Telkom ADSL line prices

[oRiX]

Telkom currently charge R152 for 384kbps line; R326 for 512kbps and R413 for 4Mbps

this is just a question but,what difference does it make to telkom if someone is using a 4Mbps instead of a 384kbps line? What difference does it make to their hardware/systems to require the price differences?

 

[Archer]

Well any cable can only take on so much traffic. So a certain cable can take eg 100Mbps, which has initial installation costs associated with it, and ongoing maintenance costs. Limits on the line speed are also imposed by switches along the line, as the switches also have a maximum speed they can operate at. To cover all these costs you can have 25 users (100Mbps / 4Mbps) paying these costs, or 100 users (at 1Mbps). Hence the difference in price between speeds. The math and exact workings of an ADSL line are not quite as simple as this, but hopefully you get the idea.

 

[general_koffi]

It does require more technical support to sustain 4mbps speeds. The line has to be of a better quality.

Of course Telkom don't bother fixing the infrastructure if it can't do 4mbps, and they only guaruntee 640kbps, or something ridiculous, so my guess is they just spend the extra money on tik.

 

[gerasmus]

I have a related question.
I've signed up with DigiChilli's 512k uncapped, but with Telkom I've signed up/paying for a 1mb (or if capable, a 4mb) line.
What speed will I end up getting ?
Will DigiChilli be slowing me down to 512k considering that with Telkom (I call it the Telkom tax) I am paying for a 1-4mb connexion (depending what my line can handle) ? The Telkom lady on Tel 10219 told me that I'm buying the speed from Telkom, not the ISP.

Thank you.

 

[Sting]

What speed will I end up getting ?
Will DigiChilli be slowing me down to 512k?

Yes.