Sentech National W-DSL Launch 1/12/03 !

[Cerberus]

These are 4 points I got back from Sentech though it seems allot still needs to finalised it does seem that the service will be released at the end of NOV 2003

Qeustion 1)What kind of Packaged will be available will there be one that will accomidate 512kb d/l?
Answer:
1) Yes there will be one offered @ 512K

Question:
2.What kind of price range are we looking at(if any have been decided)

Answer:
2) Pricing for the various products have been decided but are still waiting for approval, that said, I am quite certain that they would be favourably accepted by our potential customers...sorry all I can divulge at the moment.

Question:
3.What kind of ping can we expect from this service(from my house to JHB say)

Answer:
3) Still to be ascertained..is dependant on the number of highsites it passes thru' from device to the core network and is thus location specific...certainly better than satellite.

Question:
And will there be any sort of limit/cap for this service

Answer:
4) NO capping is envisaged for the service

This is what I got from Sentech hope it's enough to intrest some of you

 

[silversurfer]

lol nice one cerb. I got less info out of them. I just worry bout his last answer to your question seems like a non techi, whats the cap got to do with a ping? hehe

 

[Cerberus]

OOPs that was my mistake I actually asked 5 questions but he answered one already in the beginning of the mail sent to me so the number were mixed up should be fixed now

 

[armitage]

?no capping is envisionaged for this service????

what what what?
so there is a possibility that they could still cap us.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

well hopefully they have a 256 k package for under r500 that would just fit me pocket

New service by Telkom broadband speeds up to 5kbps for only R1k a month. heheh

 

[Sora]

It seems I am just under 14 km north of the Durban tower.
I really hope that there is nothing else that would interfere with
the signal! I seem to be on the border already.

I would also like to know if more than one person can use the same
Arial, does anyone know?

<hr noshade size="1">

For anyone in the Durban area you can go to this site and try to
measure the distance from there tower to your place.
http://www-gis2.durban.gov.za/website/atest/viewer.htm

If you do a search for "Longwoods DR" and switch to a colour photo
you can see there tower between this road and "Umhlanga Rocks DR"
(just zoom in a bit) Then when you can see there tower just use the
measure tool to see the distance from the tower to your home.

 

[Karnaugh]

Well err, we already answered the question about "ping"... Guess our word doesnt hold enough weight then *giggle*.

<hr noshade size="1">iActive internet services
http://www.iactive.co.za

 

[Cerberus]

This is another mail I got answers for it should help just a little

Dear Mr. Smith

I realise that you must be getting a million questions for this wireless connection and I'm sure that means Sentech is as eager and excited as the community. I'd like to know a few more things if you have the information for me.



1) I live in Sunning Dale and notice a Sentech distribution/building area in Umhlanga Rocks Drive is this one of the first staging areas for Wireless? I hope so.

Answer: Still awaiting finality on the proposed sites...this is one of the planned sites.

2) I would like to know (from what I read it shouldn't be the case) if I need line of site to this station

Answer: No LOS is required. (approx. 5km radius from each high site is required)

3) What are the ranges of bandwidth that will be supplied for this service(if available) just a maximum and minimum.

Answer: 64 (min) and 512 max. ..launch recommendation ..not yet confirmed.

4) Is there any guarantee on bandwidth cause I've seen ADSL users complain that their connections drop as low as a 64k modem and to my mind that shouldn't be the case for a Broad Band connection.

Answer: A shared service is difficult to guarentee. We are looking at min. CIR for each service..the lower bandwdith packages option would probably drop below analogue speed .

5) How long would it take a crew to come and install after application for the service and any idea of the ESTAMATE price for installation.

Answer: This is a self installation service... a few minutes is all that is required. there will be an initial activation price which is still to be confirmed.

Well thats it Broad Question I know but it doen't seem there are any specifics

Regards
Cerberus

 

[Sora]

5 KM radius, that cuts me out then I guess. [V]

Looks like I'll be sticking with ISDN till March 2005.

 

[guztro]

Hi Guys

1)OK..here goes. The Sentech wireless solution works on the same basis as a radio signal, which means that you will be able to boost your signal with a booster and NO line of site is required!!!
2)I've been using their 64k Solo24 solution for about 1 1/2 years now and the system were much better when Infosat were in charge. It slowed down drammaticly the last 2 months and this is GREAT reason for concern.
3)I hope they managed to get their act together before 01 Dec because I can just see huge problems as more and more people start signing up for the system. The reason for the concern is that their system goes down often...esp internationally.
4)I had bursting up till about 2 months ago and it was great (managed to get 1 meg @ times) but of late that's not the case...what happened? I don't know.
5)I've also tried getting hold of someone @ their offices to discuss the Wireless product with and of 3 people they put me thru to - ALL WERE ON VOICE MAIL...it would be nice talking to someone for a change!!!

What I'm trying to say here is...let's wait for the system to be launced, try it and then we'll talk again.

Cheers
Guz

 

[Nickste]

Lo all.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
1)OK..here goes. The Sentech wireless solution works on the same basis as a radio signal, which means that you will be able to boost your signal with a booster and NO line of site is required!!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

So does this mean that if we don't have line of sight, and are not within 5km, can we, using the booster, still get signal?
And if so, how far away can we go, using the booster!

Oh, and how much does a booster cost?

Chow, Nick

Nick Smit
adsl@nicksmit.za.net

 

[ProAsm]

Cerberus - The place in Umhlanga Rocks drive, just popin anytime, hit the buzzer at the gate and ask to see Ben.

I'll fill you in and show you around.

 

[Cerberus]

Sure mmm.. how does lunch time today sound? I'll pop in at around oh.. 12:30 or so

Regards
Cerberus

 

[Cerberus]

Well I had a very long talk at sentech and I must say their package impressed me. I can't reveal to much unfortunately but lets just say I'm rather excited about everything

Let me just say that this is going to Rock SA into a New age if it goes well I don't know how much I can say but I will say this when it is launch I will volenteer to be the Explorer for all of you and I will tell you what I think of it the first month or two oh and by the by, It seems this system also gives you 5 static IP's to work with (For all you guys wanting to host a server NOW YOU CAN)

Regards
Cerberus
Lets Hope Sentech deliver what I have heard AND Telkom will be in trouble

 

[Nickste]

*Nickste jumps for joy!

This sounds awesome! Pity i'm not in the area of the first rollout in cape town, but does anyone know how fast sentech will be setting up new transmiters?

Chow, Nick

Nick Smit
adsl@nicksmit.za.net

 

[Cerberus]

Well accroding to the person I talked to if your within 15km you can connect with an Arial to the site they are doing plenty of rollouts but I don't know CT's unfortunately if you can't reach the site with that you can try a booster with an arial apperantly that would work to around 40km hope that helps it should be enough I think as for jumping for joy well if Sentech get the rollout right I'd say you can expect some of them to pop up in oh March/April if all goes well here's hoping

Regards
Cerberus

 

[Sash]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Nickste</i>
<br />*Nickste jumps for joy!

This sounds awesome! Pity i'm not in the area of the first rollout in cape town, but does anyone know how fast sentech will be setting up new transmiters?

Chow, Nick

Nick Smit
adsl@nicksmit.za.net
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Nick, I live in the Southern Suburbs and I spoke to a guy from the Sentechs Cape Town office and he implied that coverage would be right around the Southern Suburbs at launch. Either way even if it isnt at launch it shoulnt be soon after. Hope this helps.

 

[ajax]

It certainly is possible to use a booster to increase your range, but it usually works better to first get a bigger antenna and only then get a booster. The booster can only boost whatever signal it receives.
On tv antennas, one usually puts the booster (costs around R200) very close to the antenna, so that it compensates for the loss in the cable running to the tv.

It also depends on the terrain. Nearby trees, buildings, hills, or other sources of interference can reduce your effective range. Some roof types can also greatly reduce your signal if your antenna is installed indoors.

It is also possible to combine 2 or even 4 of the antennas. Combining 2 antennas (disregarding a little bit of loss in the combiner) will increase your range by about 40%. Combining 4 antennas will basically double your range. (The guys at Club Mykonos near Langebaan used to have 4 identical antennas on their roof to get MNET from Constantiaberg in Cape Town's southern suburbs. Of course, now they probably use satellite). Another advantage of this is that you will be less susceptible to signals bouncing off buildings or hills near you, giving you a clearer signal.
But these kind of installations must be done by a pro!

If you can get tv and radio from the tower, it is not necessarily true that your wireless will work. This depends on how strong the signal from the tower will be. However, if you can't get tv or radio from the tower, it is highly unlikely the wireless broadband will work as, I assume, the wireless broadband signals will be weaker (terrestrial tv and radio ranges to these main towers in the cities can easily be up to 50 km with a standard antenna). But for the obsessed, if you DO get tv and radio from these main towers, there is hope. One can look up the FM radio frequencies of these towers (according to ProAsm's post on 18/10: "Current installations are Brigston - Pretoria - Durban North - Tigerberg") on Sentech's website, and tune your radio to it. If you get a clear stereo signal, there certainly is hope for you!

 

[Cerberus]

Just a special note on this,Sentech's Wireless Technology is working on the Current technology of the states i.e the frequency is around 2.4-2.6ghz so your radio won't be able to get THAT signal and that is also the reason you don't need line of sight for this service but mountains will obviously be a little dence for any signal. But you can do that check anyway it's more than likely that if you do get a radio signal then you should be able to get this service but remeber that when you get a radio signal the actual data trasfer is allot lower than the internet connection from Sentech(As I understand it) so even if you get radio you should be able to ask sentech to give you a wireless modem and see if you can connect Note I said should but if they will lend you the modem for that time or just come out to test it is up to them (they garentee 5km radius from the tower)

 

[ajax]

Thanx, Cerberus
Is there any website you know of where we can read more about this technology and the equipment that is used?

I assume then that if the frequency is 2.4 GHz, we will be using parabolic reflectors ("satellite dish antennas") for the link? If this is so, I don't think combining the antennas will work. But certainly getting a bigger dish will make a big difference on the range.

Ajax

 

[Cerberus]

Well from what I have seen nope you won't use dishes, Regular antenna are used but something you might not know is that if your not completely covered with trees and other obsticles you might not even need an Antenna you can just use the Access point that you recieve from them that way no intallation nothing it's just plug in and your on. The technology is the same as mot WLans if I'm not mistaken the only diffrence is the Tower sending information is the STRONG sender and your modem is the WEAK sender hence your upload won't be as much as your D/L becuase your D/L is being sent by a Stronger transmitter (I could be wrong but that is as far as I can figure it) so withing 5km you just put in the modem and your on. 2 seconds