OpenWeb ADSL Feedback Thread (Pt2)

As I previously pointed out, they are not an ISP, they are a bulk reseller. Given this, I'm more interested in the rules and regulations governing resellers, in that, does this the same rules that apply to Tier1/2 provider apply to them? If not, who does one take issues up with?

Guz

I see. So it could possibly be a different set of rules being played? I think that this seemingly simple - and mostly overlooked - fact is probably the explanation and reason for some of the more 'thorny' questions on this forum.

If it truly is the case, I don't think OW or it's representatives will be answering your questions anytime soon :(
 
"Hello, I would like to cancel my account with Openweb. My OW number is {OWNumber} and my account email is {accountEmail}. Please forward me a reference number to confirm receipt of the request. Thanks"

Haha, that's a great template thanks!

Just don't want a situation whereby I email them to cancel, then a find out it didn't get cancelled because they needed xyz (ID/Bank statement/etc). Then it's comes the 25th and my account can only get cancelled at the end of June.

I deal with insurance companies all the time so I know how they look to find any technicality to prolong payment/cancellations...

For good measure CC admin-, support- and [email protected]. Then you have covered all the official communication possibilities.
 
Cancelled last night. Got a reply this morning, with a reference number, saying they're still busy reviewing my cancellation????

Mr Beep promised that Openweb will not go backwards after all the Mweb customers came running to them.... I guess he was wrong :-(

I'm currently using my 3G data as I find that more useful during business hours.
 
Cancelled last night. Got a reply this morning, with a reference number, saying they're still busy reviewing my cancellation????

Mr Beep promised that Openweb will not go backwards after all the Mweb customers came running to them.... I guess he was wrong :-(

I'm currently using my 3G data as I find that more useful during business hours.

Please post the email where they state they're "reviewing" the cancellation, be sure to remove all personal details from it.
 
Cancelled last night. Got a reply this morning, with a reference number, saying they're still busy reviewing my cancellation????

Mr Beep promised that Openweb will not go backwards after all the Mweb customers came running to them.... I guess he was wrong :-(

I'm currently using my 3G data as I find that more useful during business hours.

According to their terms and conditions, as soon as you receive a cancellation reference number, it has been cancelled. So you've got that going for you at least.

Cancellations dept. gonna be very busy the next couple days. Sad thing is, it is people who have been with them for years and years. Also people using Silver, Standard and Gold accounts. So it is gonna be a heavy blow on income for them. Pity, I just loved OpenWeb before, but there's time where you have to let a loved one go.

Just leave already. I hate you. *Chases OpenWeb into the forest. Gets back into car. Cries a bit, reminiscing about good old times we've shared. Reaches for the door handle to chase after OpenWeb. Thinks for a second about all the bad times lately. Starts car and drives off. The End*
 
1) How on earth is the above scenario possible? Please explain it to me in the most technical way you can because I am at an actual loss. 6 different IP's from different parts of the country connecting to my account throughout the same 24 hour period? :O

Each time your line disconnects you are assigned a different IP.

However, if you have picked up usage or any information on a tool other than an OpenWeb monitoring tool, it will not be accurate. By default we do not log usage stats on our uncapped accounts.

I believe this issue has been discussed in great detail in the past. Herewith a recap:

* We run our own network capacity powered by our first tier supplier.
* There are very few accounts left that use the standard 'resell' model
* We do not share accounts. We share capacity.
* We pay for capacity. Therefore, sharing accounts on purpose would be pointless
* We do not log usage stats by default. If you would like your stats logged, kindly email [email protected] so that it can be activated
* Account theft is a reality. All ISP's suffer from this. We suggest you request regular password changes on your account to prevent this from happening. Also please keep the firmware in your router updated.


2)a) Openweb is not listed on this page... http://ispa.org.za/membership/list-of-members/
Is OW a member or not a member of the Internet Service Providers' Assocation?

We are not a member of any third party organization.

b) If not, can you comment on this?

We have not seen any direct benefit to becoming a member of any third party organization yet.

Guys, those thinking of terminating with OW, remember their calendar months notification policy... submit your cancellation request before the 25th otherwise you're locked in for another 2 months!

I'm finding this conspiracy stuff very interesting and find cableguy's silence deafening.

According to userstats.adsl.saix.net I have used almost 500GB on my connection this month! Well well well, according to my router's internal monitoring software, I've done just over 120GB. How bizarre.

The account was given to me my OW support in March after I complained again about crappy speeds. Looks like the account has been active since November last year! Furthermore, there are times when there have been up to 6 sessions active at one time. Strangely enough, these days correspond to my days of lowest throughput looking at my own personal stats and times when I felt the "shaper" the hardest.

Openweb - to a casual observer, this makes your business practice shady to say the least.

Cableguy - 2 questions.

1) How on earth is the above scenario possible? Please explain it to me in the most technical way you can because I am at an actual loss. 6 different IP's from different parts of the country connecting to my account throughout the same 24 hour period? :O

2)a) Openweb is not listed on this page... http://ispa.org.za/membership/list-of-members/
Is OW a member or not a member of the Internet Service Providers' Assocation?
b) If not, can you comment on this?
 
@ cableguy.

Please can you look into the following for me.
I have also been shaped into the ground. This includes almost no browsing during the and slower downloads that usual during night times. I thought that maybe I had been throttled due to reaching some sort of download limit or something (hence I asked how/where I can monitor/see my usage)
Looking through the results at saix.net, it was apparent that I am not the only one connecting to my Open Web account. I did a test and signed up for a free AXXESS account, which I have been using from Sunday night, just before midnight.
You can clearly see here: http://imgur.com/E4KaxIg that whoever Ip 196.215.29.83 belongs to, is very happily\and has been for a while, downloading on the same account as myself.
You can also see that that ip is using up way more bandwidth that I do.

Some questions if you don't mind:
How is it possible for another user to have the same account as myself ?
Am I being shaped/throttled/punished for the excessive use on "my" account, as a result of the other user's download/browsing habits ?

Thanks.

Firstly
I would like to thank Leon/Zelda for the quick response in sorting me out this afternoon.:)
15 minutes after I sent them the same message, I was moved to an alternate routing account, which I immediately checked with the saix site. All clean, no usage or any history on the new account.
Thank you guys, I appreciate the quick resolution.:)

Will only be able to test the speeds when I get home tonight, though.

In response to my questions about the stats I sent from saix, Leon responded as follows
"This usage seems like it is from a third party tool?

By default we do not log usage on uncapped accounts, therefore any usage gathered from anywhere other than the OpenWeb CP will not be accurate or endorsed by OpenWeb."

They also enabled logging on my account, so I should be able to see if there are any more discrepancies.

Dasy.
et
 
For what its worth...
Its 5:24pm
All of a sudden my download speeds increased 2 minutes ago.
I have two videos I have recorded of the shaping. The last video recorded at 5:20 pm showing how a Linux distro with crap-loads of seeders is throttled to 26 kbyte/sec.

Now as I write this... my speed is 285kbit/sec. NOTHING HAS CHANGED, NO REBOOT, NO ADSL RECONNECT, NADA!

I have hard proof now that around 5pm the shaper gets relaxed.
So who is the liar now?

This is going to YouTube later when I get a gap.
 
I'll let others bother with cableguy's post, I won't be.

In response to my questions about the stats I sent from saix, Leon responded as follows
"This usage seems like it is from a third party tool?

By default we do not log usage on uncapped accounts, therefore any usage gathered from anywhere other than the OpenWeb CP will not be accurate or endorsed by OpenWeb."

Hogwash, we've proven many times it's as accurate as it comes.

This isn't the point though, the point is account sharing.
 
1) How on earth is the above scenario possible? Please explain it to me in the most technical way you can because I am at an actual loss. 6 different IP's from different parts of the country connecting to my account throughout the same 24 hour period? :O

Each time your line disconnects you are assigned a different IP.

However, if you have picked up usage or any information on a tool other than an OpenWeb monitoring tool, it will not be accurate. By default we do not log usage stats on our uncapped accounts.

I believe this issue has been discussed in great detail in the past. Herewith a recap:

* We run our own network capacity powered by our first tier supplier.
* There are very few accounts left that use the standard 'resell' model
* We do not share accounts. We share capacity.
* We pay for capacity. Therefore, sharing accounts on purpose would be pointless
* We do not log usage stats by default. If you would like your stats logged, kindly email [email protected] so that it can be activated
* Account theft is a reality. All ISP's suffer from this. We suggest you request regular password changes on your account to prevent this from happening. Also please keep the firmware in your router updated.


2)a) Openweb is not listed on this page... http://ispa.org.za/membership/list-of-members/
Is OW a member or not a member of the Internet Service Providers' Assocation?

We are not a member of any third party organization.

b) If not, can you comment on this?

We have not seen any direct benefit to becoming a member of any third party organization yet.

Thanks for your response.

My router monitors my internet usage reliably, down to the byte. I don't use any third party software to measure my internet usage and decline the offer to have OW monitor my bandwidth usage. The numbers on userstats just don't add up and I'm asking you to explain that discrepancy. Have you considered the fact that there may be something wrong with your OW monitoring tool?

WRT passwords, the PW you have supplied me for my current account is 4 related digits, it is totally insecure. Why can I not choose my own password? That is ludicrous.

And there are numerous benefits to joining the ISPA, if you in fact are an ISP and not a bulk reseller as alleged by another user. It provides a legal statutory framework to operate in, that protects both the providers and the consumers. It appears all bar none of your competitors are members so why be so avoidant? Saying, "We don't see the point," is not constructive - it implies to your customers that you are less concerned about their rights than what you claim.

I doubt there are many among us who would intentionally go and see a medical doctor, psychologist or physiotherapist that is not registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa? Or even worse refuses to join because they don't see the point. The HPCSA is a third-party organization.
 
Each time your line disconnects you are assigned a different IP.

Not exactly true. The connection usually "stays alive" exchange side for up to 30 minutes before the session is killed and a new IP assigned. That's assuming you are connecting to the same ISP account. This is why all the other ISP reps recommend you turn your router off for at least 30 minutes before you reconnect. This ensures your previous session is properly reset by the exchange. (Me thinks I should get a job as ISP technical support).

So if these multiple IP's have less than 30 minutes between them, then it's definitely... a bit unusual.

For what its worth...
Its 5:24pm
All of a sudden my download speeds increased 2 minutes ago.
I have two videos I have recorded of the shaping. The last video recorded at 5:20 pm showing how a Linux distro with crap-loads of seeders is throttled to 26 kbyte/sec.

Now as I write this... my speed is 285kbit/sec. NOTHING HAS CHANGED, NO REBOOT, NO ADSL RECONNECT, NADA!

I have hard proof now that around 5pm the shaper gets relaxed.
So who is the liar now?

Koosi, OW have never denied that they shape. The main issue has always been the way the accounts have been shaped. If I remember correctly, at one point OW used to advertise that it was basically like this:

Gold and higher = fully unshaped at 5 pm
Silver = fully unshaped at 6 pm
Below silver = fully unshaped at 7 pm

I'm not sure if the above is exactly accurate, but it gave the people who paid more a better deal than those who paid less. These days its basically:

Silver and above = shaped when network is busy
Below silver = shaped when network is busy

Tbh, I'm not too bothered by the P2P shaping. If that only kicks in at 11 I don't really care. I'm more bothered by the streaming shaping...
 
Man I'm getting so tired of this, can barely stream youtube at the moment (since yesterday), same issue as two weeks ago. I can't be expected to deal with support this regularly every time I have issues.
 
Hi Koosi,

A quick recap on my previous response to you:

Between around 17:00 and 18:00 the network does quieten down drastically, as the corporate traffic dilutes during this time. This would see an instant improvement on shaping.

For what its worth...
Its 5:24pm
All of a sudden my download speeds increased 2 minutes ago.
I have two videos I have recorded of the shaping. The last video recorded at 5:20 pm showing how a Linux distro with crap-loads of seeders is throttled to 26 kbyte/sec.

Now as I write this... my speed is 285kbit/sec. NOTHING HAS CHANGED, NO REBOOT, NO ADSL RECONNECT, NADA!

I have hard proof now that around 5pm the shaper gets relaxed.
So who is the liar now?

This is going to YouTube later when I get a gap.
 
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