Telkom Closer 4

[CathJ]

I'm moving back to SA from the UK, and unfortunately that means coming back to Telkom :-(

I'll need a landline and, if I can get it at a reasonable price, adsl. But I find myself lost in the mysteries of Telkom pricing...

As I understand it, if I want a normal landline and 384kbs ADSL, I would pay monthly:
R99 line rental for the landline
Call costs for the landline
R99 exchange connection fee for the adsl line
R245 for the adsl line
and also ISP costs for the adsl (either from TelkomInternet or someone else)
The installation fee would be R342.

So two questions: do I pay the R99 line rental twice, once for the landline and once for adsl? Or since it's only one physical line, do I only pay one R99 rental? And similarly for the Exchange connection installation fee; do I pay it for the landline and the adsl, or just once for the physical line? (I'm quite happy to do a self-install for the adsl modem itself, and I have a router and filters already).

But looking at Closer 4, it seems to include all the monthly fees; there are no installation fees. I don't think it includes ISP fees, though; unless it comes with a basic data allowance from TelkomInternet? And I'm assuming that Closer 4 is on a month-to-month basis, and not a contract - I don't really want to commit to Telkom.

If I do go with adsl, what's the smallest data bundle I can get (from any ISP)? Not the best value, necessarily, but the smallest monthly amount of money I'd have to pay?

 

[bullfrog]

Very basic break down:
R100 something for line
R245 for 384k adsl line
and what ever for your adsl isp.

There is no R99 exchange connection

Best go with prepaid webafrica at R70/gig and unlimited carry over. Do that for a month or two and then decide on a permanent set up because you'll know more abut your usage habbits

 

[CathJ]

Very basic break down:
R100 something for line
R245 for 384k adsl line
and what ever for your adsl isp.

There is no R99 exchange connection

Best go with prepaid webafrica at R70/gig and unlimited carry over. Do that for a month or two and then decide on a permanent set up because you'll know more abut your usage habbits

Okay - does that R100 for the line cover the phone line and adsl, or is R100 each?

So far, Closer 4 seems to be the same as Closer 2 + all the adsl stuff separately (R145 + R345 = R490, vs the R499 for Closer 4).

 

[quovadis]

The +-R100 is for a regular phone line... the R245 is just the adsl facility/upgrade for the line (it does nothing but allow u to use an adsl modem on the line) ... The ISP charge varies depending on who u go with and how much bandwidth/transfer u want.

Remember "closer" comes with some free minutes/airtime so you may save going with "closer" than doing everything separately.

 

[krycor]

Closer 4 = 384k ADSL + Closer 3 + "per sec cell calls" [Although i am not sure how effective and how unique the last one is to closer 4]

Closer 3 = 1000 minutes daytime/standard charge time + Line Rental + Infinite National/local calls under 1hr in "Call more" times.[closer3=R300 if sold separately]

ADSL 384k = R245[if sold separately]

Closer4 = the 2 above for R499[Closer3 + ADSL384k] i.e. you save R46 and get that per second cell calls (but those calls are still expensive).

ISP.. well that depends for the cheapest 3GB offering its easy to find but you should consider how much bandwith u will use as this affects whats cheaper. e.g. Telkom Isp as much as we hate it, u can get alot of extra bandwidth out of the account compared to others which is more strictly defined as pay for xGB use only xGB. And then there is Local net access which people use for gaming, local p2p and news servers, even local only + international surfing accounts etc.. so really the choice of isp depends on not just cheapness but what u want to do with the net connection + how much traffic as that determines what is more efficient and cost saving.