Neotel VS Telkom

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jeanres

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What we need is.

1. Usage Tracker. Neotel 0 – Telkom 1
2. Stable / Fast / Reliable Internet. Neotel 0 – Telkom 2
3. Expand Capacity on current towers so that congestion is not a factor. Neotel 0 – Telkom 3 (Telkom does not have congestion)
4. Uncapped NeoFlex for less than prime unlimited. N/A
5. Refunds for downtime. N/A
6. Hard Capping of connections. Neotel 0 – Telkom 4
7. Top up option via web front end. Neotel 0 – Telkom 5
8. Cheap / Free local bandwidth. Neotel 0 – Telkom 6
9. Static IP’s as added extra. Neotel 0 – Telkom 7
10. Lower latency on connections, Allowing us to do some gamming. Neotel 0 – Telkom 8

Since I started using Neotel my connection has degraded from super awesome to seriously crap, to the point that I have actually done some leg work on ADSL and weighed up the pros and cons.

As you can see 4MB ADSL + 5GB International + 30GB Local bandwidth is R 554,00 per month, The NeoFlex offering is R 499,00 per month which does not even come close to the speed of 4MB ADSL nor does it have local bandwidth.

In my opinion 4MB ADSL + 5 GB International + 30 GB Local bandwidth is more bang for your buck, less headaches. We need constant improvement and from what we have seen nothing much has improved. If you cannot do these basic tasks then I am sorry but Neotel will become the next Sentech, and Telkom will reign supreme again.

I also do think that we need to see change and not just hear about it. For me Neotel is like a ship that has started to sink.

We also do need explanations for downtime, not just scheduled downtime but unscheduled as well. It’s hard to stay confident when the service really is up to crap.
 
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Don't forget to factor in the compulsory voice line rental of R130 in your cost for 4MB ADSL. But I agree, Telkom is in a different league compared to most of these wireless providers. There are a lot of things you can say about Telkom, but they still offer the most stable internet connection out of anyone in SA.

Wasn't Neotel going to rescue us from the great satan Telkom? How many years later and Neotel has yet to provide a single fixed line to a residential property. Instead they are trying to compete in the wireless arena where they are being shown up for the amateurs that they are.
 
Yeah but Flex + Lite phone is already 99 for voice. So I will rather pay R 31 more for a decent service
 
Telkom is a FIXED line operator. Sure no exscuse for the shoddy service, but you can't compare wireless to fixed line operator. With wireless there are too many variables that influence quality of service in terms of the data connections - weather for example. Speeds for an underground cable aren't affected by cloudy weather. As for the comparison to service 100% maybe they started trying to run when they couldnt walk yet.
 
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Neotel is for people like me that live on the side of hills where Telkom doesnt give a @*#$(& about and refuses to lay copper. Flatly refuse. No reason, just "No".

Much as I hate it, Neotel is the only viable internet option for me. That and the fact I do 40gigs a month for only 1K...
 
M0nk3yl0v3r said:
Telkom is a FIXED line operator. ... but you can't compare wireless to fixed line operator.
Click to expand...

NEOTEL were meant to be a FIXED line operator as well. That's why they initially got a licence and were known as the SNO (Second Network Operator).
 
I think I am going to take the plunge and cancel and move to DSL.

If you think about it. whats going to happen when they upgrade speeds on their network? The devices Neotel offer only supports max 3.1MB/s
 
M0nk3yl0v3r said:
Telkom is a FIXED line operator. Sure no exscuse for the shoddy service, but you can't compare wireless to fixed line operator. With wireless there are too many variables that influence quality of service in terms of the data connections - weather for example. Speeds for an underground cable aren't affected by cloudy weather. As for the comparison to service 100% maybe they started trying to run when they couldnt walk yet.
Click to expand...

Yes we can compare them, and we must. Neotel came into being to compete with Telkom NOT with Vodacom/MTN . It was Neotel's OWN "cost saving" choice to do this "last mile wireless" to your house instead of cables.

You must also keep in mind, Neotel is not truly mobile. You can't move your modem out of your specific region-code [i.e. i can't go from Pta to Johburg] without doing a "permanent transfer". You get a 021/011 etc number, which implies "fixed" .

So while people think it is all nice to not have a cable, Neotel's solution STILL restrict you pretty much the same way a Telkom cable does. The only party that really benefits from this is Neotel, not the consumer, because cable still remains better than wireless. You might get your service installed faster than with Telkom, but that's it. In the long run you're still better off getting a Telkom line, because wireless operators does not seem to be playing ball...when last did we see price drops in the HSDPA/3G area?

Most people might pick Neotel because of coverage issues (i.e. not being able to get a Telkom line or temporary location) , but ultimately i'd say Telkom still have more coverage than Neotel...with cables.

Another thing to add:

Telkom ISP : R60 p/GB , Neotel ISP : R80 p/GB : Neotel 0 , Telkom 10 .

Scary part Telkom ISP is the most expensive ADSL ISP out there...


EDIT: In fact i was lying about the mobility, you can move your Telkom Modem anywhere in this country and plug it into any active ADSL line and use your own ISP account on that line without having to do any transfer/paperwork. I did it this holiday, packed my ADSL router, plugged it in at the parents , no issues. You can't do the same with Neotel....
 
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Lets not forget ... 24 month contract...

Also, the disconnections. How many times per day does a Telkom ADSL disconnect? I remember, in 2005, there was a stretch of about 2 weeks where my Vodacom 3G card disconnected in Irene and the nice FAE/data chief came and sorted it out. The problem is the disconnections just seem to go worse.
 
Sorry , but a lot of problems on Neotel are on their backbone network and not on the "Last Mile" portion.

How does Neotel explain that one day you have full signal, after a 2 hour downtime window" you have 1/no signal. That is not a last mile issue. It is an issue where the techs are allowed to go and just somme change the antennae direction.

Neotel initially said that they WILL NOT sign up anyone unless they are in a excellent signal are, but we see tons of complaints about poor signal. Again this is not a last mile issue, but rather a pathetically designed coverage map. And I can recall comments from Neotel in the past where they said they were being conservative in their maps.

90% on Neotels problems are not related to the technologies involved, but rather the piss poor implementation of that technology as well as the non existant support processors behind them.


This can be shown by the 1.5MB download speeds that some people sometimes get that then tail down to non existant service. When it was working I was getting a very respectable ping and latency as well as good download speeds. Other days the modem was a good doorstopper.

So dont blame the technology. The technology is good.
 
@VMS Neotel must die! And guess what? No show from the Neotel Rep. Because this is not going to get sorted in the next month. People will come to the 2010 world cup and laugh at Neotel and we will still be trying to get stable / fast internet from them.
 
@Gary Waterworth

I agree fully. But why do we need to pay for crappy service levels?
 
@Gary

I think Neotel is true to their word. One day they point the antenna east, sign up all those people and the next day they point west and sign up those as well. As long as you qualify all it OK, ne'? Sarcasm is so lekker.

Well, I get full signal, always (unless they are down). My best RSSI is 70. My Neotel Lite used to work perfectly, one of the reasons why I thought Flex would work as well. The Lite internet worked out of the box. Now I am lucky if I can make a 3 minute call. Back to cellphones for us. So that mandatory Telkom phone line seems pretty good right now.

And what happened to the R25 rebate, per month, on the Lite 99 package? They bill me for every little thing. Now I am not going to get petty about R25, but if they are prepared to screw me over on that then why the hell must they provide proper service of Flex as well. On Flex the sales pitch was about better priority than Prime (although they do not have shaping technology). Prime actually works faster here (download) than Flex. Flex kicks butt (well relatively) with upload at about 3 times Prime's speed, but that is still only 50 to 60 kbytes/s.

The idea behind fixed wireless is that it looks like wire as your router/modem probably sits in the same spot. So once it works only bad weather or some obstruction will influence the signal. But it appears like they only have one antenna per area and that they are tweaking it for their priviledged clients (or those who moans the most). One little change then throws hundreds of other people off, requiring new antenna positions etc... (if that even helps).

Well, someone can steal Telkom's cable. It has happened many times before. My first ADSL line was so dodgy that I battled to get 50% QOS. My line was crossed with another house and it took 6 months for them to find the problem. But still it worked. Looking back that dodgy connection gave much better service than Neotel.

Jeanres, you forgot call center. I am still waiting for my site visit. Remember my call was escalated. The call was placed at end of October and they would respond to it within 2 weeks. How many of you have calls like that in place and you are anxiously waiting for the techies to rock up at your door?

So my comparison is that Neotel is a gimmick camera, a Mattel Barbie Cam, mik en druk, with serious megapixel promises on a 3x3mm sensor, while Telkom is a SLR with 35x25mm sensor. With what Neotel has, at the moment, there is no way that they can deliver. Yes, Telkom can still screw up but boy, when it works then it is a wonderful service.

I had to reconnect to be able to be able to send this post. They need to rename the company to "NeoDisco", because nobody disconnects so many times per day as NeoDisco... ;-)
 
@VMS I doubt neotel will ever become a real contender. I think Sentech V2 here we come, or telkom created neotel to show how awesome telkom really is :)
 
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