Struggling to understand my connectivity options

Suurlemoen

Suurlemoen

Active Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
59
Reaction score
6
I need some general advice on choosing the best ISP and deal.

We're Afrihost clients - recently moved to Costa da Gama just next to Muizenberg. We currently have a Mobile wireless connection which is expensive for the amount of data we get. We pay R876 for 30GB.

We are apparently not in the LTE coverage area. And there is no Fiber in our area yet either.

The only thing I can think of is to see if we can get a DSL line installed. There seems to be a phone line here, but I'm not sure what the status is (we asked the previous owners but they didnt' seem to know so...I dont know?)

If my sums are right, we can get a lot more data for an equivalent price even if we're paying rental for that voice line in addition to the DSL rental and data. The Afrihost guy told me "You can get something like 8Mbps DSL line + 200GB Capped: R568 PM (this includes the DSL line rental + data). But you still need to pay around R199 PM to Telkom for voice line rental. So you're looking at a rough total: R767 between Afrihost and Telkom. Still cheaper and you get A LOT more data."

I've had such bad experiences with Telkom that I'm very hesitant to go back to them in any way but it looks like we have no choice?

Is it worth paying this high monthly fee for not enough data while waiting for the possibility of Fiber?

As far as I can tell, the LTE coverage is the same for all ISPs as they are resellers, is that correct? So it won't make much difference if we change to another ISP as far as LTE is concerned, right?

Or is there some other option I don't know about?

Any advice much appreciated.
 
LTE coverage is not the same. Get prepaid SIM from every network, load some bundle to test. Speak to the neighbours.
 
Suurlemoen said:
I need some general advice on choosing the best ISP and deal.

We're Afrihost clients - recently moved to Costa da Gama just next to Muizenberg. We currently have a Mobile wireless connection which is expensive for the amount of data we get. We pay R876 for 30GB.

We are apparently not in the LTE coverage area. And there is no Fiber in our area yet either.

The only thing I can think of is to see if we can get a DSL line installed. There seems to be a phone line here, but I'm not sure what the status is (we asked the previous owners but they didnt' seem to know so...I dont know?)

If my sums are right, we can get a lot more data for an equivalent price even if we're paying rental for that voice line in addition to the DSL rental and data. The Afrihost guy told me "You can get something like 8Mbps DSL line + 200GB Capped: R568 PM (this includes the DSL line rental + data). But you still need to pay around R199 PM to Telkom for voice line rental. So you're looking at a rough total: R767 between Afrihost and Telkom. Still cheaper and you get A LOT more data."

I've had such bad experiences with Telkom that I'm very hesitant to go back to them in any way but it looks like we have no choice?

Is it worth paying this high monthly fee for not enough data while waiting for the possibility of Fiber?

As far as I can tell, the LTE coverage is the same for all ISPs as they are resellers, is that correct? So it won't make much difference if we change to another ISP as far as LTE is concerned, right?

Or is there some other option I don't know about?

Any advice much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Depending on your needs for how much data ADSL will be a great choice but you need to first find out the max supported speed of your exchange (mine only goes to 4mb) and also how far away you are from the exchange as this will effect whats speeds and reliability you will have down the line.

Enter your address HERE and it'll tell you the exchange max.
 
Last edited:
Zuner, thanks for that link.
According to that, I'm "covered for" VDSL, LTE A, LTE, Telkom 3G, Roaming 2G and 3G" and there's a little flag that says "10 mbps"

I think I need to do a bit more research on LTE from other ISPs then :)

I teach online, like to listen to podcasts, and use a little bit too much social media for my own good - in the past we've used between 20 - 30 GB per month. Speed would be nice but I must say, at the moment I'm much more interested in having enough data so that I can download as many podcasts as I like, and not be cut off in the middle of a Windows update.
 
Still trying to make sense of this.

OK - as far as I can see, Afrihost "Fixed Wireless" LTE is Rain LTE, or might as well be from my point of view as the coverage map is exactly the same and I'm not in a covered area.

Cell C offers LTE coverage but...I'm confused...this is basically for Cell C phones only? I can't find any packages that aren't linked to phones, but I might be being dim.

Telkom LTE seems to be an option, but for some reason based on the coverage map, they only offer me the 10GB per month package. I don't understand why? There seem to be Telkom LTE packages advertised elsewhere with a lot more data. I guess I'll have to contact Telkom and ask about this.

I've been asking my neighbours but so far that hasn't been all that helpful.
 
Suurlemoen said:
Unfortunately it doesn't look like we are in the LTE-A coverage area, only for LTE.
Click to expand...
There is no difference. It is just advertising method to let you know that they have LTE-A to create awarness. You can use these packages on LTE, 3G and even 2G, no restrictions.

Besides, don't look for LTE-A specifically. If you have a good LTE connection, it is more than enough.
 
Last edited:
sajunky said:
There is no difference. It is just advertising method to let you know that they have LTE-A to create awarness. You can use these packages on LTE, 3G and even 2G, no restrictions.

Besides, don't look for LTE-A specifically. If you have a good LTE connection, it is more than enough.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That is worth knowing.

Yes, I am definitely not looking for LTE - A specifically

One of my neighbours just told me that they have Telkom LTE so I will look into that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X