No Telkom lines in my new Complex

[Napalm2880]

I've just purchased a new house in a complex in Kengies (near Fourways, JHB) and recently found out that I'm unable to get a Telkom voice line. I've heard mixed stories of "The cables were stolen" and "It's a new area so Telkom are still busy installing infrastructure - I've even got a project no.". But for now I'm without internet access.

I used to have a 4GB uncapped ADSL line with Afrihost.
I use +-100GB a month.
I'm looking for a reasonably low latency connection.

What are my options?

 

[SideWinder]

Napalm,

Lot of people say I'm brave, but I have Neotel LTE solution @ 4 Mbps, and its bulletproof ito downloads at full speed any time day or night, netflix streaming and 1/2 serious gamers. Latency (local) is 20-22 mS. The coverage maps on Neotels www is crappy, else try schleppy call centre, but installation usually happens in a couple of days, provided you "pass" coverage and other legal requirements. 2 year contract though.

 

[Napalm2880]

Napalm,

Lot of people say I'm brave, but I have Neotel LTE solution @ 4 Mbps, and its bulletproof ito downloads at full speed any time day or night, netflix streaming and 1/2 serious gamers. Latency (local) is 20-22 mS. The coverage maps on Neotels www is crappy, else try schleppy call centre, but installation usually happens in a couple of days, provided you "pass" coverage and other legal requirements. 2 year contract though.

I'm desperate and that seems like a viable solution despite the R999 price-tag. I move in this coming weekend and don't have internet

How does one go about getting a signal test? Would they send someone out to test?

 

[SideWinder]

No, First you need to check if you're covered. PS, you need to wait for the coverage maps to load. the voice and data (CDMA) maps load fast, but not the LTE/Wimax ones. If you are in the Orange zone, then call service desk and order service. Be sure to mention you want LTE service, although the wimax is exactly the same. Outdoor unit antenna is a lot bigger, and being in a complex you want the unit to be as unobtrusive as possible. Body Corp's are sometimes sticky about these things.

Once you've passed credit vetting/rica/fica etc. they will sign you up. Then installer will make appointment. Once he arrives, he will check the signal strength. If OK, he will proceed with the installation. Be prepared to show him the best way you want to route the Eth. cable from the roof, plus think where you want the indoor router to be located, like a study/near a plug. If you don't have a route/trunking in place, he's going to drill/"maak 'n plan", so better be prepared!. If not, case closed and he leaves. No further action required.

But I agree, sometimes you can be on the fringe, and then it helps to know before hand. My installer used a dodgy ATEL unit, and i insisted he use the actual unit he was planning to use for the installation, instead of his own test unit.

Hope this helps.

 

[Napalm2880]

Thanks SideWinder. That's really helpful. I seem to be in a good coverage area.

It's a 2yr contract. Is there any recourse if the service degrades over time?

 

[SideWinder]

I 've had my contract since Sept last year, and no degradation so far. One of my mates has had it from Sept 2013, and he's a Netflix hugger, no problems. Hope they monitor each sector to see when to build new towers, as they have added a few towers in Pta/Jhb during Nov last year, and i swung the antenna to the new tower - with better signal strength - myself. Didn't need to call in or do any router mods, it just worked. Was nothing wrong with the previous tower, was just playing around. Even put in a VC and MTN LTE SIM (into the Neotel supplied Router, and connected as well, but data is too expensive/capped, so opted for Neotel. Don't want OOB shock.

If the service doesn't perform to what you have ordered most of the time, I would cancel.

 

[lived666]

have a look here, wireless is the way to go, who needs adsl or 3g anymore:
http://www.wapa.org.za/coverage/request/

 

[SideWinder]

I agreed, go wireless, but only for the last mile. i.e. from tower to you. Get the technology that's the best and available worldwide. At this moment, that is 4G, aka LTE. Obvious, if you have good coverage and packages from operators, else you may just be frustrated.

WAPA has a place, may if you live in Bapsfontein with Edge from a MNO with 1G cap per month and you need/want to start using Netflix, SS app. etc.