Web Intact (Or intactless service)

Yeah.. that sounds like the typical unlicensed WISP operation.
Run by someone who doesn't know the first thing about running ISP.
Treating customers like the ISP is doing them a favour by offering them connectivity.
 
:D

Thanks for that syrovi - we've been slogging like dogs, working through the upgrades; and it's nice to know we're making a difference. We have an excellent team at work who managed to complete 7 sites in 2 1/2 days in Rustenburg. We've just returned from the Welkom/Kroonstad/Bothaville area where their upgrade is almost complete.

The speed you are getting (probably more consistently than previously) is 128kbps, which is equivalent to a dual-channel ISDN connection. We have not completed the new firewall queing (?) and bursting configuration, but will be re-implimenting that within the next few weeks. The bursting will again allow for fast browsing and small downloads, but limit your larger download speed to that of your subscription. As you say - good value uncapped options are also available.

The reason why P2P was previously disallowed was that we did not yet have a solution to identify and control these connections. The good news is that now we do allow it - but these connections will be shaped, limiting your download speed on P2P. At this stage there is no shaping on P2P, but this will be implimented with the new queing and bursting setup.

So - basically the change in approach along with the upgrade is 'Allow everything and only block that that is potentially damaging' rather than 'Block everything and only allow that that you want'

If you do a man iptables there are modules to identify p2p, futhermore, anything not http related, ftp, ssh or smtp is safely p2p. p2p can also be identified by the data throughput and the number of simultaneous connections per second. if companies in eurpope can correctly identify and shape p2p you should also be able to do it. if you use redhat servers upgrade to a new kernel. use ubuntu linux instead, compile a kernel yourself and apply the iptables patch-o-matic patches. i've done it since grade 10, it is easy.
 
edc - you're quoting posts that are a year old - do you assume that no progress has been made in that time, or are you just bragging about how much you know? I feel for your experience with WebIntact, but we are not the same company although we were once related.

Your assumptions about filtering everything not ftp, http etc as p2p are dodgy - what about the multitudes of other ports that may be other applications/ptp networks/games etc etc?

And no - we don't use linux as a packet shaper, but thanks for the suggestions...
 
Last edited:
edc - you're quoting posts that are a year old - do you assume that no progress has been made in that time, or are you just bragging about how much you know? I feel for your experience with WebIntact, but we are not the same company although we were once related.

Your assumptions about filtering everything not ftp, http etc as p2p are dodgy - what about the multitudes of other ports that may be other applications/ptp networks/games etc etc?

And no - we don't use linux as a packet shaper, but thanks for the suggestions...

It was not my intention to brag or have it come over as such about what I know about Webintact. When I saw the thread I was immediatly reminded of the money I lost to them and the annoyance I experienced over the two month period when I was with them, my posts were aggresive. They were worst than Telkom. I did not immediately release that it was Global WebIntact under discussion.

About identifying p2p connections, I did not consider games and the various uses people will have for their ISP connection. My experience with corperate lans did not ever require me to care about the employee gaming at work. I over-simplied the problem significantly. Excuse me for that.

Am wondering since then how do you identify p2p traffic now and to what extent it will be shaped? I'm currently using a 40kbyte/s ADSL connection, on which I download from sadc non-stop. My average download speed is 20kbytes/s. Would your service term that as abusive or shape it down to speeds lower than an average of 20kbyte/s? I'm once again interested in a wireless ISP because I already have the AP, but I want to make sure what I will let myself get into this time. Last month I downloaded 31G on my 30G cap, so it is safe to assume I would want to use the service 24*7*4 hours a month. On your uncapped accounts, what is abusive? 5G 30G or even 90G? Your accounts seem much cheaper than ADSL, so 20G for R350 does not sound bad.
 
really REALLY sick of GWI

I've had a GWI connection for about 6 months now

On some days I would consistently get disconnects at intervals of approx 5 minutes. That has been happening for the whole period! At first I would still get good days w/o disconnects. It doesn't outright disconnect me, no my pc still believes its connected so redial is useless! :mad: So its more of a drop than dc.

To avoid this drop it seems that pinging any server will help keep the connection longer. I still suffer through multiple timeouts and get disconnected from irc servers more and more :mad:

p2p used to work (I dont care about speed as long as it works) but no client connects anymore
Today my msn, GoogleTalk and irc have all been unable to connect and it worked a few hours ago! I can still browse but thats about the only thing I can do!

If progress has been made then I am glad I have not been part of this for longer...

I have checked the connection (I get 79% signal quality) after having a tech look at my connection and connecting through a new tower (before was about 52%)

I understand that webintact is expensive because of the uncapped offering but tbh I'll live with a cap just to get stable internet
 
@KaOS:

Where do you connect to? I'm assuming PTA/JHB/VDB/VNG because of the p2p problem. Maybe I can help you here on your continual disconnect problem. Yours is an isolated case, but it is also something we can probably solve. Sounds like an interference/reflection symptom.

Regarding the p2p - we recently changed bandwidth suppliers, and have been experimenting feeding p2p via our original supplier. It works well in most places, but some not for hitherto unknown reasons. Torrent and eDonkey clients seem to be mostly OK, but there seems to be a problem with Limewire.
The reason for doing it this way is to try and offer some dedicated unshaped bandwidth for p2p. The new supplier is far better than the old, and you should notice a far more consistent d/l speed than before, except for the p2p gllitches at the moment. It is not a policy thing, but a technical issue we are facing.

@edc:

Our services are 100% uncapped, and you can download as much as you can get. In Gauteng/NW it is also 100% unshaped, but we are facing the issues described above.
In smaller towns that are not directly connected to Gauteng, shaping applies on p2p, but is still 100% uncapped.
 
Thanks for the quick reply

I connect to gwi cashane-sect(1 or 2) in Rustenburg. There are 2 APs I can connect to ;)

I managed to get a 'hit' on ares but could not dl it. I HATE limewire btw. I'll check uTorrent to see if I get lucky.

My irc,msn and googletalk arfe all working once again. :D :D
 
Personally, I've varified Bittorrent and Bit Comet as working in JHB - All settings on default & connected through a router with IP forwarding to my internal address switched on.

Cashane is an area of high interference, and an alternative 5GHz site has been installed to try and alleviate this. We are regularly trying different equipment options on Cashane to try and rectify the issues there, as it is an excellent site from a vantage point of view.
btw - pinging a router node/server sounds like a good way to keep a wireless link more stable in that environment. It's the kind of thing we sometimes need to work around, operating in the ISM band as we do.
 
Last edited:
this is a question to the subscribers of global, what is the maximum, *sustained* download speed when downloading from ftp.is.co.za, the maximum possible speeds you have received when downloading from microsoft and such huge internet heavy-weights.

i would also like to know if anyone uses sadc at all and what download speeds they have achieved? i currently have an adsl line, on which i average 20kbyte/s on p2p networks, if global speeds are not comparible i would use its uncapped service for international browsing and the adsl connection for local downloads.

thank you "global webintact" for your quick responses, it has restored a measure of trust in wireless companies. i intended to email you, but a i think the following question will be and as been repeated. am on a gprs connection the beach so havent browsed your whole website to find out.

what is the term of the contract and installation and hardware fees? i'm a student at potch and a 12 month contract is too long given all the uncertainties of studying and so forth. i think my situation in potchefstoom is not unique, many students would like internet access, though its not affordable as of yet.
 
@edc

We do not require contracts if you purchase your equipment - your subscription is month-to-month, and I understand you already have a CPE?

Hardware & installation is typically around R1600 or so, depending on the complexity of the installation. Equipment costs around R1200 of that. Subs are R350/R550/R850 for uncappe services.

Potchefstroom is not yet available to subscribers - we have been doing tests there for the last month or so, and it should be available in mid to end January.
I think it would be best if you emailed [email protected] for the latest prices, but you may not get a response until after new year's.
 
this is a question to the subscribers of global, what is the maximum, *sustained* download speed when downloading from ftp.is.co.za, the maximum possible speeds you have received when downloading from microsoft and such huge internet heavy-weights.

i would also like to know if anyone uses sadc at all and what download speeds they have achieved? i currently have an adsl line, on which i average 20kbyte/s on p2p networks, if global speeds are not comparible i would use its uncapped service for international browsing and the adsl connection for local downloads.

thank you "global webintact" for your quick responses, it has restored a measure of trust in wireless companies. i intended to email you, but a i think the following question will be and as been repeated. am on a gprs connection the beach so havent browsed your whole website to find out.

what is the term of the contract and installation and hardware fees? i'm a student at potch and a 12 month contract is too long given all the uncertainties of studying and so forth. i think my situation in potchefstoom is not unique, many students would like internet access, though its not affordable as of yet.


you can expect about 20-25k for a single thread connection to sites like msn and such, multithreaded you can get your 60k when its all working propery
 
thats not bad. decent speeds.

already have an access point, 2km range i believe.

i believe it would be prudent to establish a presence in potch before the 12th of febuary when the varsity opens. during that time students purchase pcs and install land lines for dialups, usually not adsl connections. students who do not live in a hostel need some way or another to receive email from lecturers, since using campus PCs is an annoyance. might be a market you would want to research and exploit/serve.
 
to bboy

ok i'm puzzled ...how can u guys get 20-25k/sec..... and even faster going multithreaded...60k/sec

are you guys on 128k/192/256k package

back when i was on - i tried using getright/dap with 4-5 segments when downloading and i couldn't go ONE BIT over the max limit (bursts)..

i was on 128k

any ideas?
 
[OUPA]MrNutz;798312 said:
ok i'm puzzled ...how can u guys get 20-25k/sec..... and even faster going multithreaded...60k/sec

are you guys on 128k/192/256k package

back when i was on - i tried using getright/dap with 4-5 segments when downloading and i couldn't go ONE BIT over the max limit (bursts)..

i was on 128k

any ideas?

I am on 512Kbits and get 50Kbyte SINGLE THREADED (dependung on the Server obviously ;) ) but not always "sustained" - Using DAP 8.5 helps to keep it more constant.

Results of IS Speed test just done (and I have P2P running at a few KByte/sec as well :D )

IS ADSL Local Speed Test to Internet Solutions Rosebank Data Centre
Please wait testing speed now...
Start Time: 11:12:42
End time: 11:12:47
Download Size: 409600 bytes
Time Delta: 5.6192910671234 seconds
Download Speed: 71 KBytes/s
Line Speed: 568 kbits/s

When it works (95% of the time in my case) it works pretty well. No complaints here. And now that I have a Router (D-Link DI-604) managing things it's even more reliable.

Thanks, GWI - keep it this way!

- R
 
Last edited:
[OUPA]MrNutz;798520 said:
not talking about ADSL - talkin about the wireless side!

This IS on Wireless - GWI Pietermaritzburg Nedbank Tower :D

512 Kbit Link, uncapped R513 per month.

Occassionally suffers fro the usual IS latency but overall is a very workable solution.

Here's another speed test: (Sentech)

Speed Test
Your download speed is: 55.42 KBps, or 443.34 Kbps
The test took 9.654 seconds to complete

- R
 
Huh

again HUH?

what special is this - or did u sign up 9999 years ago ? :)

currently:
128k = R350
192k = R550 i think
256k = R850

how do u get 512k for ~ R550????

mr Webintact - care 2 comment about this?
 
[OUPA]MrNutz;798598 said:
again HUH?

what special is this - or did u sign up 9999 years ago ? :)

currently:
128k = R350
192k = R550 i think
256k = R850

how do u get 512k for ~ R550????

mr Webintact - care 2 comment about this?

Nothing special - standard pricing for home users. ;)
 
GWI please add some 2cents here!!!

well my friend - either you have a very good sales person in pmb - or you are just lucky .

i just went to the website again and spoke to 2 people from GWI and no chance of that price being applicable ....for me at least - like i said - R350 for 128k , 550 for 192k and 850 for 256k - so you are scoring big - and somebody is not aware of it...

512k on the current pricing structure would work out like 1600 for 512k!!!...and u do it for a 1000 less p/m...

maybe GWI should contact your salesperson :)))

or your salesperson me - i'd like some of the pie too ..

its really unfair if GWI would treat area X with a set of prices and another area with another set of totally different prices...

i mean telkom doesn't charge JHB ADSL users 500odd p/m and for example Kimberley users R50p/m...get my drift?

lucky - all i can say
 
:confused: :confused:

Hmm. I really don't know - all I know is that is what we (work AND myself) are paying.

Let's see what "Webintact" says in Jan 2007 when he's back ...

I have a pricing schedule (printed document that you fill in when you register) somewhere at the office but I am also only back there 2nd Jan. And we get GWI Invoices for that amount.

And I am sure "BBoy" (another PMB Forumite who posts on this thread) was paying the same. He has subsequently switched to Telskommels & ADSL.

:D
 
Last edited:
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X