The Choice

[stroebs]

I have been tasked by my father to make a decision in my family's home about the internet/entertainment situation.

My internet usage is far above the rest of the family's overall usage per month as I do massive downloads and uploads while my mother and sister could survive on a 1GB cap. My father has had a limitless Vodacom HSDPA card until his recent career change which means he will now work from home and will need to use the DSL we have at home. Obviously wanting to have the most cost-effective system, I need some advice on pro's and cons of my choices.

Often I come home on weekends and I have my father complaining about the speed of our home DSL as he is used to 7.2Mbps speed.

Current situation:
- 384k uncapped account + line rental (MWEB) - R349/month
- DSTV Premium package - R519/month
- Vodacom HSDPA - R500/month on average
Total monthly expenditure: R1368

Possible scenario:
- 4096k uncapped account + line rental (MWEB) - R899/month
- Cancellation of DSTV subscription
- ODM TopTV top package - R249/month
New Total monthly expenditure: R1148

What I would like to know: Is it worth it to get Mweb's uncapped package or should I be looking at other ISPs? Is the TopTV worth it compared to DSTV? I personally do not utilize the DSTV myself, I only use the TV for my XBox 360, which would also welcome the 4meg upgrade.

Is it likely for the 4meg line to be upgraded to 8meg/10meg/12meg at no extra cost? This will also be a factor in the decision.

 

[Maddmatt]

http://www.webafrica.co.za/adsl/titan_dsl_special
I'm going with the Titan Complete 2. But be aware that with Telkom's "freeze period" due to the world cup, a complete package will take a while before it can be activated (been waiting over two weeks myself). Since Telkom will need to transfer the line to Webafrica.
The line upgrades for the 4Mbit lines have already happened to some people, so if your line can handle it then yes, it will just happen at no extra costs. Athough if you go for uncapped, I think the ISPs will charge higher fees if you want the higher speeds.

 

[stroebs]

http://www.webafrica.co.za/adsl/titan_dsl_special
I'm going with the Titan Complete 2. But be aware that with Telkom's "freeze period" due to the world cup, a complete package will take a while before it can be activated (been waiting over two weeks myself). Since Telkom will need to transfer the line to Webafrica.
The line upgrades for the 4Mbit lines have already happened to some people, so if your line can handle it then yes, it will just happen at no extra costs. Athough if you go for uncapped, I think the ISPs will charge higher fees if you want the higher speeds.

I'm sold. That 50GB package looks like a sweet offering. The most I've pushed on a line in a month is 75GB on a 384k line and that was when I first got uncapped. Never gone over 40GB since, so that would be a good package. The only problem I will encounter with this is that my parents have email addresses with Mweb (My mom's had the same address for 11 years and she doesn't want to get rid of it) and we pay R45/month for that so it's an extra cost but I really love the idea of that 50GB complete package.

 

[Smiley_lauf]

did you notice that is also shaped account? For R100 more you can get MWEB uncapped on 4MB line. Just a thought.

 

[stroebs]

did you notice that is also shaped account? For R100 more you can get MWEB uncapped on 4MB line. Just a thought.

MWeb is also uncapped. Seeing as they are both uncapped and I am very close to the DSLAM, I could probably get 10Meg speeds shaped, which is in my opinion, the better deal.