Telkom ADSL Data Usage

GreGorGy

GreGorGy

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So, the site at adsl.telkomsa.net just says you have used XX% - no other details.

I am sure it was more detailed in the past. Is there another site that mentions things in greater detail or do I just not know how to use the above site?
 
Everytime I come across a thread like this it makes me laugh, then makes me very angry. I don't get why people still use the pathetic and expensive services of TelkomInternet, when there are so many awesome alternatives out there.

Please, for the love of broadband, switch to an ISP that actually cares about its customers, and actually gives you the information you need in a quick, easy, user-friendly and informative manner.
 
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Saajid said:
Everytime I come across I thread it makes me laugh, then makes me very angry. I don't get why people still use the pathetic and expensive services of TelkomInternet, when they are so many awesome alternatives out there.

Please, for the love of broadband, switch to an ISP that actually cares about its customers, and actually gives you the information you need in a quick, easy, user-friendly and informative manner.
Click to expand...
Your opinions are noted. Go do your homework before you embarrass yourself any further.
 
Saajid said:
Everytime I come across I thread it makes me laugh, then makes me very angry. I don't get why people still use the pathetic and expensive services of TelkomInternet, when they are so many awesome alternatives out there.

Please, for the love of broadband, switch to an ISP that actually cares about its customers, and actually gives you the information you need in a quick, easy, user-friendly and informative manner.
Click to expand...

Hi Saajid

Please elaborate on your feelings - I'd like to know what you think and why you recommend something else.

For my part, I do not use Telkom ADSL myself. I am somewhat of a nomad and have no permanent residence. Some nights (most) I spend at my GF's place. So I use 3G (from various sources, as I am constantly testing it).

My father has ADSL and he is away this week so I have been looking after his house. I spend a good deal of time here (I run my office from his house) during the day but I can' take advantage of the Telkom ADSL offer when I am not here. I do have a few MAcs running at his place but I need to make sure I don't deplete his account.
 
GreGorGy said:
So, the site at adsl.telkomsa.net just says you have used XX% - no other details.

I am sure it was more detailed in the past. Is there another site that mentions things in greater detail or do I just not know how to use the above site?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, due to technical changes we made in February, the detailed stats that we used before were no longer relevant.

Initially, we provided basic information from the new platforms. Also, a lot of users complained that it was too difficult to understand the old layout. So, product management requested that it be simplified.

Since then, other changes (Night Surfer, Free Social Media) mean that some of the options we investigated were not viable.

Of course, these new products also tied up our developers (and some more new ones coming soon).

There is a project to bring detailed stats back, but with the current workload, that will probably not be before December.
 
Saajid said:
Everytime I come across I thread it makes me laugh, then makes me very angry. I don't get why people still use the pathetic and expensive services of TelkomInternet, when they are so many awesome alternatives out there.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe you need to inform MyBroadband. According to their comparison, we are 2nd cheapest, or 3rd cheapest. However, as far as I know, neither Afrihost nor Vox offer:
-Free social media
-Free unlimited Night Surfer

So, depending on your needs, you may see that we are actually the cheapest.

And, there are more changes coming which will underscore this point.

Please, for the love of broadband, switch to an ISP that actually cares about its customers, and actually gives you the information you need in a quick, easy, user-friendly and informative manner.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, while we can innovate a lot ourselves, we are subject to Telkom's 'Enterprise' IT team's architectural decisions. They decided a few years ago that they will be the one portal for everything. A few years down the line, and you can now see on the telkom.co.za portal that you have ADSL on your line, but not what speed ...

We are not allowed to activate any service on our portal (we did in the past, until about 2006 or 2007), that *MUST* happen on https://secureapp.telkom.co.za/eportal/

So, since our customer self-service functions are also supposed to migrate there, we have really only been doing maintenance (and keeping up with projects that require changes) on our online tools. I believe this is the wrong approach, but to get the 'Enterprise' IT architects to agree to build a real portal for our customer's needs may be impossible.

The tracker tool will be enhanced, but the product managers ultimately decide what level of information they want displayed, and they have gone for minimalism at this stage. If you have suggestions on minor changes (e.g., would you prefer the bar to show number of GB?), we can maybe get them accommodated.

Detailed usage information is on the roadmap, but probably not before December.
 
ranger said:
Unfortunately, due to technical changes we made in February, the detailed stats that we used before were no longer relevant.

Initially, we provided basic information from the new platforms. Also, a lot of users complained that it was too difficult to understand the old layout. So, product management requested that it be simplified.

Since then, other changes (Night Surfer, Free Social Media) mean that some of the options we investigated were not viable.

Of course, these new products also tied up our developers (and some more new ones coming soon).

There is a project to bring detailed stats back, but with the current workload, that will probably not be before December.
Click to expand...

Thanks ranger - useful as always. So is that other site accurate then?
 
MickeyD said:
Your opinions are noted. Go do your homework before you embarrass yourself any further.
Click to expand...

digitalp said:
+1 for this.
Click to expand...

Underworld said:
+1 - Well said
Click to expand...

Jeez. You guys shock me. What homework do I need to do? TelkomInternet has never been the cheapest (and still aren't) and even called uncapped a farce, before backtracking. Sure they are not the most expensive either, especially with the recent changes, but the other ISPs are responding in kind. In comparison to some of the packages from the other ISPs, they are expensive.

Most recent ADSL pricing comparisons:
Capped: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/87160-cheapest-ever-capped-adsl-prices-in-sa.html (thanks ranger)
Uncapped: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/83589-fnb-uncapped-adsl-prices-compared.html

For the rest of my rebuttal, please read below:

ranger said:
Unfortunately, while we can innovate a lot ourselves, we are subject to Telkom's 'Enterprise' IT team's architectural decisions. They decided a few years ago that they will be the one portal for everything. A few years down the line, and you can now see on the telkom.co.za portal that you have ADSL on your line, but not what speed ...

We are not allowed to activate any service on our portal (we did in the past, until about 2006 or 2007), that *MUST* happen on https://secureapp.telkom.co.za/eportal/

So, since our customer self-service functions are also supposed to migrate there, we have really only been doing maintenance (and keeping up with projects that require changes) on our online tools. I believe this is the wrong approach, but to get the 'Enterprise' IT architects to agree to build a real portal for our customer's needs may be impossible.

The tracker tool will be enhanced, but the product managers ultimately decide what level of information they want displayed, and they have gone for minimalism at this stage. If you have suggestions on minor changes (e.g., would you prefer the bar to show number of GB?), we can maybe get them accommodated.

Detailed usage information is on the roadmap, but probably not before December.
Click to expand...

Now you can get all the above information from Afrihost, MWEB, Axxess and WebAfrica, last I checked. With Afrihost, you can even get it conveniently via their smartphone apps. Some of the ISPs do it way better than the others, but the information is still there.

Whatever the internal reasons are, the fact that TelkomInternet can't give you this basic information for like the last 5+ years is a complete joke.
 
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Saajid said:
Whatever the internal reasons are, the fact that TelkomInternet can't give you this basic information for like the last 5+ years is a complete joke.
Click to expand...

Uh, so until February you could. You may still be able to see detailed information up to February. Unfortunately, all the other products we have launched over the past few weeks, and the other ones coming soon, have been the priority, and getting detailed stats back hasn't been prioritised.

Would you prefer:
-Free unlimited night surfer
or
-A table of your daily usage for the past month
?

Unfortunately, with the current financial situation at Telkom, we can't get any more staff, and all our staff are currently working 105% on high priority products that will launch by November.
 
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ranger said:
Uh, so until February you could. You may still be able to see detailed information up to February
Click to expand...

Thanks for responding. I admit that I did not know this. But how would I? The last time I saw any of Telkom's portals was years ago, and have been relying on anecdotal evidence from a very few friends and colleagues who are not clued up enough to know that there are better options out there.

What does the current Telkom ADSL portal look like (is there somewhere I can see screenshots, or perhaps login as a guest?), and what sort of information does it provide currently? Perhaps my stance will change if I can see for myself if there have been improvements.

Would you prefer:
-Free unlimited night surfer
or
-A table of your daily usage for the past month
?
Click to expand...

If I was a capped user, I would want both, but if forced to choose only 1 over the other, I'd take the night surfer option. In any case, how does the unlimited night surfer work? Is it unshaped, semi-shaped, or shaped? Or is it meant just for surfing. Can downloads and torrents be scheduled during this time?

Anyway, myself being an uncapped user makes the question a bit moot. I stream all of my content (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, BBC iPlayer), and hardly ever do big content downloads. So the unlimited night surfer wouldn't help me in any case, because who waits up until that time to stream stuff?
 
ranger said:
Unfortunately, with the current financial situation at Telkom, we can't get any more staff, and all our staff are currently working 105% on high priority products that will launch by November.
Click to expand...

Hmm seems November will be interesting indeed. Looking forward to see what's in store !

Question : is there an API or something that one can pull the stats from SAIX usage page ?
I vaguely recall someone did it years ago ... ? Will be nice , so we can develop our own 'stats' program or page. It will just be hard to distinguish between free bandwidth and non free usage (night owl should be easy to do).
 
Saajid said:
Jeez. You guys shock me. What homework do I need to do? TelkomInternet has never been the cheapest (and still aren't) and even called uncapped a farce, before backtracking.
Click to expand...

Go do your homework, you don't know what your are talking about. I have a 1Mb/s line & do uncapped bundle with Telkom which I get a discount on, I also get a 25% discount on my adsl line, total discount for a 1Mb/s user is R118.03 which is passed as a credit on my account.

Further more the product is great and I run at max speed 24/7. If your dslam backhaul is congested then moving to another isp is not going to help you jackschite.
 
Saajid said:
The last time I saw any of Telkom's portals was years ago, and have been relying on anecdotal evidence from a very few friends and colleagues who are not clued up enough to know that there are better options out there.
Click to expand...

But you throw out statements as if they were fact...yet you yourself now admit you don't actually know much and it's all based on anecdotal evidence from others?

Eish...
 
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