to Joburg (Sandton) with my husband. And have just found out that the complex that the company is providing for our residence has no Telkom lines infrastructure. Apparently the contractor messed up at construction time. The building management says they are sorting this out with some new contractors and suggested we use Neotel services instead.

I am a graphics designer and works with an overseas office so I need a pretty stable & fast connection to download and upload graphics files (average 400mb in size). My son plays Starcraft 2, Skypes and is a heavy Youtube user.

My son is devastated with the news above because I had promised him that we would fix in a Telkom line+Mweb ADSL Uncapped connection earlier. But that is not possible now.

The only plan that Neotel has that has unlimited data is Neo Connect Lite 469. Does anyone know the speed for this?

What are my alternatives? Any other service providers that you would recommend?

Thanks alot in advance.

Bing
Click to expand...

I'm based in sandton and for big files I think you'll probably reach around 50 KB/s download speed average.
The speed fluctuates a lot and stops/resumes at intervals.
As for youtube you can't expect to watch a video even at normal quality without it stuttering so it's best to download a video before you watch it.

To upload a 400MB file from neotel will take you long (hours) and you have to monitor it if that's not a problem for you.
 
Okay. I get it. Stay clear of Neotel.

And if Telkom Wimax's max speed is 512kbps, it's not going to work for us. Besides, it was a nightmare communicating with the Telkom call centre staff. I kept getting cut off and I couldn't understand half of what they were mumbling.

The problem is.. what should I get then? What is everyone else using, if they are not using Neotel?
 
bing said:
Okay. I get it. Stay clear of Neotel.

And if Telkom Wimax's max speed is 512kbps, it's not going to work for us. Besides, it was a nightmare communicating with the Telkom call centre staff. I kept getting cut off and I couldn't understand half of what they were mumbling.

The problem is.. what should I get then? What is everyone else using, if they are not using Neotel?
Click to expand...

You could give Cell C a try, or Vodacom, MTN.

Actually, here is a site where you can see pricing and names.

For ADSL:
http://www.hellkom.co.za/isp-prices/3gb-adsl/

For Wireless:
http://www.hellkom.co.za/isp-prices/wireless/

For 3G\HSDPA:
http://www.hellkom.co.za/isp-prices/3g-hsdpa/
 
Just read that Cell C 21.6mbps data bundle is not in JoBurg yet.

Neotel and Screamer Wimax both have initial installation costs of R1500 or more. I really don't want to sink in this money unless it's a last resort.

Telcom Wimax at 512kbps is too slow for my work as I have to upload & download 400mb sized files.

I need at least 10-15GB for work. What other options do I have? Please recommend. I've spent the entire day browsing ISPs and haven't found any that best fit my needs except for Neotel and everyone's been telling me not to go near there!
 
I'm sorry to break it to you, but there is no proper solution for residential internet in this country (besides ADSL).

All of them suffer from at least one fatal flaw, be it speed, latency, price, service, etc, etc.

I used to have a 4mb ADSL connection at my old place, which I absolutely loved - now my new place there are no ports available at my exchange so I have to use 3g which is ridiculously expensive and have been disconnected twice already while typing this.

The bottom line is that wireless internet is not a solution, fixed line internet will always be king.

Your options are:

1. If you are after speed but are willing to pay, then go for 3G.
2. If you don't mind waiting for hours for uploads to finish, but would like your son to still be able to play games, then go WiMax - this is probably also the most reliable option, but is also not available in all areas.
3. Find a new place to live.
4. Upload your files to a flash drive, tie it to a pigeon and hope it lands up where you want it.

Sorry I'm so negative, but I'm sitting in this exact predicament now and I am getting really really annoyed. I also don't have a very big budget, so some other options are just not reasonable.

I hope you come right in your quest for the ultimate connection! If you do, let me know.

Over and out.
 
Agree with timvdwest.

Also its one thing to be price conscious on internet for home use, but for your work/income, you need to understand its going to cost you. I work for an IT company and we have released that you get what you pay for and cutting costs with your ISP will only cut its reliability.

Life is tough here in Afrika

PS We go Lion hunting on Fridays after work and dress code is strictly Khaki. Don't worry about the beers, our native porters carry those :)
 
Thanks everyone.

I am now drifting between going for a 2mbps Neotel Wimax (I know, I know.. NeoFail) and waiting for Cell C to launch 4G connection in JoBurg (does anyone have any indication when this will happen?).

Actually, moving to a different apartment is something I may consider but I'll check it out when we arrive.

My family has never been to South Africa, when my husband informed us of the move, I had read up about South Africa and got really stressed up over the crime rates and our safety. This nightmare with getting internet connection has been a good distraction. I forgot to worry about the crime rates for a few days. Haha..

BTW, at where we live now.. they are launching 150mbps uncapped and unshaped for Residential. It makes me sick.
 
bing said:
Thanks everyone.

I am now drifting between going for a 2mbps Neotel Wimax (I know, I know.. NeoFail) and waiting for Cell C to launch 4G connection in JoBurg (does anyone have any indication when this will happen?).

Actually, moving to a different apartment is something I may consider but I'll check it out when we arrive.

My family has never been to South Africa, when my husband informed us of the move, I had read up about South Africa and got really stressed up over the crime rates and our safety. This nightmare with getting internet connection has been a good distraction. I forgot to worry about the crime rates for a few days. Haha..

BTW, at where we live now.. they are launching 150mbps uncapped and unshaped for Residential. It makes me sick.
Click to expand...


As bad as it sounds, another apartment with ADSL might leave you the happiest. Failing that, if the installation goes well, and there is no reason to call the call centre, you should be fine with Neotel WiMax (the big assumption here is that your apartment will have good coverage). The technology is a LOT more stable than CDMA (Lite / Prime / Flex). I don't know how congested it will be, but I gather that you'd be a lot better off then using Neotel Prime or Neotel Flex. If that's the case, then it might not be that bad an experience for you (apart from dealing with a 2Mbps vs what ur used to).

Just make sure you understand the cancellation policy if you go that route.

There is no release date for CellC's new network in JHB yet from what I hear, so I wouldn't bank on it in the very short term (i'd also wait for other users to test it for a while before running my business off it).

Best of luck.
 
Last edited:
Sorry everyone, I'm back with more questions.

I just found out that there's a lease to the current apartment and no chance of moving till mid of next year. So moving is no longer a hopeful option for now.

I've also been informed by my company that they are unable to subsidise my costs for connection.

Which means that if I go for Neotel WiMax 1 or 2mbps, the installation and monthly costs will hit me pretty hard.

I'm considering Telkom Wimax now because it's half the cost, even with 512kbps unshaped, uncapped ISP.

Is Telkom Wimax going to be a real pain in the ass in terms of speed? I surf the net alot for research as I am a graphics designer. Would it take forever for a website with photos to load? For eg. a site like this one. Does it take forever to load on a 512kbps connection?

Will my son still be able to play Starcraft 2, Skype and watch Youtube videos? He also downloads torrents for America TV series.

Thanks heaps again for your advice.
 
Your income is non of my business, but if it costs you R2K to do your job and it will seriously effect your income stream, perhaps you should reconsider doing something else. Then again, its not uncommon to spend R3K alone on petrol just to commute to work (yup, another expensive thing in the rest of the world) and considering your working from home, your "work expense" is on par.


Back to the uploads, when you get here it might be worth your effort to find a local internet cafe with fast internet. Can be less frustrating to upload via their network than your own.

(EDIT: excuse the poor gramma, under heavy medication this week)
 
bing said:
Sorry everyone, I'm back with more questions.

I just found out that there's a lease to the current apartment and no chance of moving till mid of next year. So moving is no longer a hopeful option for now.

I've also been informed by my company that they are unable to subsidise my costs for connection.

Which means that if I go for Neotel WiMax 1 or 2mbps, the installation and monthly costs will hit me pretty hard.

I'm considering Telkom Wimax now because it's half the cost, even with 512kbps unshaped, uncapped ISP.

Is Telkom Wimax going to be a real pain in the ass in terms of speed? I surf the net alot for research as I am a graphics designer. Would it take forever for a website with photos to load? For eg. a site like this one. Does it take forever to load on a 512kbps connection?

Will my son still be able to play Starcraft 2, Skype and watch Youtube videos? He also downloads torrents for America TV series.

Thanks heaps again for your advice.
Click to expand...

Telkom Wimax 512kbps wont work to do all the above, Even if you plan on downloading, be prepared to put the kettle on and take a nap and mayby go on holiday for the week.

I currently use Neoflex 5G, I have no problems downloading or Browsing or non FPS games, Only sad thing is the Bandwith with the package and the latency to local connections.. i get bout 80 to 150ms

But if they install Telkom lines in my area, then bye bye Neotel and hello 10mb DSL!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X