New wisp's

No offence taken...

I was directed here by a new customer because of the apparently vague information available about Web Intact. I have no direct affiation to the company, and have just started work as an outside contractor. I care about what I do, and I'm trying to answer as honestly as I can.

I have nothing to do with marketing or sales, and am purely technical. I am merely commenting here as an 'insider' if you will, trying to give you accurate information. As soon as I have hard and fast info for you, I'll post it here with pleasure.

About the 'no wait' comment - you are right. I can't guarantee anyone who applies will not have to wait, but if there is coverage in your area (there will soon be maps on the website) it will be a couple of days for a connection, and that's for sure. The installation teams are efficient, and I have seen that the waiting period from order to installation is no more than about 3 days.

All comments I am noting, and will take suggestions over to the 'powers that be', so keep them coming, please. My team believes strongly in 'the customer is always right' and you can be sure we'll be enforcing it to the T...

As I said, as soon as I can enlighten you on any questions, I will.
 
Still, the fact remains that Wireless ISP's in this country (other than WBS and Sentech) are illegal.
I wouldn't pay money to anyone I couldn't trust.
And I dont trust anyone that operates an illegal business so openly.
 
daffy said:
Still, the fact remains that Wireless ISP's in this country (other than WBS and Sentech) are illegal.
I wouldn't pay money to anyone I couldn't trust.
And I dont trust anyone that operates an illegal business so openly.
Click to expand...
A WISP with a VANS licence + frequency licence using approved equipment outside the ISM bands?

Could go either way depending on legality of self-provision for VANS - at the moment this is an open question.
 
To get a frequency, you've gotta have big cash. No-one is going to risk that amount of money on something that may or may not be allowed to operate.

The only thing that makes this even remotely possible is the prospect that VANS will be allowed to self provision. And after Ivy's January 31 oops-thats-not-what-we-meant speach, It doesn't look very likely either.
 
WEbintact I agree with Clipse. Stop talking to us like we are a bunch of morons!
Where are your towers and will you allow me to measure the EIRP
Effective Isotropic radiated power levesl which should be no more than 100mw ala Icasa or 200mw according to the UK regulator? Where do you get your bandwidth. ?
Clearly the uncapped dsl guys are 'baiting' people with low pings only to let them discover that the post 3gig part is a satellite uplink. Give us some strait answers please? Are you using 2.4 or 5ghz ?
 
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Capt Wifi - I apologise for offending you, I'm new here and have no idea who's who in the zoo.

Right - here's some details:

Originally Posted by daffy
Still, the fact remains that Wireless ISP's in this country (other than WBS and Sentech) are illegal.
I wouldn't pay money to anyone I couldn't trust.
And I dont trust anyone that operates an illegal business so openly.
Click to expand...

Daffy - Web Intact is a licenced operation. We have a VANS licence, and use type-approved equipment in the 2.4 Ghz band. We visit ICASA once a month, and they inspect our sites regularly. We have a long-standing relationship with them, and regularly obtain frequency licences for two-way radio operation (not for Web Intact). Agreed - there is a grey area in Section 40 of the Communications Act dealing with self-provision, but we operate well within those boundaries. There is no chance of Web Intact being closed down for non-compliance, and I doubt whether the act will be changed to anything less than what it currently is.
Have a read of this opinion of the act by Nicci Ferguson Attornies & Conveyancers:
http://www.nicciferguson.com/journalentry.q?journalId=101

Capt Wifi - You may measure the ERP with pleasure. We use, as I said, ICASA approved equipment with power output levels of 100mW, and some of the links use gain antennas. Bandwidth is supplied both by Telkom and satellite links - obviously, otherwise we would be operating in the 'grey area' and stand to be deemed illegal...

The areas that we currently have coverage in are: ('towers')
Alberton
JHB central
Observatory
Dawnview
Northcliff
Flora Gardens
Sandton
Lonehill
Kyalami
Midrand
Centurion
Ras Louw
Waterkloof Ridge
Klapperkop
Hillinsberg
Wonderboom
Vereeniging
Potchefstroom
Middelburg
Pietersburg
Port Elizabeth (limited)
Cape Town (limited)

We are rolling out coverage at a target rate of one new site per day, and so far this is going well.

Subscription Prices:
Home user - Starting at R350, capped at 4 Gb, port restrictions in place unless specifically requested.
No contract - payments in advance by debit order with one month's notice.
Average speed of 128 kbps, speeds up to 2 Mbps depending on network congestion.

Business User - Starting at R550, no cap, port restrictions in place unless specifically requested.
No contract - payments in advance by debit order with one month's notice.

Email address/es are included, as is ISP.

Installation/Purchase Prices:
Depends on coverage in your area - from about R600 to R2200. Distance from access point is a determining factor, and antenna requirements dictate the installation cost.

Hope this helps
 
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Web Intact.....why is durban left out the equation again......any idea when we will be getting coverage here?????
 
Not left out... just not there in force yet.

Actually, I think there is one access point there - to be expanded of course. I'll confirm that for you this week.

We're concentraing on upgrading and expanding Gauteng at the moment, and will be moving to the other major areas in due course. I can't give you a time frame yet, but will as soon as we have a plan of action.
 
Thanks......if you would be kind enough to let me know what area that access point covers. Very hacked off with iburst at the moment and am dying to jump ship....
 
@Web Intact
What is your coverage area in Cape Town? Does it include the Somerset West and Stellenbosch area?
What ports are restricted and how?
Is p2p allowed?
What happens to the equipment when I decide to cancel? Do I keep it?

Thanks for any answers
 
sparklehorse said:
@Web Intact
What is your coverage area in Cape Town? Does it include the Somerset West and Stellenbosch area?
What ports are restricted and how?
Is p2p allowed?
What happens to the equipment when I decide to cancel? Do I keep it?

Thanks for any answers
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Cape Town at the moment is very limited. It does not include the areas you mentioned, and we will be covering Cape Town city before we get out into the smaller towns. As I mentioned before, I can't give you a timeline yet, but as soon as we roll out in new areas I will post the news here.

For a basic subscription, only http, SMTP & POP3 ports are open. Any others are by request/arrangement. P2P is not allowed by default, but can be arranged.

The equipment remains yours when the subscription is cancelled - the installation fee includes equipment purchase.
Rental options may be offered in future, but that will mean higher monthly subscriptions and most likely a contract (but don't quote me here).

caspa - hopefully will have the info on Durban for you later today...
btw - what kind of service speed & reliability are you getting from iBurst now?
Our tests are showing an average of 128 during peak times, and I'm getting up to 1.8Mbps in evenings and weekends, but I am close to an Access Point...
And that's not on a big empty network either - we install an AP and sell people onto it while we install the next, and so on. It's going to be going at a good rate over the next few months, and already we're setting up distributers and technicians from Louis Trichardt to Cape Town. Keep checking in, and I'll keep you updated.

/out
 
Coverage

Web Intact said:
The areas that we currently have coverage in are: ('towers')

Observatory

Cape Town (limited)
Click to expand...

Is This Observatory Capetown, and what other areas in cape town do u cover e.g. Saltriver Newlands?
 
No, this is Observatory Johannesburg.

Cape Town only has a couple of AP's, so is not yet widely available there. Please see my previous post - for the moment, take it as no coverage until further notice.

Thanks
 
article in the Financial Mail : WISPS DISMISS ICASA'S THREATS by Duncan McLeod
My comments :
David Jarvis from Uninet and Mr. Armstrong from
www.wavestream.co.za talks the biggest load of hubris, but very
effective in allaying the fears of their subscribers.
Quote: “.... Jarvis denies that he does not have a VANS license, he has one” This statement is amazing for it's boldness. You are either pregnant or you are not. You are either dead or alive. You either have a VANS license or you don't. This is what is known in marketing as the art of Bull dusting.
If they do have one, then simply provide the proof.
And I just love this one from Armstrong :”.... we applied for a VANS license” . A few months ago Die Beeld had an article on Wavestream
wireless service with Armstrong uttering the following poppy-cock: “ .... we are in discussions with Icasa” He probably had
an effigy of Andries Matthysen and had a fantasy interaction with it like a child talking to it's doll. The FM article, the Beeld article are
cleverly crafted marketing pitches and very well done. Nowhere for example was Lee Ann Casey mentioned or her direct land line given so we could double check the story.
So there you have it to setup a 'stealth' community fronting company :
-- Simply claim you have a VANS license ! Who would actually ask for proof?
-- You applied for a license. I won't argue that could be true or not who knows, who cares.
-- We are in negotiations or 'discussions' . With whom? And what is his direct land line ?
And don't use the word fronting.
 
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Speaking of measuring EIRP...
What is the legal limits on output levels? What does it mean when they say the equipment is ICASA approved? (If that has any meaning at all ;)
 
100mW

What does it mean when they say the equipment is ICASA approved? (If that has any meaning at all

you said it, it doesn't have much meaning except that ICASA approved it.

just like i approved the tattoo on my arse that says "telkom kiss here"
 
"Internet Solutions MD Angus MacRobert says he is disappointed by the minister's refusal to allow VANS to self-provision ...."
Ofcourse he is and our Wisp's are jumping for joy. The Convergence Bill will simply perpetuate the legal situation of the Act 1996, WebIntact and other Wisp's will continue to build market share knowing that IS has been eliminated from their turf , because Didata as a JSE listed company needs legal clarity. The Wisps and community fronting companies laying DSLAM ADSL2+ copper wire to their neighbours will forever operate in a legal gray area. Telkom low latency ADSL are used to provide VOIP for the houses. One can use a combination of satellite and ADSL.
http://www.intersatafrica.com/xstream.html
http://www.satsig.net/ivsat-africa.htm
http://www.satsig.net/constellation-networks.htm
http://www.constellationnetcorp.com/equipment.htm
http://www.globaltt.com/
http://www.gb-solution.com/
75 pounds for home user uplink/month
http://www.bentleywalker.net/
mmtelecom has a Wimax solution for you to setup your own Wisp
http://www.mmtelcom.com/
Bcsatellite prices start at 95 Euro/month. $1200 for a 1meg link
http://www.bcsatellite.net/
http://www.newerasystems.net
Many of these satellite providers provide VOIP services.

Bentlywalker: 2048k line/ $1300/month. Thus R8450/month
Contention ratio 10:1. Telkom sells a 64k internt link for R8000
Even with 10 people on at the same time, you still have 204k, which is
3 times cheaper than a Telkom leased line at worst possible contention.
Bently Entry level 512k/ $247/month

There are strong legal arguments that I have a constitutional right to use the air spectrum/copper wire or ISM bands to talk to my neighbour across our property boundary.Forbidding me violates my freedom of speach and property rights. If a criminal charge were to be brought against the fronting company's
director we could challenge it all the way to the Constitutional court. The danger for Telkom is the media circus such a trial would generate.
Should the Const. rule in our favour we would have legal clarity that I can lay
ADSL2+ copper wire to the next house - building thousands of telephone exchanges. This is a legal clarity our ISP's would rather not have, so I don't
see anybody stupid enough to press for criminal charges agains a Wisp.

Telecoms lawyers thrive on keeping Wisps out of trouble with Icasa, who's
highsites can easily be targeted. It is impossible to target 1000 copper wire connected houses, nobody would even have to know which house has the DSLAM server. My point is that there are strong vested interests; Wisps, Telkom, Dstv, Telecoms lawyers, IS, Mweb to discourage houses from setting up their own DSLAM telephone exchanges, linked to international satellite companies. Our local ISP's would be completely eliminated from the revenue stream and thus Telecoms lawyers as well.

Telkom will soon enforce a bandwidth cap taking us back to the telecoms darkages. The only viable alternative are these international satellite companies and houses interconnecting via
www.paradyne.com DSLAM, www.qorvus.com mesh or
Jawug linksys WRT54g routers. See http://www.wrt54g.com
http://www.sveasoft.com

It is relativly trivial to confiscate a Wisp highsite, but impossible to cofiscate a community DSLAM server. No judge will issue a summons that 1000 houses must be searched for a Legal piece of computer equipment or that gardens must be dug up to confiscate legal copper wire and Icasa wont ask for such an order. See http://icasa.blogspot.com


Landlords can become their very own mini-ISP to their tennants by interconnecting all the flats via copper wire to a DSLAM server and linking
the DSLAM server to a satellite backhaul. Wireless gear is not the solution to do this technically/cost wise.

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2005/0505201041.asp?A=CEL&S=Cellular&O=FPT
says that oppertunity is 'lost with the Convergence Bill'
Lets clarify that statement: The oppertunity is lost for Mweb and IS
who need legal clarity and don't have any satellites of their own but resel
Telkom solutions. For the opensource commons nothing is lost since we
have 10+ satellites above our heads with a direct link to Europe.
This constant hammering of Telkom is not contributing to the solution.
The solution is in your hands to walk over to your neighbour and lay a twisted
pair copper cable down his perimeter. We need a change in our mindset.
See my other posts for more details on DSLAM servers.
 
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