Network Capacity in Kleinmond

W

will_i_a_m

Active Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Hi,

What procedure does one need to follow to request Vodacom to install more network towers/capacity in an area?

I live in Kleinmond and work from home and have constant slow throughput on Vodacom(3 and 4G). Both of these can range from less than 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps for downloading in a day.

Really frustrated with Vodacom.

Thanks.
 
williamveeden said:
Hi,

What procedure does one need to follow to request Vodacom to install more network towers/capacity in an area?

I live in Kleinmond and work from home and have constant slow throughput on Vodacom(3 and 4G). Both of these can range from less than 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps for downloading in a day.

Really frustrated with Vodacom.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Woah, no MTN Fixed LTE, Fibre etc., my condolences :(

I don't think that'd be a reasonable request for a single person, maybe with their business-grade stuff but that's extremely expensive
 
What's fibre like in the area, because the bottleneck could be on the supply side not the tower.
 
@williamveeden - The most effective method to resolve/request/suggestion any matter with Vodacom and have an reasonable acceptable answer is, namely
  1. Compose a properly constructed Email message to [email protected] clearly stating your request/problem/suggestion.
  2. The Vodacom response should now contain a Service Reference number.
  3. Allow for 7 Business days to receive an response and resolution.
  4. In the event of non-response or you are dissatisfied with their response, compose another Email using your Service Reference and Subject to [email protected] - your Service Ref is important here.
 
Traffic department side has mtn fixed lte and most town has mtn lte, which fixed lte works on also.

You would basically need sign up on an address that has fixed lte coverage then ask them to move it.

Otherwise cellc has pretty good prepaid deals which will soon be roaming on mtn
 
Are there absolutely no alternatives, or are you tied to Vodacom due to contract (or other reasons)?
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

So my situation is that we don't have fiber in the avenues(maybe there is in the main road).
We are dependent on either wireless ISP's and mobile internet. I've been working from Kleinmond for the last year during lockdown.
I have an uncapped 5mbps download and 2mbps upload from a local wireless ISP which works great and runs at a constant 5mbps down(it's not up to). When there's loadshedding I'm dependent on Vodacom. With them I have 2 contracts supplied by employer - 1 normal and 1 for data. I use Vodacom during loadshedding or when I need to download/upload bigger files, such as MS Access and Excel Files, and Vodacom can range anything from 1mbps to 10mbps on 4G.

About two weeks ago my power was off as I went onto solar. Vodacom was down for 2 days while company was busy installing solar. There's only one tower in my area and I live kind of closer to the harbour and had no reception. Really gets frustrating to know that the slow speeds(congestion) is due to there only being 1 tower servicing area.

I've mailed Vodacom and will follow up.

Thanks.
 
Have you tried MTN 4G?

Also make sure you have a router above Cat6 with carrier aggregation, it makes a healthy difference in speed and stability.

Also get an external antenna.
 
@williamveeden have you seen any improvement since your last post?

I just got my flat in the avenues and also noticed the poor VC signal.

Yesterday I did speed tests around the flat and found that my unit was around 7Mbps as it is mountain facing, corner 7th St and 6th Avenue. There are units facing Spar and I got 16Mbps there. My conclusion is that line of sight is crucial in my flat as even 30cm in any direction can make a difference.

Still, no fibre even though I can see the trenches below my balcony.

I will also test my new router this weekend to see how that improves - went for the TP-Link MR-200. If it fails to give me my target of 10Mbps, then I will send it back for the MR-600. Using the 300GB+300GB from VC. The current device is an old ZTE LTE Mifi device.
 
So LTE is a huge problem in Kleinmond. Last night my MR-200 router was only getting 1Mbps at 50% signal and then Vodacom went dead from midnight till 9am. Could not make phone calls.

I did a lot of tests and the problem is congestion on VC tower.

This evening I'm getting 8-10Mbps. Kids happy on their devices streaming & playing games. The MR200 router is good enough for my needs.

Speedtest is while my daughter is streaming at 1080p.

Screenshot_20220108-204259.png

I will see how the signal holds the coming months, if I continue to experience continuous problems then I'm going to install Telkom fibre.
 
My inlaws got a Telkom sim with prepaid data and it works like a dream. MTN is very poor just as you get into town from Betties Bay. No fiber option but think you may still get Adsl.
 
D said:
Didn't some of the base stations (or towers) in that area burn down today?
Click to expand...
Actually signal has been better since the fire. It was local WiFi company who lost some equipment.

I think it's actually just capacity on the network more than interference from poorly installed WiFi equipment.
 
Hi @Other Pineapple Smurf

I see Telkom did install fibre at the BJ Pieterse building but I don't know what needs to done to actually get it installed in a flat.
Yes, the Vodacom reception in Kleinmond is pathetic. I've reported it before, had a VC technician at my house and said they've increased the capacity on the tower. Speeds did improve for about a week. I think there are three VC towers in Kleinmond. The one where you connect to is close to the harbour. This tower gets fed wirelessly from Hawston - and that's exactly the problem. Let's hope they link it up to fibre since Openserve just installed it.

Otherwise - I have been tempted to try Telkom. MTN is also useless in my part of town.
 
There has been a huge improvement in Vodacom speeds the past few weeks now. We are noticing that on newer devices we are getting perfect speeds, older hardware is still bad.


I'm using my TabS7+ to hotspot on my 300GB VC contract without any degradation issues this long weekend. I will be buying a quality LTE modem now.

Chilled the whole of yesterday watching Netflix.


Screenshot_20220416-114823_Chrome.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X