Ordering Fibre through WebAfrica - Telkom FTTH

[Defirence680]

Good day

Was wondering if there's any hidden costs to getting a fibre line installed into my current place.

Just to clarify:

Fibre line (new route needs to be pulled, enough space and existing copper installation)
Data (100GB+1000GB)

All through WebAfrica but running through Telkom, is there any info one can get in terms of lead time etc? Any help or info will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

[mitchmagi]

Where about are you located ?

Are existing conduits in place that the fibre could be pulled through ? If not - will additional trenching be required on your property ?

 

[Defirence680]

Located in Kleinbron Estate, Fibre already been installed last year December or so. Yep, there is one that should have plenty space, it's where the current copper line (which we don't use) comes through now.

 

[Bryn]

Have you compared the cost of your bundle to getting the line separately from ISPAfrika and the data from anywhere else? Is your WA contract month to month?

There is usually an installation cost of R1.7k for Telkom FTTH. Additional charges can occur if lots of conduits or trenching is required.

 

[Defirence680]

Nope not actually, The contract is month to month yes, and the installation cost is covered by WA. Which if I move out later this year, I can just pay off with them. Seeing as I don't have R1.7k upfront it might work out better. Also budgeted for extra costs, if there are any I can gladly pay them off.

Also, I couldn't find seperate line options on ISPAfrika's website.

 

[mitchmagi]

My order was placed on the 10th April - finally connected on the 10th June .... and a large part of that was due to my pushing and shoving.

Telkom FTTH installations are currently absymal in terms of organisation & communication. Quite simply there is zero communication.

And unfortunately WebAfrica are caught in the middle ... and have very little control over the process.

My experience was as below:

1 - First stage is actually getting a Telkom Order number ... that can take anywhere from 24 hours to 3 weeks. WebAfrica are entirely at the mercy of Openserve/Telkom

2 - Thereafter it goes through multiple steps to determine "feasibility" depending on the infrastructure in the area. One arm of Telkom doesn't know what the other is doing ... one division were adamant I didn't qualify for fibre ( when their map said otherwise ) whilst the other division said it was available. Lots of infighting ensued ...

3 - Eventually you will be graced with an "installation" date - which is somewhat of a misnomer.

4 - Telkom technician #1 will arrive to do a preliminary inspection to determine the fibre route. If you require trenching / conduit needs that even resemble 'extra work' prepare for a delay if you don't do this yourself... not being a Telkom client means there'll be infighting and delays as to how much Telkom will do ( read subcontract = delays ) / how much WebAfrica pays for / how much client must pay for ... if you're able and in a rush - organise this yourself. Get your gardener to dig up the trench and have your electrician put in the conduit along with draw wire from the manhole to the desired entry point in your house. Note to the wise - find the most direct straight line route available with least amount of bends possible. In our case - we could not use the existing conduit where the existing copper cable enters the house.

5 - Thereafter Telkom technician #2 - along with subcontractor and work crew - will need to be scheduled to actually pull the fibre through. No one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. Not knowing when this will actually take place is the most frustrating part imaginable.

6 - Telkom technician #3 now needs to be scheduled to install the ONT and Alcatel box. Again, no one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. This process takes about 1- 2 hours as they need to splice & terminate the fibre, setup the box and activate the line with their activations call centre. Once the line is active - they'll hook up their modem - do their speed tests, check everything is working and they then leave and take their modem away with them ( you're not a Telkom client remember ;-) ... leaving you with an active fibre line that you can't yet use ( it's now taunting you )

7 - Once you have the fibre line activated - you then need to call WebAfrica who will then send their technician ( also outsourced ) to deliver and setup your fibre modem ( currently a TP LINK AC750 ) ... This took place the next day. This is pretty much plug and play.

And you're finally connected.

My biggest recommendation to ANYONE dealing with a Telkom FTTH installation ... do not let the Telkom technician/subcontractor leave your property until you know exactly what the next step is / who the next person is that needs to come / what they will be doing and ideally when they are due to arrive. You need to actively manage this entire process lest you get lost in the abyss that is Telkom ( again, completely out of WebAfrica's hands )

In terms of WebAfrica as an ISP for fibre - I currently have some concerns regarding their speeds / shaping.

My interim tests between WebAfrica & Afrihost ( you can change logins just like you do on ADSL ) show an EXTREME difference between the 2 networks.

For local - WebAfrica maxes out at 70Mb/s ... Afrihost at 90Mb/s on the Openserve speed test.
For international - WebAfrica maxes out at 33Mb/s ... Afrihost at 46 Mbps on the Openserve speed test.

Torrents seem to also be heavily shaped on WebAfrica ...

If you have any other queries - happy to help.

 

[Defirence680]

My order was placed on the 10th April - finally connected on the 10th June .... and a large part of that was due to my pushing and shoving.

Telkom FTTH installations are currently absymal in terms of organisation & communication. Quite simply there is zero communication.

And unfortunately WebAfrica are caught in the middle ... and have very little control over the process.

My experience was as below:

1 - First stage is actually getting a Telkom Order number ... that can take anywhere from 24 hours to 3 weeks. WebAfrica are entirely at the mercy of Openserve/Telkom

2 - Thereafter it goes through multiple steps to determine "feasibility" depending on the infrastructure in the area. One arm of Telkom doesn't know what the other is doing ... one division were adamant I didn't qualify for fibre ( when their map said otherwise ) whilst the other division said it was available. Lots of infighting ensued ...

3 - Eventually you will be graced with an "installation" date - which is somewhat of a misnomer.

4 - Telkom technician #1 will arrive to do a preliminary inspection to determine the fibre route. If you require trenching / conduit needs that even resemble 'extra work' prepare for a delay if you don't do this yourself... not being a Telkom client means there'll be infighting and delays as to how much Telkom will do ( read subcontract = delays ) / how much WebAfrica pays for / how much client must pay for ... if you're able and in a rush - organise this yourself. Get your gardener to dig up the trench and have your electrician put in the conduit along with draw wire from the manhole to the desired entry point in your house. Note to the wise - find the most direct straight line route available with least amount of bends possible. In our case - we could not use the existing conduit where the existing copper cable enters the house.

5 - Thereafter Telkom technician #2 - along with subcontractor and work crew - will need to be scheduled to actually pull the fibre through. No one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. Not knowing when this will actually take place is the most frustrating part imaginable.

6 - Telkom technician #3 now needs to be scheduled to install the ONT and Alcatel box. Again, no one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. This process takes about 1- 2 hours as they need to splice & terminate the fibre, setup the box and activate the line with their activations call centre. Once the line is active - they'll hook up their modem - do their speed tests, check everything is working and they then leave and take their modem away with them ( you're not a Telkom client remember ;-) ... leaving you with an active fibre line that you can't yet use ( it's now taunting you )

7 - Once you have the fibre line activated - you then need to call WebAfrica who will then send their technician ( also outsourced ) to deliver and setup your fibre modem ( currently a TP LINK AC750 ) ... This took place the next day. This is pretty much plug and play.

And you're finally connected.

My biggest recommendation to ANYONE dealing with a Telkom FTTH installation ... do not let the Telkom technician/subcontractor leave your property until you know exactly what the next step is / who the next person is that needs to come / what they will be doing and ideally when they are due to arrive. You need to actively manage this entire process lest you get lost in the abyss that is Telkom ( again, completely out of WebAfrica's hands )

In terms of WebAfrica as an ISP for fibre - I currently have some concerns regarding their speeds / shaping.

My interim tests between WebAfrica & Afrihost ( you can change logins just like you do on ADSL ) show an EXTREME difference between the 2 networks.

For local - WebAfrica maxes out at 70Mb/s ... Afrihost at 90Mb/s on the Openserve speed test.
For international - WebAfrica maxes out at 33Mb/s ... Afrihost at 46 Mbps on the Openserve speed test.

Torrents seem to also be heavily shaped on WebAfrica ...

If you have any other queries - happy to help.

Damn thanks, this is a real eye opener for me, I might then consider not getting it due to the whole "not knowing when it'll happen" story because I need to be at work and we can't take leave without giving two weeks notice. I thought it might be worth it but I've clearly gotten lost in my euphoria at those speeds. I might rather just get ADSL instead. Many thanks for that really informative post! Will be cancelling my order tomorrow and rather looking at ADSL, or if I can't get ADSL. I'll just have to suffer with 3G for a while longer.

 

[mitchmagi]

Trust me - you want fibre.

You are just going to need to manage the installation process as best you can. And being in an estate may make the whole installation process a lot quicker / easier than my experience.

 

[Defirence680]

I doubt its possible haha. I have to give two weeks notice for leave at work. So I might as well just stick with ADSL as its a bit more predictable.

 

[Axen]

Trust me - you want fibre.

You are just going to need to manage the installation process as best you can. And being in an estate may make the whole installation process a lot quicker / easier than my experience.

I'm in an estate and one would think it makes things easier. But I guess I could just be unlucky. I'm currently stuck at step number 4 (from above). Which is beginning to feel like and abyss of Telkom admin. They couldn't find where the copper enters my house since everything is underground and my house is surrounded by a mote of paving. The technicians said they would hand it over to contractors and 2 weeks have passed since I have heard anything from them. This week looks promising though. I may actually get internet (copper is deactivated). We've also indicated to Telkom that we would organise trenching if needed since each house has it's own manhole for telephone and fibre cables - this has not received a response. I think my house is the only one in the estate which has had an issue with tracing the point of entry.

 

[Defirence680]

Aw that sucks man, hope it gets sorted soon! I gave up on Fibre as we're moving out soon enough. Will use copper VDSL for the meanwhile.

 

[Webafrica Helper]

Good day

Was wondering if there's any hidden costs to getting a fibre line installed into my current place.

Just to clarify:

Fibre line (new route needs to be pulled, enough space and existing copper installation)
Data (100GB+1000GB)

All through WebAfrica but running through Telkom, is there any info one can get in terms of lead time etc? Any help or info will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Hi Defirence680,

There is no hidden costs with us, so what you see is what you get. As per your previous statement we cover the installation cost and will do the router setup and activation as soon as Telkom has completed their work.

With Fibre being such a new service there is some teething issues but we've managed to iron out a lot of the communication issues with Openserve and will keep you updated throughout the process. Rest assured that we'll will get you connected to Fibre as soon as we can and that you will know when your installation date is.

 

[Webafrica Helper]

My order was placed on the 10th April - finally connected on the 10th June .... and a large part of that was due to my pushing and shoving.

Telkom FTTH installations are currently absymal in terms of organisation & communication. Quite simply there is zero communication.

And unfortunately WebAfrica are caught in the middle ... and have very little control over the process.

My experience was as below:

1 - First stage is actually getting a Telkom Order number ... that can take anywhere from 24 hours to 3 weeks. WebAfrica are entirely at the mercy of Openserve/Telkom

2 - Thereafter it goes through multiple steps to determine "feasibility" depending on the infrastructure in the area. One arm of Telkom doesn't know what the other is doing ... one division were adamant I didn't qualify for fibre ( when their map said otherwise ) whilst the other division said it was available. Lots of infighting ensued ...

3 - Eventually you will be graced with an "installation" date - which is somewhat of a misnomer.

4 - Telkom technician #1 will arrive to do a preliminary inspection to determine the fibre route. If you require trenching / conduit needs that even resemble 'extra work' prepare for a delay if you don't do this yourself... not being a Telkom client means there'll be infighting and delays as to how much Telkom will do ( read subcontract = delays ) / how much WebAfrica pays for / how much client must pay for ... if you're able and in a rush - organise this yourself. Get your gardener to dig up the trench and have your electrician put in the conduit along with draw wire from the manhole to the desired entry point in your house. Note to the wise - find the most direct straight line route available with least amount of bends possible. In our case - we could not use the existing conduit where the existing copper cable enters the house.

5 - Thereafter Telkom technician #2 - along with subcontractor and work crew - will need to be scheduled to actually pull the fibre through. No one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. Not knowing when this will actually take place is the most frustrating part imaginable.

6 - Telkom technician #3 now needs to be scheduled to install the ONT and Alcatel box. Again, no one can tell you when this will happen...they simply pitch at your door. This process takes about 1- 2 hours as they need to splice & terminate the fibre, setup the box and activate the line with their activations call centre. Once the line is active - they'll hook up their modem - do their speed tests, check everything is working and they then leave and take their modem away with them ( you're not a Telkom client remember ;-) ... leaving you with an active fibre line that you can't yet use ( it's now taunting you )

7 - Once you have the fibre line activated - you then need to call WebAfrica who will then send their technician ( also outsourced ) to deliver and setup your fibre modem ( currently a TP LINK AC750 ) ... This took place the next day. This is pretty much plug and play.

And you're finally connected.

My biggest recommendation to ANYONE dealing with a Telkom FTTH installation ... do not let the Telkom technician/subcontractor leave your property until you know exactly what the next step is / who the next person is that needs to come / what they will be doing and ideally when they are due to arrive. You need to actively manage this entire process lest you get lost in the abyss that is Telkom ( again, completely out of WebAfrica's hands )

In terms of WebAfrica as an ISP for fibre - I currently have some concerns regarding their speeds / shaping.

My interim tests between WebAfrica & Afrihost ( you can change logins just like you do on ADSL ) show an EXTREME difference between the 2 networks.

For local - WebAfrica maxes out at 70Mb/s ... Afrihost at 90Mb/s on the Openserve speed test.
For international - WebAfrica maxes out at 33Mb/s ... Afrihost at 46 Mbps on the Openserve speed test.

Torrents seem to also be heavily shaped on WebAfrica ...

If you have any other queries - happy to help.

Thanks for the feedback and insights into your FTTH installation. It has been a battle to get proper and accurate installation dates from Openserve but we have managed to get a lot of these issues addressed. We've constantly met with our Openserve account manager around the communication issues and I can say we're winning, albeit small battles, but we getting there I've passed this over to our Fibre product and Operations managers so they can also take it up with Openserve.

With regards to your speed issues can you PM me your account details so I can get our team to assist as your connection should be flying.

 

[Bryn]

Nope not actually, The contract is month to month yes, and the installation cost is covered by WA. Which if I move out later this year, I can just pay off with them. Seeing as I don't have R1.7k upfront it might work out better. Also budgeted for extra costs, if there are any I can gladly pay them off.

Also, I couldn't find seperate line options on ISPAfrika's website.

The only prices available for Telkom FTTH on ISPAfrika's website are the prices. They are cheaper than just line rental from pretty much anywhere else. The 10GB included data is basically a freebie and can be treated as a backup account. I pay them R729pm for a 100Mbps line.

If you then went with Afrihost for a 200GB account (R399pm) and Afrihost Plus to double the data (R99pm), you'd pay a total of R1227pm for 400GB @ 100Mbps. Just an example of the cost savings.

 

[rajiv]

Thanks for the info. So, do you guys pull the last leg of the line into the home or does Telkom do that?

Hi Defirence680,

There is no hidden costs with us, so what you see is what you get. As per your previous statement we cover the installation cost and will do the router setup and activation as soon as Telkom has completed their work.

With Fibre being such a new service there is some teething issues but we've managed to iron out a lot of the communication issues with Openserve and will keep you updated throughout the process. Rest assured that we'll will get you connected to Fibre as soon as we can and that you will know when your installation date is.

 

[mitchmagi]

Telkom/Openserve ( their subcontractors ) pull the line into the home.

WebAfrica don't do any physical hauling of cable or the like ... they literally only arrive with the modem once your line is already up and running.

 

[TheTwo]

Is Webafrica Fibre uncapped and unshaped?

 

[Axen]

Is Webafrica Fibre uncapped and unshaped?

The fibre is a medium over which signal is transferred. Just like copper is a medium. The shaping and capping policies apply to the data account which you purchase. Usually if the account you buy has the word "business" in it, it's likely unshaped.

 

[mitchmagi]

Depends who provides your Fibre line ?

The Openserve data packages WebAfrica offer are capped it would appear. There is definite shaping ( far more than Afrihost )

https://www.webafrica.co.za/fibre/

 

[Bryn]

Depends who provides your Fibre line ?

The Openserve data packages WebAfrica offer are capped it would appear. There is definite shaping ( far more than Afrihost )

https://www.webafrica.co.za/fibre/

I left Afrihost two months and had plenty of complaints, but shaping was not one of them. In over 4 years with them I never once noticed shaping on the capped and business uncapped accounts.

No one should ever accept shaping on a capped account.