Should I get adsl?

[DoubleOne]

Hi there,

I have been using a dial up connection to get online but telkom daily rates have driven me to ordering adsl. Now after doing some research on this forum I realise that there are huge problems with this service. I am not familiar with it at all, just know its basics.Is it worth it?

Also, I heard there was a way of using your DSTV satelite dish for getting better speeds for adsl. Can anyone enlighten me on this I would be grateful.

Thanks and regards,

11

 

[VQuest]

Welcome DoubleOne

You've just asked the million dollar question. I think the majority of people here would say at this stage of the game ADSL is not worth it. I think it's pretty much hit and miss when it comes to ADSL. If you can live with the 3GB cap and don't download a lot or do much online gaming, you should be safe enough going ADSL. Otherwise, I would suggest staying away.

If you're like me and need to work a lot during the day, then ADSL certainly does help cut down those non callmore telephone bills.

This one is your call, you have to decide whether you're willing to take the chance of being unhappy with something you're paying a lot of money for but might not getting what you paid for. On the other hand, you might be one of the lucky ones with no problems.

I probably haven't helped any, but good luck with your decision!


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United we stand!
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[paf]

Hi DoubleOne

it really depends what you want to do.

If you need the web mostly for local content, then ADSL is probably fine.

But, consider whether you require "special services" such as P2P, VPN, web-casting, streaming - in short, anything other than standard web browsing and ftp - if you do, then ADSL is NOT a good solution.
If you require a lot of international data volume, then ADSL is definately NOT a good solution either. If you are only a moderate user and mostly need it during non-business hours, then ADSL is fine.

Also, consider that during the day, international browsing speeds are unsatisfactory.

Hope this helps.

 

[ItalicBold]

TBH ADSL suits us perfectly. We use it mainly for email and web browsing. We are a small office of 3 ppl and we manage not to hit the cap, even though I use the connection for gaming and dling some music (about 300 megs a month). Its always on and has shaved about R400 to R1000 off our phone bill. We had some conectivity problems but those have been sorted out now, and it runs smoothly. The browsing is certainly faster than isdn during the day, but dont expect 512k speeds from most sites.

If you want extra bw you can also buy extra accounts. You will just have to try work out how much you would use and compare it to what you are paying atm.

 

[kaspaas]

As long as you stick to the basics with low bandwidth, it is better than ISDN/Modem.

It is in many cases the best solution Telkom offers. That is the only reason why you should consider signing up for the service - because of Telkom's inability to offer world class products.

But if you compare it to what is offered in the rest of the world (function and price) Telkom is offering a mediocre ADSL service at rediculous prices.

Also: Forget about using anything but the basic "standard" ports Telkom has prioritised. There are reports of VPN's not functioning and downloading mail from overseas not working due to Telkom's attitude of protecting you against so-called "bandwidth munchers"

Forget about any substantial service from the helpdesk. I've been told I'm not allowed to send e-mail by SMTP. Other horror stories available on these forums by others.

I agree: In general ADSL is better than 56kmodem/ISDN (it could shave your montly Telkom acount substantially). If I didn't know what ADSL should look like, I would have very content, BUT I know what ADSL offers elsewhere.

But it remains 3rd world implementation compared to what is on offer elsewhere.

 

[DoubleOne]

Thanks guys,

The connection is just for email, browsing, messenger and testing/research so it looks its worth. I see no-one knows too much about the satelite dish, I will try get information about this and post a forum topic about it.

Thanks again!

11

 

[kaspaas]

Before you go: Get Telkom to sign on the dotted line that the ports involved with "<b>messenger and testing/research</b>" are on the same priority as HTTP - else you can expect substantial problems - especially on the International side.


<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DoubleOne</i>
<br />Thanks guys,

The connection is just for email, browsing, messenger and testing/research so it looks its worth. I see no-one knows too much about the satelite dish, I will try get information about this and post a forum topic about it.

Thanks again!

11
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">