Questions before subscribing to iBurst

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SKW

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Hi there

I am looking at subscribing to iBurst, but have a couple of questions before I do - I'm hoping that I will get more information here than I will if I phone the sales department.

I have a laptop and a desktop & obviously don't want to buy a separate modem for each one : on the website it states the that UTU is suitable for both, is this correct?

If I do get the UTU, which antenna would I need to buy?

And finally, which package would current users recommend? I use the web mainly for email, chatting on forums, music downloads (not too many though!) Would the i-Go be suitable, with the option of top-ups?

Thanks in anticipation :)

SKW
 
There are two different modems. The UTC (which is a PCMCIA card for your laptop) and a UTD. The UTD is especially cumbersome taking it with you while you're travelling. (I had a UTD with a laptop) and you're not always guarunteed with good signal. Maybe at your home and only if you keep the UTD at one single place.

The UTD has a built in flip up antenna and I have found that their coverage is much better than Sentech (where if you move the modem 1cm to the left you lose all signal)

Most people use iBurst as an alternative to ADSL and keep their modems at home. Those with a laptop that travel frequently opt for the UTC.

iBurst is also not the cheapest at "top up" bandwidth. I will definately recommend a 192k ADSL solution for home, and a UTC with iBurst for your laptop. That is, however, depending on how much your travel.

Also remember, companies (professional ones) usually don't allow you to use your laptop with your own internet connection because it poses a security risk.

Hope you make the right decision.
 
i wanted to get the UTU because i heard it was as good as the UTD. it's pretty too, and doesn't need an extra power cable like the UTD. then when they came to test for signal i learned that the sweet spot was not my PC room. so i gotta get the UTD now 'cause it has ethernet ports. @SKW, don't make the mistake of assuming that whoever comes to test for signal knows what they're doing. i was almost teaching a nashua consultant how stuff works and i don't know much myself. remember that they're salesmen too. so when they come over make sure to visit http://www.mybroadband.co.za/myadsl/speedtest.php (instead of just relying on signal bars). ...my 2 cents...

i dunno if the UTU supports an antenna? don't think it needs one...
 
Best value for money is the G1, because you can still access the internet at 64kbps after you are capped. This is the same as single-line ISDN, which is fine for browsing and email. So there is no need to ever buy top up bandwidth. The i-go packages look cheap on the surface until you go over your bandwidth limit, the top up bandwidth prices are murderous.

192k ADSL is slow, fixed, and expensive, and you could wait months for it to be installed. Its not a great solution for those with low bandwidth requirements, and of course, it is not mobile. On the other hand, if you are set on Iburst do make sure you have a good signal in your area.

The UTU looks like a good compromise solution for mobility. However, if you want to be mobile, you could get a UTC for your laptop and use internet connection sharing (ICS) when at home.

You could also consider a 3G solution. There is no "connection fees", you just buy data bundles. You can now get 1Gb from Vodacom for R399pm, and you are assured of good coverage virtually anywhere you go.
 
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at 64kbps (after the cap), can skype work on iburst?
also...
if one chooses to buy the modem and go month-to-month, can you choose 1GB package for one month and 3GB package for the next month with timeous notice?
 
Skype works on Iburst, whether capped or uncapped. The required bandwidth for skype is not that high.

It used to be that you needed to give 1 month's notice to change package. That was certainly the case in January. But I recall reading something that suggested they had reduced that time to a week. But best to phone the helpdesk and ask. But on month-to-month there is no restriction on the package you choose.
 
cool. i'm holding you to that. (the skype thing)

i read on a skype forum somewhere that it doesn't work with GPRS because of latency. GPRS is faster than 64kbps. i can get 10kb/s using a cellphone without EDGE. plus the ping times are really good. equal to or better than iburst i'd guess.
 
Skype works fine here to America, so Im shure local and all across the world should work fine. I dont have the lowest latency you can get on Iburst, quite far from it actually. So you shouldnt have problems with Skype.

And being capped shouldnt be an issue with Skype.

With your setup SKW, do you want both the laptop and the desktop to be connected at the same time? Because the nyou will either need a UTU with internet connection sharing, or a UTD with a router. ICS can be hard to setup but should work okay. This is assuming you can connect your computers. Otherwise a wireless router and a UTD will be the way to go. The new UTDs are probably smaller, or at least the same size, which isnt too big to carry around.
 
Voipbuster also works fine with iBurst - UTC + official laptop antenna. Never been capped so don't know about that.
 
I use skype with my Iburst and it works 100% even after being capped...Just one thing though, video on skype doesn't work 100% after being capped!
 
Skype to europe based PC's as well as SkypeOut to landlines in europe and China work fine all the time for me.
Counterparty in germany even recons quality is better than when I used to have telkom landline.
 
Just a quick one on the UTU. Users testing it report that it isn't that great for picking up signal and I advise users to hold off if possible on getting one. I believe that some tests are being done on the UTU to see if there is a problem with the batch that was received. Basically, you should consider that the UTU will have as poor (if not slightly poorer) signal reception capabilties as the UTC does.

On the Skype question, users should just consider that the experience on IBurst is quite variable depending on a number of factors (distance, tower saturation, modem type etc). MOST users will report satisfactory to excellent results on Skype MOST of the time but there will be a minority of users who get crap results most of the time. The bottom line is that if you have a mission critical setup where you need skype to work, then get diginet and preferably something other than Skype for your VoIP. IBurst and Skype are not designed for mission critical stuff. If you are happy to have it working perfectly 80/90% of the time, then IBurst is a great solution PROVIDED you test it first before signing on the dotted line. Go through a reputable and knowledgeable reseller (such as us!! :-)) or make sure you know what you are doing if you order through one of the "deliver and forget" type places.
 
Gatecrasher said:
When capped, or at any time?
Click to expand...

i must admit i only tried last month for a day and i think i burst was having problems but I was not capped and what would happen is i would connect to the person (skype 2 skype) and then after about a minute i would not hear them anymore but they could hear me.
 
Maby because Ibursts upload speeds are usually pretty crappy?
Especially when you are capped the upload speed (your voice) would be more likely to give problems with Skype than the download speed.
 
Hi there

Anybody got Smoothwall (or IPCop or any other Linux distribution) working with iBurst successfully? Also, is somebody willing to have an Smoothwall installation on site for testing purposes? (no charges for the testing tho..., must be in Pretoria unfortunately)

I'm considering in ditching our dial-up line in favour of something better. Speed, at this stage, is not an issue, although it would be nice to have better or faster than 64k.

The prices have come down considerably when last I checked, and right now I'm in favour of going for the 1Gb package, and upgrade later when it is possible to do so.

However, what's holding me back for a little while is :

1. Imminent arrival of the SNO
2. Untested with Smoothwall (and other Linux distros)
3. Doing a bit of research on this subject

before I dive into the deep end and go over to iBurst.

Regards

TU
 
The_Unbeliever said:
Hi there

Anybody got Smoothwall (or IPCop or any other Linux distribution) working with iBurst successfully?
Click to expand...

I have had IPCop and pfSense running conneced PPPoE to an iBurst UTD ... works fine. I am still using pfsence as my primary firewall.. altho thats BSD based.
 
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