Telkom response

Merlin2003 · Aug 7, 2003

I would issue a public challenge to Telkom to prove their claim about the majority not having any problems.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Commenting on the criticism of the service Telkom's Steven White, Executive Product Development said that most of its nearly 10 000 customer base have no problems with ADSL and in fact experience the real value that ADSL brings, always available fast internet.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This is teh funneh

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
ADSL is a shared service; the more subscribers the slower the Internet
download speeds on the international link. That is why we carefully
balance the number of users versus available bandwidth.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Is that what they call screwing the bandwidth - carefully
balance . The only balancing they have done so far is their replies to make sure everyone sings from the same hymn book.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
The service is not designed to offer bandwidth intensive
communications such as peer-to-peer applications (e.g. fasttrack,
gnutella, napster, kazaa, e-donkey etc.) for downloads, which
incidentally are the applications used by most of people who are
complaining about the service.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Please do not categorise us by making the above statement. I do not want to be associated with Kazaa or whatever else. And, Internet surfing (HTTP), email (SMTP) and file transfer protocol applications is but one aspect of the internet.

Bah, can't be arsed to reply any further to this.

DigitalSoldier · Aug 7, 2003

wtf are p2p programs prioritsed very low for us adsl users where ppl with isdn can dl with 7k from p2p programs and we pay about 1grand pm 2 telkom this just makes me very pissed off at telkom telling us what 2 dl

rpm · Aug 7, 2003

Hi Paf

Thanks for your support. Although it is very time consuming, I think it is a worthwhile venture. My personal and professional life can suffer for a time to see if we can achieve something.

I must in return thank you guys for all the activity on the site. Without all this activity this site would have just been another call to 0800… or another mail that got deleted. They are at least already responding and trying to cover up the mess. They simply can not ignore all these members without any action! Thanks as well for all your great comments on this story Merlin and others. I have included these in my statements to the media.

Regards,

RPM
[email protected]

David · Aug 7, 2003

I hope that with all this complaining, Telkom does not punish us and increase the monthly fee. After all it is know almost 1 year since the launch!!

ItalicBold · Aug 7, 2003

TBH if they increased the fee it would get rid of all of us moaners, theres just no way we would pay anymore for this poor service.

grubman · Aug 7, 2003

<-- snip -->
Bandwidth intensive protocols such as
peer-to-peer applications (e.g fasttrack, gntella, napster, kazaa,
e-donkey etc) are afforded a lower priority and as such will perform
worse than a standard dial-up under high international load
conditions
<-- snip -->

correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't telkom initially advertise ADSL as being THE service for multimedia? Isn't multimedia ( very broad definition ) bandwidth intensive????? So wouldn't this fall under false advertising for those of us who signed up before all the network shaping took effect?

just another 20c thrown in for good measure.

SK33T · Aug 7, 2003

Who cares what you download , you pay for a monthly service and expect that service ?
and thats the BOTTOM LINE[

!]

ASnogarD · Aug 8, 2003

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by DigitalSoldier
 wtf are p2p programs prioritsed very low for us adsl users where ppl with isdn can dl with 7k from p2p programs and we pay about 1grand pm 2 telkom this just makes me very pissed off at telkom telling us what 2 dl
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

You can use P2P on ADSL from 00:00 to about 8:00 , then its fast. I had 10k/s on 3 different downloads at the same time, also I averaged about 1 gig / night total downloads. If there was no cap I would be quiet happy ... I don't mind reasonable restrictions like being forced to dl from Kazaa at that time of night, I adjust my usage accordingly...until the cap slams down on my connection.

checkfirst · Aug 8, 2003

I think Telkom has missed the point in there statements.

(The service is not designed to offer bandwidth intensive communications such as peer-to-peer applications (e.g. fasttrack, gnutella, napster, kazaa, e-donkey etc.) for downloads, which incidentally are the applications used by most of people who are complaining about the service.)

If they limit to 3gig, why would they care what people download, when the customer hits his 3gig in a day or 3 day, he’s out and that leaves the rest of us with better bandwidth.

I host my servers offshore due to additional bandwidth at cheaper costs, Telkom says that Internet surfing (HTTP), email (SMTP) are priority, CRAP, there own customer service dept says that ANY INTERNATIONAL email is shaped so that the rest of the users can use there system properly.

Once again Telkom what difference does it make to you what we do with our 3gig, if we want to download off kazaa or porn what is the difference. Once we get to the 3gig, yes then shape it. (You are acting like a censorship, you can see this and that but you can’t use that.)

I personally am not complaining about the 3gig (I have hit it before), I am complaining about the shaping and prioritizing etc.

From what I can see on this forum MOST people are NOT complaining about the 3gig limit, they are complaining about the service levels, the shaping and the inconsistencies that are sprouted from Telkom.

Telkom, please do us a favour, give us the 3gig if that’s all you offer, BUT DON’T tell us how to use it, you are not our parents or our priest, you are a company (now public) who we PAY good money to for a service, so PLEASE offer that service. [

]

Fcs · Aug 8, 2003

Telkom definitely cannot claim the speed of 512kbps. I have just tested my speed and it is 70.5 kbps. Far from the Telkom claims. One surely knows why Telkom has to be protected by law to keep other roleplayers out. If they had to compete in the open market for just one day, they'll be bankrupt. No true business can survive on the false promises and pathetic service Telkom forces down our throats![xx(]

rpm · Aug 8, 2003

Response to Telkom’s Media reply:

Our users analyzed of Telkom’s reply in depth and made their thoughts about this response clear. I must stress the fact that we would like to work with Telkom, but they seem to forget that we are users paying for their service. They simply brush us off as a small group of unsatisfied customers. With the tremendous growth of the site over the past few weeks, with around 20,000 hits daily and over 220 members, I don’t think this can be seen as justified. Why ignore our concerns?

Let us get to the specifics of their reply:

Steven White: “most of its nearly 10 000 customer base have no
problems with ADSL and in fact experience the real value that ADSL
brings, always available fast internet.”

Our response: We are certain this is no more than a publicity stunt trying to distort facts. In our initial response from Telkom we were told by Diane Ngoasheng: “I am aware of the problems that you have raised. ICASA is going to have a public hearing on the issue at a date to be announced soon which will be open to members of the public.” If the service is so great, why are they aware of the problems and why is there an investigation and hearing about ADSL by ICASA?
In our polls hundreds of users voted, and 75% of users said they found the service poor, pathetic and even slower than they could imagine. Only 11% of users saw this service as above average. In our latest poll, over 1500 users voted, and 89% disapproved of the 3 Gig cap. We challenge Telkom to permit an independent user assessment of the service and publish the result. We are certain the results will be very similar to our poll results. After all, most of our visitors and voters are ADSL users.

Telkom: “Fast access with down loads at 512
kbps and uploads at 256 kbps.”

Our response: We simply can not believe they even still mention this. It is clear that this is not the case. Telkom has even changed their own advertising campaign from “Super fast” and ‘need for speed’ to always available and flat rate internet. With standard speeds of as low as 5 kbits/s during peak hours, that is 10 times slower than a dial up modem, they should just stop fooling people.

Telkom (this was mentioned in their response to us): “Bandwidth intensive protocols such as peer-to-peer applications (e.g fasttrack, gntella, napster, kazaa,
e-donkey etc) are afforded a lower priority and as such will perform
worse than a standard dial-up under high international load
conditions. This has been implemented to provide the majority of ADSL
customers with fast Internet experience.”

Our response: There are a variety of other services using ports other than http, smtp and ftp. We use these ports for studies, and other members use this for gaming. We have not been informed about this policy before purchase, and of what use is ADSL now if you purchased it for gaming? It is important to note that online gaming was one of their advertising strategies.

Telkom: “The 3 GB cap protects users from a small
minority of people who abuse the service and use it for purposes it
was not intended for.”

Another ridiculous comment. ADSL is a broadband service, specifically intended for bandwidth intensive services like audio and video streaming, large file downloads and so fourth. This is what the whole broadband revolution is about. To cap users mean that they cannot use broadband as a broadband service.

What we would like to see

Telkom must ensure that they deliver in their promise of high speed internet, or refund users and warn prospective customers that this is not the case. We would also like to see more cooperation between Telkom and its ADSL users, and transparency of decisions about changing the service and consultation of users before doing so.

RPM
[email protected]

frikv · Aug 8, 2003

With you all the way RPM. Great reply. Nail the suckers!

BAC · Aug 8, 2003

Please find below a long and tedious email conversation I have had with Telkom regarding their inability to accurately measure my adsl usage. Some of it is amusing the rest shows a the general level of poor communication within the organisation. It should not take them over 2 weeks to tell me what my bandwidth usage is.

-------------------------------------

Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 3:05 PM
T; Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

Could you let me know when when you will be able to answer my previous email. Our ADSL usage has already exceeded 1Gb within 1 week according to your measurements. As stated below this does not correlate with our usage in any way.

Regards

-----Original Message-----
From: BaSent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 4:34 PM
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

D n Wilna

Our username is DSL[+] xxxx . Our usage patterns do not correlate with the tracker in volume, direction or timing.

Could you let me know when the formal investigation is like to be completed.

Regards

-----Original Message-----
From: Wilna Meintjes (W) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 3:12 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services
Importance: High

Hi
I have received word from Product Management that the ADSL online usage tracker is fully functional again. Please do me a favour: check your usage and if it does not correlate with your version, please e-mail me your username. I will then request a formal investigation into your case.

Best regards

Wilna Meintjes
Telkom Online Customer Support
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: 06 August 2003 10:22
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

Thank you. I look forward with interest to the outcome of this.

-----Original Message-----
From: Wilna Meintjes (W) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 5:02 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear

Thanks for your e-mail. I have received your previous e-mail as well, we're still waiting for a reply from the helpdesk. Will escalate your case.

Thanks
Wilna
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: 05 August 2003 12:42
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

I still have not had a reply to my last messages. I there is is problem could you at least acknowledge receipt of my message.

Regards

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 8:40 AM
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

I have not yet had the pleasure of a reply to this message. I would be most grateful if you could get back to me.

Please find attached the latest emailed ADSL usage report. This is patently inaccurate.

Regards

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 1:29 PM
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

The question remains as to what my usage actually is and how it is being measured. Have I reached my cap and am I now on a reduced service? Answers to these, questions as contained in my original mail, would go a long way to satisfying me as to Telkoms credibility.

-----Original Message-----
From: Wilna Meintjes (W) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 5:43 PM
To: Subject: FW: Products_and_Services

The ADSL tracker tool has been lifted from the site again for further testing, see http://adsl.telkomsa.net/ . IT assured us that it will be fixed asap. A communique will be send to all Intekom and Telkomsa.net subscribers as soon as it is operational again.

Please accept my apologies for the inconveniece. Please come back to me if any questions.

Best regards

Wilna
-----Original Message-----
From:
[+] Sent: 23 July 2003 08:27
To: Wilna Meintjes (W)
Subject: RE: Products_and_Services

Dear Wilna

I checked yesterday. Please find attached an email from the 27th.

Regards

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Wilna Meintjes (W) [mailto:[email protected]]
>Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 7:09 PM
>To:
>Subject: FW: Products_and_Services
>
>
>Dear
>
>Thanks for your reply. Please confirm when last did you consult the
>online ADSL usage tracker? It was fixed recently, and we were given
>the assurance today that it is 100% operational now. Awaiting your
>soonest reply before escalating your case.
>
>Best regards
>
>Wilna Meintjes
>Telkom Online Customer Support
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
>Sent: 22 July 2003 14:34
>To: Customer Support
>Subject: RE: Products_and_Services
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Wilna
>
> I am aware of this site. The readings it gives bear no
>relation whatsoever to our actual usage. The emails sent me state that
>that I have used no bandwidth atall . I have been informed by your
>support line that this site is not operational. Does Telkom actually
>measure my usage, how does it do this, where can I get an accurate
>measurements and how will I be informed of my status with regard to
>the 3Gb cap? I look forward to your reply.
>
> Regards
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Customer Support [mailto:[email protected]]
> >Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 1:38 PM
> >To: > >Subject: FW: Products_and_Services
> >
> >
> >Hello
> >Thank you for your e-mail. You can monitor your ADSL usage by
> >following the link from www.telkomsa.net site (click on
>banner) or
> >directly on http://adsl.telkomsa.net/. You will be notified
>when you
> >exceed your 3Gb limit.
> >
> >Best regards
> >
> >Wilna Meintjes
> >Telkom Online Customer Support
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From:
> >Sent: 21 July 2003 14:09
> >Subject: Products_and_Services
> >
> >
> > Overall_Subject : Products_and_Services
> > comments : How will I know when my 3Gb limit has been exceed
>or how
> >much I still have left? Will telkom notify me of this?
> >
> >Thanks
> > realname : > > EMailAddress : > > TelephoneNumber :
> >=================
> >From:
> >
>
>

PAYBACK · Aug 8, 2003

Hi RPM

Great Job once again, like many other people here I would alos like to address my utter disgust in the way our infamous Mr. Steven White (TELKOM Executive Product Development)seems to think this problem is SMALL and that we as a minority in TELKOMS eyes seem to be the problem. I think our Mr. White thinks he is dealing with a bunch of snotty nose kids that have nothing better to do than complain about TELKOMS so called ADSL service.

Its a shame

shadley · Aug 8, 2003

I agree with all of you, I like the post about getting together to sue them. "Misleading customers" come on telkom, whats up with that....

We should threaten to cancel the service with them

Join the MyBroadband community

Get started

Telkom response

Merlin2003

Active Member

DigitalSoldier

Honorary Master

rpm

Admin

David

Well-Known Member

ItalicBold

Active Member

grubman

Well-Known Member

SK33T

Well-Known Member

ASnogarD

Well-Known Member

checkfirst

New Member

Fcs

New Member

rpm

Admin

frikv

Active Member

BAC

New Member

PAYBACK

Expert Member

shadley

Well-Known Member