Status on ADSL in SA

B

bv

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South Africa / France
Hi,

I'm one of those swallows coming back to SA now and then. All in all, a pleasant place to be, but i have that recurrent itch of having ADSL cost me an arm and a leg here.

I'm used to 'triple play' (i.e. 15mbps++, free telephony, over 100 free TV channels) for about 30€ per month, and i keep wondering when SA will get anywhere close to that level of service.

I am not up-to-date with current offerings and announcements, except I heard there will be more bandwidth available from end of June this year. Will capping be dropped at last? Will prices go down?

Any info would be appreciated,

bv
 
bv, not much has changed since you left, my advice, stay in France.
 
bv, not much has changed since you left, my advice, stay in France.
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Heh, if internet is really that important to you.

Although we won't start on the myriad other more important reasons why someone would not want to come back. :p

Anyway... For something in the vague region of your 30 Euros a month, you can a 4mbps line with about a 3 or 4GB monthly cap, or a slower line (384kbps is the slowest) for a bit more international cap.

Note that local-only bandwidth has recently become exceedingly cheap. (I dunno when you left... I know it used to be totally free, but times change often down here.)

In any case, you *can* get virtually anything via local bandwidth if you know where to look and you're reasonably savvy with a computer and the internet in general. This does not include beautiful HD streamed television, but *virtually* anything... :p
 
bv said:
i keep wondering when SA will get anywhere close to that level of service.
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I believe not in the too immediate future, maybe gradually in the 12-48 month timeframe.

To increase ADSL speeds to those you mention, Telkom needs to overcome 3 structural hurdles ...

1. For DSL to run at double digit Mbps it is neccessary to implement at least the ADSL2+ spec, requiring Telkom to swap out the majority of current legacy ADSL DSLAMs (or line cards) to ADSL2+ ones.

2. Telkom's aging ADSL access network, based on ATM technology, cannot economically provide the capacities required by ADSL2+ or support applications like IPTV efficiently. Telkom will be required to upgrade this access network to something like Metro Ethernet, bascially implement the DSL Forum's TR-101 specification (explained here).

3. This will still only provide double digit Mbps to roughly more than 50% of users, those lucky enough to have a local loop of < 2000m (2500m at a stretch if copper qual. is good). For those suburbs/blocks that are not, Telkom will need to install outdoor DSLAMs in their SDCs (street distribution cabinets) to shorten the local loop lengths.


I believe the traffic/capping situation can only be improved by competition in the SA submarine cable space. Luckly there is progress in the arena with the new SEACOM cable coming online by mid 2009, followed shortly by EASSY and maybe Uhurunet & another west coast cable some time after.

So I would say don't expect what you had anytime soon.
 
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We will probably never have 'triple play' here in SA but we do have '4Play' - 3GB at up to 4Mbs befor Telkom screws you :)
 
There is no chance of comparable services here in the next 10 years at least.
 
Thank you Roman, thank you all

I'll keep an eye on progress of the SEACOM cable reaching SA shores.

For curiosity sake, has anyone studied the actual broadband cost structure for Telkom. I can't quite figure out how come it is so expensive in SA.

Cheers,
bv
 
bv said:
For curiosity sake, has anyone studied the actual broadband cost structure for Telkom. I can't quite figure out how come it is so expensive in SA.
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Pure greed, it's evident in many areas of South Africa. Government has majority stake in Telkom *cough* Basically this is why it's expensive:

1. The cost of international bandwidth is at least around R60/GB.

2. Then theres the 'ADSL line rental' that Telkom thought up to guarantee a very fast ROI for their ADSL rollout. This ranges from R152 for 384Kbps, R326 for 512k and R413 for 4Mbps.

3. On top of that you have your telephone line rental, which is currently R111 for residential customers and R148 for business customers.

bv, I'm sure you use more than 3GB a month, as do most of us, so until Telkom decides to lower the line rental and bandwidth prices then ADSL as a whole will still be very expensive. Also bear in mind uncapped accounts aren't uncapped and cost an arm and a leg, many people mail and complain about false advertising by the providers.

If it's mainly cheap internet access with tons of services you require then overseas is of course still better. If it's errrmmm... ummmmm... sun, biltong and cheap beer you like then SA is the place to be.. cheap electricity and fuel is off the list though :)
 
In France, there is no additional ADSL cost on line rental, and in fact more and more people cancel their phone service altogether. The ISP controls the local loop, and you get free telephony over IP to 70+ countries. Of course, if you lose your connection, you also lose the phone to call for support, but touch wood, it has never happened in several years.

I don't really want to delve into politics. I understand people currently in charge now enjoy their position on top of the food chain and therefore use every possible channel to redistribute wealth, and ADSL is one of them. Apart from that, there is just as much sunshine in southern Europe, and food is just great here too. SA and neighbouring countries however have an unbeatable edge when it comes to the 'bush' though, and that's what will always make me come back to SA for years to come.
 
bv said:
In France, there is no additional ADSL cost on line rental, and in fact more and more people cancel their phone service altogether. The ISP controls the local loop, and you get free telephony over IP to 70+ countries. Of course, if you lose your connection, you also lose the phone to call for support, but touch wood, it has never happened in several years.

I don't really want to delve into politics. I understand people currently in charge now enjoy their position on top of the food chain and therefore use every possible channel to redistribute wealth, and ADSL is one of them. Apart from that, there is just as much sunshine in southern Europe, and food is just great here too. SA and neighbouring countries however have an unbeatable edge when it comes to the 'bush' though, and that's what will always make me come back to SA for years to come.
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Yes, yes! We know! No need to rub it in!!! :p;)
 
pkid said:
Reading this made me sick...
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Most of it has to do with economies of scale. Last figures I saw (early 2007), France had 13mil ADSL lines, of which 30% were unbundled (not managed by incumbent).
 
Roman,
I would agree with you, but it is more a question of regulatory environment and marketing strategy for the ISP. The service has been priced aggressively here since Day 1 to aim at fast market penetration. I believe this could be done in SA just as well. In addition, most ADSL users in SA are located around the 3 major cities, and ADSL2+ technology is now way cheaper than 5 to 8 years ago. Here there are now rolling out 100mbps fiber optic technology already (FTTH).

There is no reason why such project wouldn't be economically viable.
I believe actual hurdles must be found somewhere else.

bv
 
bv said:
The service has been priced aggressively here since Day 1 to aim at fast market penetration ..... There is no reason why such project wouldn't be economically viable.
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Yes, but the difference is they (France) had the potential to get to those numbers (13+ mil DSL lines), we dont. Our market much smaller and there isn't the same level of average wealth.

I'm not saying the situation couldn't be better if Telkom had a more progressive strategic outlook toward data, or if it's controlling shareholder placed socio-economic development in front of profit generation, but we do have some natural size constraints that will not allow us to reach their economies of scale.
 
I didnt read the entire thread, but here is something that might be motivational.

NeoTel, telkoms competitors, set out a goal of having there users download 800mb in 5 min

Also, TelkomMedia is going to require telkom to upgrade their lines aswel, since current data transfers aint nearly fast enough to stream HD tv.
 
Senast said:
NeoTel, telkoms competitors, set out a goal of having there users download 800mb in 5 min
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This is encouraging but if you still get a 3 gig cap it is useless. You would use up your bandwidth allocation in under half an hour. I would rather have a stable 1mb or 2 mb line with a big data allocation...
 
pkid said:
This is encouraging but if you still get a 3 gig cap it is useless. You would use up your bandwidth allocation in under half an hour. I would rather have a stable 1mb or 2 mb line with a big data allocation...
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I agree.
 
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