Uncapped or Capped?

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Sup3rCow

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Hi Guys,

I need to choice between Uncapped(384kbps - 1mbps) or Capped(10GB+).:confused:
This will be used mostly for browsing and YouTube with some downloading in the mix.
:twisted:Price is of biggest:mad: concern, because I already have 25GB of free data. Speed is not everything(that is the other 25GB), this is more for space.
Please help

Sup3rCow
 
Well it really depends on what you value more. I download a fair amount +-60 gigs a month on uncapped 384k for R219. Now on capped that would be pretty expensive, but you would get better service quality. I don't see the need though because browsing/streaming is generally fine, but it's always handy to have a back-up pre-paid account in case of outages.
 
It all depends on whether you prefer speed over quantity - or both ;)

You can easily do 60GB/month on 384kbps Mweb uncapped.
If you know that you're going to use less than 30GB/month, then I'd suggest looking at capped accounts first - because there are lots of different packages and configurations to choose from.

You can cut your costs considerably by using (Internet Solutions') local only accounts, but then you should look at splitting traffic between local & international accounts.
If you set up your routing & DNS correctly, then you can download most of the YouTube, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia & AMD content via the local only account. You also get local DC++ & Usenet/NNTP servers, from which you can download like series.

Like I'm currently using 10GB+40GB IS local only accounts (~R200pm) for local & international stuff + 1GB Afrihost (free) account for when my IS local accounts lose their international cap + 1GB WebAfrica prepaid account (R15 once off) for WAGE stuff OR when all the other accounts' caps are depleted.
You can use like a MikroTik RB750 (under R400 incl VAT) to do the splitting for you, which I'll recommend if you have multiple PC's/network devices. You can split even the traffic of wireless devices in a setup where you have an ADSL modem (that also acts as an WiFi AP) and then the RB750 connected to it via LAN cable. If you don't want to split the traffic on a dedicated router like the RB750, then you can use an application like my Traffic Splitter to route the traffic for you, but then you'll have to run that application on each and every PC where you want to split the traffic.
Unfortunately splitting traffic requires an ADSL modem that supports bridge mode, which like the Netgear DGN2200 doesn't have. This is just one of the many reasons why I'd suggest D-Link & TP-Link ADSL modems above Netgear ones.

@venom: you can get about 65GB from 2x 30GB is local only accounts, which would set you back R250, and then you can download at 10Mbps speeds.
Then there are also the exploit that as long as you keep the PPPoE connection to the IS local only account connected, which requires a very stable ADSL connection, then you get to keep your international connectivity, and not just the small 2GB blended part of the 30GB local only account.
 
I decided the uncapped isn't going to work, because of the monthly payment.
I think the cap accounts will work better for month to month prepaid. The DNS routing for local downloads interested me. Can someone please show me how to set it up? What local prepaid accounts are cheap and reliable?

WebAfrica | Afrihost | Openweb | Cybersmart | @lantic | Mweb | Axxess
 
I've been browsing the internet to find the most suitable one and this is what I found these following prepaid services:
---------------------------------------------
Openweb 10GB Local Only for R70
Axxess 10GB Local with 1GB incl intl for R75
---------------------------------------------
Openweb 30GB Local Only for R131
Axxess 30GB Local with 2GB incl intl for R125
---------------------------------------------

Is there any other ISP that can compete with them?
 
Last edited:
I actually forgot to mention that the cheapest Internet connection that you can get in SA remains 3G/HSDPA ones such as the Cell C 5GB/month for 12 months with a once off fee of R3000, which includes the USB modem.
This kind of Internet works fine for browsing & YouTube, but it very quickly becomes more expensive than ADSL if you use more than 5GB/month.

Unfortunately I don't know of cheaper options that what you've listed in your last post.
I'm using the 30GB Local Only from Axxess (month-to-month) and the 10GB Local Only from OpenWeb (prepaid), because it's the cheapest that I could find, and I usually don't download more than 30GB/month.

Here are a few links (from my signature) that'll help you with traffic splitting:
General traffic splitting information & scripts/applications: Splitting Traffic
Forcing Google, YouTube & Facebook content to work on local only accounts: http://myadsl.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=242316 * If you're using the IS DNS servers, then this isn't really necessary, unless you ran out of international cap, in which case you won't be able to open the websites, but you'll still be able to download the content :P

Could you perhaps tell as what ADSL modem you have and how many PC's/network devices you want to have Internet access via the ADSL connection?
 
Thanks Pada I've set up my PC to Force local only accounts. Now I am going to buy the Axxess 30GB Local with 2GB incl intl for R125. Last question :) Does this account roll over to the next month and if it does for how long?
 
No roll over and like Pada said, keep your connection alive for continued international access.
 
Supercow:
if you buy that 30GB IS Local only account now, then it'll expire at the end of this month, like in the very early hours of the 1st of the next month actually.
Could you perhaps tell me what ADSL modem you've got?

The cool thing about the IS Local only accounts bought at Axxess actually garantees you international access for the first few GB, even if you lost the connection to the account.
I also love the way that they're notifying you like 1 week prior to the end of the month that they'll deduct the specified amount for the next month's cap:
An amount of 125.00 will be automatically deducted on 31st May, 2011 from your credit card ending with 1234.
Click to expand...

The Web Africa prepaid account is awesome for gaming (especially if you're in the Cape w.r.t latencies), because it doesn't expire at the end of the month and you can game as much as you'd like on the WAGE servers without using even a few KB on the account - since the WAGE servers fall under the FreeZone thing of theirs, which doesn't count against your normal cap.

I actually have all my routers & PC's (except for my laptop) running off an UPS, so that I can be assured that my ADSL connection won't drop :D
Unfortunately this month an incompetent Afrihost support staff member reset my line, because they thought it would fix my issue that I had with my account :( Unfortunately I can't say with 100% certainty that it was one of them, since I don't have access to that kind of information :p , but I'm pretty sure it was one of them, because it was the exact day that they helped me out with my account, which I was very grateful about though.
 
Uncapped is not as great as it sounds. Most ISPs i found start throttling you when you go over a certain amount of data per month. The higher your download the more aggressively. Granted you are still connected and can still download.
 
Yup @ Raiders. All the ISP's that resell IS uncapped will have that rolling window where they'll limit you if you end up in the category that downloaded/uploaded the most.

So you either have to go with Mweb uncapped or like IS Gold Uncapped packages if you don't want to be limited badly.
 
i do wonder for how long them mweb 384 uncapped accounts will let ppl move 60gB per month. it works out to 20 of their 3gB capped accounts, now at R79 each, it comes to just under R1600 you would spend per month. what am i missing? and don't tell me shaping :)
 
I have a D-Link router downstairs where my DSL line is connected to. Then I connect to the internet through a Intellinet Wireless Access Point upstairs. Which uses a WAN port.
 
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