Setting up my internet

[SanchoP]

I need a lot of recommendations for setting up my home internet.
I've looked around at some ISPs etc, but not too sure what's good and bad.


The Cybersmart "ONE PRICE ADSL" seems good. R259 for 3GB cap + 384k line, but I don't like the idea of a bundled ADSL router, because it's probably quite a shoddy one...
I had a look at the OpenWeb "Fibre-ADSL" options, which seem quite good, but could someone please explain. And some other OpenWeb options, where you order the line separately from Telkom... Is that better?


Moving on, I was having a look at RouteSentry. I don't fully understand what it does, so bear with me. Does it: Allow you to have a local and international connection and then does it automatically detect where your traffic is going and route it through either local or int? i.e. Allow you to simultaneously browse YouTube and download from local news-servers? If so then that's cool. If not... nevermind.


Would RouteSentry work with a single account that has local and international? i.e. Cybersmart has a "CapExtender" that lets you switch between local and international... But they don't give you a different password or anything, you click something on the website and they do it for you... And they say you're not allowed to use them as well as another ISP, so ya...


Lastly, the router...
Should I buy a router and modem separately, or as one unit? I'm not going to be getting WiFi... Plain old LAN, but possibly PowerLine. If I am going to get RouteSentry will that change which router I should get? I want to be able to properly use DynDNS, so that I can use the uTorrent WebUI now and then. I'd also like to try VPN, but that's not very important.

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Yotch]

Take a look at the Telkom Do Level 2 broadband package - you should get ~4GB international plus 20GB of local bandwidth for R258 per month. The payment options with Cybersmart are very restrictive - you have to pay via debit order or pay 6 months cash in advance and they don't offer direct deposits like Web Africa. The Cybersmart router only comes bundled if you take a 1 year contract if I remember correctly and doesn't sound very good from what I've read. If you want a free router you could always take a 2 year contract with Telkom and get a Mega 200VWR which many claim is actually a rebranded Billion 7404VGO as it will run this firmware. The Billion 7404VGO Voip/WiFi router costs >R1600 online. 20GB of local bandwidth from Cybersmart costs an additional R74 per month in addition to the R259 for 3GB international.

I don't think that you will be able to use RouteSentry as you would like using a single Telkom All Access 2GB account. You can only access the 20GB of local after using up the 4GB of international. You may need to purchase an additional prepaid international or local topup account depending on your requirements.

I would personally recommend choosing a WiFi router as it isolates your PC from your telephone line. If there is any lightning surge along your telephone line it is very unlikely that your PC or laptop will be damaged if you are connecting via WiFi. If you are using a direct connection you may not be so lucky.

The Netgear DG834GT and the Billion 7300G are both good routers. The Netgear would probably be the best choice if you are located >3km from the exchange and your line is noisy. It uses a Broadcom BCM6348 chipset with one of fastest router processors available. I don't think that you will be able to use RouteSentry with this router as it may not support half bridge mode. The Billion 7300G is also a very good router but will not perform as well on very noisy lines. It uses a slower Trendchip TC3162 chipset but should support RouteSentry etc. Another advantage is that if your Billion router gets damaged by lightning you should be able to get it repaired relatively cheaply (~R300) through the local agent (www.nology.co.za). This router is very stable and stays cool even after prolonged use.

Another router that I might consider is the Asus WL-500g Premium. This router does not include an ADSL modem but can be attached to USB HSDPA modems like the Huawei E220, some USB cell phones, used as an NAS by attaching it to a USB harddrive and possibly connect to the new Neotel USB WLL CDMA desk phone. I think that there is also software available to allow it to independently download torrents to an attached USB harddrive.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/880784.html
http://koppel.cz/cdmawifi/hardware/
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/asus-80211bg-high-speed-broadrange-router-with-ports-p-7229.html

More ideas about DSL complete packages
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=114646
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=83134&page=3

 

[SanchoP]

Thank you very much.

The one thing that's nice about the cybersmart deal is that you can switch between local and blended whenever you want, but to be honest I'd rather just more int gigs, at a better price. I've heard a lot of bad about TelkomInternet... Should I be worried or are they not that bad?

We rarely get lightning where I live, and if we do it'll be easy enough to unplug the modem. So were the routers you suggested above all wireless? We are already set on going the wired option... This should make it cheaper anyway. Do you have any wired recommendations? And powerline?

 

[SanchoP]

And sorry, I'm assuming the Telkom package you mentioned above includes the line? What speed?

 

[Yotch]

Most of the SAIX based ADSL packages are exactly the same apart from the cap size. Local loop unbundling is not yet available in SA so the other ISPs just resell Telkom's product. In your case I think that you should carefully consider taking the free Mega 200VWR from Telkom on a two year contract due to your location. The wireless routers also come with four ethernet ports so that you can connect them to a wired network. The Mega 200VWR also includes an internal ATA (analogue telephone adapter) so that you can make free/cheap Voip calls directly through your current telephone without switching on your PC. There might be better wireless offers from Neotel in the large cities over the next year or so but it is very unlikely that smaller towns will benefit for a long time. Is HSDPA available in your area?

I really doubt that you will want to disconnect your ADSL connection once it is working and I'm sure that you will be able to make significant savings in other areas such as sending free SMSs, free international phone calls, online shopping etc. I'll look to see if I can find out the costs of terminating the 2 year contract early.

The Do Level 2 package consists of a 384K line plus 2GB of All Access softcapped bandwidth. You might even be lucky some months and get substantially more than 4GB of international. You should get better 'service' if you purchase one of Telkom's ADSL products directly rather than via one of the other ISPs. If Neotel starts to offer ADSL bandwidth at greatly reduced prices I'm sure that Telkom will adjust their packages to stay competitive. I have had Telkom's ADSL for 2.5 years and I haven't had any major problems so far. About a year ago they switched me to the Do Level 2 package when they upgraded the speeds from 192K to 384K. The service has probably only been down for at most 15 hours in total over that whole period. Everybody would like to see larger caps and faster speeds though.

You also need to check whether the self install option is available in your area otherwise there might be an additional fee of R490.

You also qualify for a free Wifi modem if you sign a 24-month contract. Save the standard installation fee of R490.00 (VAT Incl.) with the self installation option.

Billion also make cheaper wired routers. Digital Planet is currently selling some 5200S models which have slightly damaged boxes on special. Take a look at the price of the 7404VGO also as well as the second page of products.

http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/nsearch.aspx?keywords=Billion&x=15&y=9
http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/p-11...-box-damaged-item-used-while-stocks-last.aspx

 

[SanchoP]

Cool. Thank you very much. I most definitely won't be signing a contract, as I might have moved in 2 years time. I don't like DigitalPlanet all that much... But if they have a very good deal it might be worth dealing with their shoddy service. I will definitely will self-install if possible, as I've heard it can speed up the process quite a lot and I see no reason to have a guy over here just to quick a micro-filter into my phone line... Thanks for all of your help. I'm going to go and look into those options and I'll see which one seems best.