Vumatel ISP suggestion please?

Salt

Salt

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Hey all. Looking for a new ISP. Currently with HomeConnect. Was with Wirulink before - was pretty happy with them - not sure how they are now. Any suggestions? Looking at a 100Mbps min down service, 1:1 contention ratio and standard stuff like no throttling etc. Any suggestions on the Vumetal network? Just want a good, fuss free line - getting what I pay for, all the time and decent support service. Feels like that is asking too much these days but let me know what you guys can suggest.
 
Whatever you do, do not get Supersonic Fibre. Their service is shocking and their international speeds are through the floor, plus my line is unstable. I have seen countless other complaints of a similar nature.

My friend has Cool Ideas and says good things about them. Wish I had chosen them! Good Luck!
 
Salt said:
Is Websquad active on this forum? I am looking at either them or CISP then
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Very, as is Afrihost and CISP... spoilt for choice...

How do they compare price wise is maybe your only consideration...
 
Salt said:
Is Websquad active on this forum? I am looking at either them or CISP then
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Indeed they are

Web Squad ISP

Let me know which servers you are seeing this for. Ran a few tests now from a KZN prefix and not seeing any issues from most peers.Back to normal pings in Durban, however optimum online New York is
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za

sorry, im sending you the ass end of the thread
 
Unfortunately after engaging with Web Squad I leant that if you cancel within 6 months on their 'month to month' service you still have to pay them a R799 cancellation fee...so not really a month to month service. Will see what CISP says about that. IMO if you have faith and confidence in your services than you don't need safety nets and penalty clauses on a 'month to month' service in particular.
 
Salt said:
Unfortunately after engaging with Web Squad I leant that if you cancel within 6 months on their 'month to month' service you still have to pay them a R799 cancellation fee...so not really a month to month service. Will see what CISP says about that. IMO if you have faith and confidence in your services than you don't need safety nets and penalty clauses on a 'month to month' service in particular.
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If I remember correctly, that is for the Vumatel Activation Fee and most ISPs do the same if you cancel before 6 months.
 
Salt said:
Unfortunately after engaging with Web Squad I leant that if you cancel within 6 months on their 'month to month' service you still have to pay them a R799 cancellation fee...so not really a month to month service. Will see what CISP says about that. IMO if you have faith and confidence in your services than you don't need safety nets and penalty clauses on a 'month to month' service in particular.
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We’re very confident in our services. And in general, this is an industry norm. As ISPs, we pay for that “free” activation fee (R1009 in Vumatel’s case ) to the FNO every time we activate a client, as well as all the extras you get when you sign up. Confidence in our service and prudence when it comes to keeping our business running are not mutually exclusive.

We’ve never hidden or obfuscated our claw back. But this is still a month to month service. We’re not claiming the remaining value of your service term when you cancel, we’re not locking you into a fixed term- that is a contract. However, if you cancel within the first 6 months, we claw back a reduced amount against the initial costs.
 
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websquadza said:
We’re very confident in our services. And in general, this is an industry norm. As ISPs, we pay for that “free” activation fee (R1009) to the FNO every time we activate a client. We also incur the cost of all the free extras. However, as a small business, it would not be smart to just give away money, and unfortunately, our generosity with regards to the above costs is often abused. Confidence in our service and prudence when it comes to keeping our business running are not mutually exclusive.

We’ve never said there isn’t a claw back, it’s not hidden or obfuscated. But this is still a month to month service. We’re not claiming the remaining value of your service term when you cancel, we’re not locking you into a fixed term- that is a contract. However, if you cancel within the first 6 months, we’re claiming back a small percentage of the initial cost we incurred to provide you with your service.
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I appreciate your reply and understand you are a small business (pro's and con's to that in itself to me as a customer) but just because something is an 'industry norm' doesn't make it right now does it? Examples of this are recent mobile service provider fees which the regulator has been clamping down on and wiping out to the benefit of consumers. Perhaps the activation charge ISP's are being charged by the FNO which the end customer has to pay is another one that should be looked it. You have your valid points and I acknowledge that - for me though as a customer I want the freedom to be able to move between service providers if service turns out to be another dud like I have seen so many times before and the idea of a month to month service should be exactly that, pure and simple - no penalty clauses. I am fed up with not getting what a person pays for only for the service provider to reply and say well as far as they are concerned there is nothing wrong with the line or service and the customer is stuck with no recourse and just has to pay and see the term out. Unfortunately shockingly bad customer service has in fact become the norm in SA (not saying that is the case with Web Squad as I have no experience with your services) but I think we can all agree that is true. And as such, as a consumer I need to have that freedom which penalty clauses takes away from me.

I'll keep my options open for now, but again I appreciate your honest feedback.
 
You should rely on reviews from members here. There's no getting away from the vuma activation charge unfortunately.
Considering that it's around a month's subs depending on your speed it's not particularly onerous Imho. Yeah I know the principle sucks, but I tend towards the pragmatic.
 
Sinbad said:
You should rely on reviews from members here. There's no getting away from the vuma activation charge unfortunately.
Considering that it's around a month's subs depending on your speed it's not particularly onerous Imho. Yeah I know the principle sucks, but I tend towards the pragmatic.
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What concerns me is what control does the ISP actually have over the level of a customers line performance? From my experience, whether it be Afrihost, CISP, Homeconnect, Vox, the actual line performance is pretty similar. The constant being my fibre is delivered via Vumatel (aerial deployment), Do performance issues stem from the ISP or the FNO? I'm saying 20% ISP, 80% FNO based on my personal experiences... I'm most likely way off but perhaps @websquadza @TheRoDent could chime in.

So the FNO charges the ISP an installation fee and the customer cancels on the back of poor performance, with the FNO being the main influence of said poor performance?
 
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