-
Join the MyBroadband community
South Africa’s biggest forum. Discuss, discover, and connect with thousands of members.
-
Question of the Day: How frequently are you watching FIFA World Cup 2026 matches?
Web Intact (Or intactless service)
- Thread starter Jacobl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- worst wisp
[OUPA]MrNutz
Expert Member
hmmmmm ...mr GlobalWebintact - care 2 comment about this ?
for example : i would sincerely not think it to be fair if say telkom charges an ADSL customer in Town A say R1000 and in Town B R500....but meanwhile it is EXACTLY the same product and package.
Vodacom doesn't charge Rate X for weekender plus in town A and Rate X/2 or whatever in town Y..
so i'd really like to know whats happening here - can i rejoin GWI with this price as these 2 lads say they are/were paying?
this should be interesting - /me grabs the popcorn
for example : i would sincerely not think it to be fair if say telkom charges an ADSL customer in Town A say R1000 and in Town B R500....but meanwhile it is EXACTLY the same product and package.
Vodacom doesn't charge Rate X for weekender plus in town A and Rate X/2 or whatever in town Y..
so i'd really like to know whats happening here - can i rejoin GWI with this price as these 2 lads say they are/were paying?
this should be interesting - /me grabs the popcorn
[OUPA]MrNutz;806757 said:
I have no problem, they best not try hike our prices tho
I will just move to ADSL and use IS as my ISP BUT work does not have a choice, no ADSL till end March or later.
I don't feel like watching 'Drew (owner of the place I work for) throw all his toyz and himself and prolly me out the cot if he suddenly finds he has to pay R1,000 plus
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Hi there
I live in Sinoville, in Pretoria and I called up my local reseller for GWI yesterday (AMAX Electronics). Much to my surprise they were at my place at 8am this morning to install. I have theoretical line-of-sight to the Wonderboom tower, but unfortunately there are a lot of dense trees between my house and said tower. There was no signal at all with the regular antenna. So the guys missioned off to JHB to get a Big-ass antenna that looks like a bit of a garden chair, and still no signal. They were about to give up when they decided to connect the antenna and walk around on the roof. Eventually they found a place where there was signal. This was at about 13:30. They actually spent the entire day at my place trying different things to get me a signal. It came out as being 32 something in the end.
I only found this service because I saw a board on a street pole somewhere advertising uncapped internet at R199pm. I was totally sick of Telkom dialup and the costs and utterly ridiculous speeds. I was paying R130 a month just to connect to Telkom and then a further R200+ for my usage which was limited to night-time and weekends. Granted, I'm on a 64kbps line, but I'm getting sustained speeds of 72kbps and higher.
So far I've tested IE and Firefox, and both worked perfectly. Then I got Google Earth, which works perfectly too. I just tested GoogleTalk with positive results. My only problem is with p2p. I can't get BitComet or uTorrent to work. Same story with Grabit. The guy that installed the line for me said something about port forwarding, but I have no idea what that means.
So far my experience with GWI has been nothing but pleasant! They installed less than 24 hours after my first enquiry, and they are giving me better speeds than they said they would at a cost less than my pathetic dialup.
Bonus feature for me, is that both machines currently connected to my switch are getting speeds of 72kbps!
My only problem was the R2.5k install cost (up from R2052 standard), but if they keep delivering this level of service, I'll be saving that in a year just in phone bills.
I live in Sinoville, in Pretoria and I called up my local reseller for GWI yesterday (AMAX Electronics). Much to my surprise they were at my place at 8am this morning to install. I have theoretical line-of-sight to the Wonderboom tower, but unfortunately there are a lot of dense trees between my house and said tower. There was no signal at all with the regular antenna. So the guys missioned off to JHB to get a Big-ass antenna that looks like a bit of a garden chair, and still no signal. They were about to give up when they decided to connect the antenna and walk around on the roof. Eventually they found a place where there was signal. This was at about 13:30. They actually spent the entire day at my place trying different things to get me a signal. It came out as being 32 something in the end.
I only found this service because I saw a board on a street pole somewhere advertising uncapped internet at R199pm. I was totally sick of Telkom dialup and the costs and utterly ridiculous speeds. I was paying R130 a month just to connect to Telkom and then a further R200+ for my usage which was limited to night-time and weekends. Granted, I'm on a 64kbps line, but I'm getting sustained speeds of 72kbps and higher.
So far I've tested IE and Firefox, and both worked perfectly. Then I got Google Earth, which works perfectly too. I just tested GoogleTalk with positive results. My only problem is with p2p. I can't get BitComet or uTorrent to work. Same story with Grabit. The guy that installed the line for me said something about port forwarding, but I have no idea what that means.
So far my experience with GWI has been nothing but pleasant! They installed less than 24 hours after my first enquiry, and they are giving me better speeds than they said they would at a cost less than my pathetic dialup.
Bonus feature for me, is that both machines currently connected to my switch are getting speeds of 72kbps!
My only problem was the R2.5k install cost (up from R2052 standard), but if they keep delivering this level of service, I'll be saving that in a year just in phone bills.
I am on 512Kbits and get 50Kbyte SINGLE THREADED (dependung on the Server obviously
Results of IS Speed test just done (and I have P2P running at a few KByte/sec as well
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
Changing the "When it works" (above) from 95% to 99.9%. Sure it slows down (especially now that everyone is back at work) but all the intermittent connection problems & so on I experienced last year are a thing of the past.
My advice: Get a cheap router (like the D Link DI 604) to manage the connection. Huge improvement in stabilty over Win XP, better security, better logs
Ok. So it's been 4 days since the installation.
Everything was going perfectly (besides the lack of p2p) until 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Since then I haven't been able to use the Internet. I connect to the router perfectly and I have signal of between 29 and 32. I have rebooted it a few times and I've told it to connect manually, but still no Internet. I haven't cancelled my Telkom subscription yet, so I'm currently using a 28k connection to post this. I tried to call the help line that's on the pamphlet I got when it was installed, but it's a useless voice message telling me to call another number in office hours. How the hell does that help me when I have no internet at 3pm on a Saturday? It doesn't. Get a 24hour call center or give better voice messages!
I haven't changed anything on the router besides port forwarding settings (which did nothing to get my p2p working), and I've even removed all my forwarding filters to see if that was the case. I tried connecting my laptop to my switch but still got no internet. If this isn't sorted out soon I'm gonna cancel my subscription and ask for a refund on the installation. You can't advertise always-on Internet and not deliver the service. And when there's a technical error, let your customers know about it!
If it makes a difference, I'm connecting to GWI Wonderboom 1
Everything was going perfectly (besides the lack of p2p) until 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Since then I haven't been able to use the Internet. I connect to the router perfectly and I have signal of between 29 and 32. I have rebooted it a few times and I've told it to connect manually, but still no Internet. I haven't cancelled my Telkom subscription yet, so I'm currently using a 28k connection to post this. I tried to call the help line that's on the pamphlet I got when it was installed, but it's a useless voice message telling me to call another number in office hours. How the hell does that help me when I have no internet at 3pm on a Saturday? It doesn't. Get a 24hour call center or give better voice messages!
I haven't changed anything on the router besides port forwarding settings (which did nothing to get my p2p working), and I've even removed all my forwarding filters to see if that was the case. I tried connecting my laptop to my switch but still got no internet. If this isn't sorted out soon I'm gonna cancel my subscription and ask for a refund on the installation. You can't advertise always-on Internet and not deliver the service. And when there's a technical error, let your customers know about it!
If it makes a difference, I'm connecting to GWI Wonderboom 1
Note: I'm not attacking WebIntact, I'm just commenting on typical WISP behaviour.
This is typical behaviour of the WISP's that I warn people about.
Generally, they only have 1 technical guy who knows how the network works, if they have one at all.
And when he's on leave/holiday/hungover-in-bed/sick, everyone just has to stay offline until he feels like getting back to it.
Get a Real ISP, one with a call-centre (and not a number that redirects to some guys cellphone), one with a real Network Operations Centre (and not a guy who single-handedly runs the whole network).
Remember, there's a reason why all these little WISPs are so cheap.
This is typical behaviour of the WISP's that I warn people about.
Generally, they only have 1 technical guy who knows how the network works, if they have one at all.
And when he's on leave/holiday/hungover-in-bed/sick, everyone just has to stay offline until he feels like getting back to it.
Get a Real ISP, one with a call-centre (and not a number that redirects to some guys cellphone), one with a real Network Operations Centre (and not a guy who single-handedly runs the whole network).
Remember, there's a reason why all these little WISPs are so cheap.
Last edited:
This is so up-and-down at the moment!
Called the local guys and they came around quite unexpectedly about an hour later. Turns out that my username and password are giving issues. I'm on a temporary account at the moment that's 192kbps as far as I can tell. They said they'd call me with the updated details when the problem is sorted out.
So yet again the local installer/reseller did a great job! But now it's GWI that's at fault for two reasons.
1. No 24hour support
2. When I called their support line today they could tell me that Authentication was failing, but then said it is most likely a local issue, like the router being faulty. Just as well the local guy came around shortly after that and fixed it for me.
Amax - 2
GWI - 0
Called the local guys and they came around quite unexpectedly about an hour later. Turns out that my username and password are giving issues. I'm on a temporary account at the moment that's 192kbps as far as I can tell. They said they'd call me with the updated details when the problem is sorted out.
So yet again the local installer/reseller did a great job! But now it's GWI that's at fault for two reasons.
1. No 24hour support
2. When I called their support line today they could tell me that Authentication was failing, but then said it is most likely a local issue, like the router being faulty. Just as well the local guy came around shortly after that and fixed it for me.
Amax - 2
GWI - 0
[OUPA]MrNutz
Expert Member
did GWI provide the "router" ?
i'd suggest skipping the router - put the ethernet cable into switch - do pppoe dial from one pc - and ICS that connection...
then router problems are skipped.
just a workaround - my 2cents
i'd suggest skipping the router - put the ethernet cable into switch - do pppoe dial from one pc - and ICS that connection...
then router problems are skipped.
just a workaround - my 2cents
[OUPA]MrNutz
Expert Member
need 2cents
Ok - so for those on GWI with verizion (uunet) as backbone...how do we get p2p running
bitcomet = nope
bittorrent= nope
emule = nope
limewire=nope
even local traffic p2p = nope..
so any ideas?
cheers
Ok - so for those on GWI with verizion (uunet) as backbone...how do we get p2p running
bitcomet = nope
bittorrent= nope
emule = nope
limewire=nope
even local traffic p2p = nope..
so any ideas?
cheers
WRT the router I might have my terminology mixed up...
The guys that installed it call it a router, suppose it's just a wireless modem, I don't know the difference. I take the cat5 cable that comes from the aerial and put it into my switch and then plug my PC's into the switch. It just works and I'm not asking any questions.
So far I've had 3 days of 64kbps access and 2 days of 192kbps access. Both are a vast improvement over my Telkom "56k" dialup.
The guys that installed it call it a router, suppose it's just a wireless modem, I don't know the difference. I take the cat5 cable that comes from the aerial and put it into my switch and then plug my PC's into the switch. It just works and I'm not asking any questions.
So far I've had 3 days of 64kbps access and 2 days of 192kbps access. Both are a vast improvement over my Telkom "56k" dialup.
From what I can tell: Wireless modem = Wireless Access Point (but with very limited intelligence) -> Router (or switch as you call it) -> PC's via CAT5.
Same setup as mine, the Router / Switch actually manages the connection, not the PC and as I have stated in previous posts I have found this to be a far more reliable setup than a connection managed by Win XP. And I can get better logs from my Router than Win XP. Running a identical setup at work, also with far better stability than when we tried ICS last year ...
My 5c
- R
Just a pity it can't be configured to maintain the "Dialup" PPPOE connection. Not that my and the office D-Link 604 cost me that much more than a 4 port hub would have
But as always the office moaned: "We did not need THIS extra flashing light box with ADSL when we were in Cape Town, THAT existing (ADSL) flashing light box did it ALLLLL! AND on our Apple Mac's too!" (yeah, yeah, blah, blah)/IT guy just keeps mouth shut
LordMerlin
Well-Known Member
ok, so is it worth getting, or not?
For me, a definite yes - don't have to worry about Telkom's 3gig cap (I have a 16 year old daughter who is addicted to NetLand)
If you are an online gamer it would not be too good - latency is variable and would cause you to get nailed way to often in WOW or CS
But as a transparent, always on, download what you will, when you will (with no worries), email & WWW solution at the price we are paying here in Maritzburg it works for me. One proviso: It stays as stable as what it has been since December last year, prior to that reliability was a bit iffy. Then we had a big storm and their Nedbank 2 tower was struck by lightning, lot's of stuff their end had to be replaced and since then it's been really good
- R
Last edited:
Web Intact
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Apologies for being so scarce since last year - actually been back at work since early Jan, but just not around here until now.
Happy New Year and all that - glad to see most of you have sorted out your issues already!
A couple of points on things discussed - firstly the router/bridge questions:
If you just plug in and go, then you have a router. We have sourced a cheap and so far decent CPE that includes PPPoE dial-out that we are offering clients at the moment (Zero Wire branded). This is going to get cheaper still. If you experience connection issues with this router, it can be configured in bridge mode and the built-in Windows PPPoE client can then be used.
Now P2P in the Gauteng area - we are currently testing a P2P server that will be hosted on our local network (NB - NOT an official GWI service, but a kind offer from a client). Should be available in about a week or so...
This server will have its own dedicated 1Mbps bandwidth for P2P. You will log in on a web page, upload a Torrent file and leave it to download. Once it has downloaded from the Internet, you can then download it at your local PPPoE speed, which means MUCH faster P2P than you'll experience anywhere else.
At the moment, it's only Torrents, but we hope to include other P2P clients soon.
Lastly - the support issue. Daffy is quite correct with his description, except we're a little more disciplined than he describes! If we're on duty, we're on duty and no hangover excuses are accepted!
Our 'call centre' is manned by 1 of 5 capable staff at any one time, and we are all available to each other at any time - so effectively you have 5 people available to deal with support issues. That is not including the Technicians or branches' technicians, where people often call first. So all in all there must be about 30-40 people that could be contacted.
He is also right about the call-centre not being a 24-hour manned center contributing to the low cost. We operate from 8am to 10pm, and can deal with 90% of issues from anywhere.
Apologies for being so scarce since last year - actually been back at work since early Jan, but just not around here until now.
Happy New Year and all that - glad to see most of you have sorted out your issues already!
A couple of points on things discussed - firstly the router/bridge questions:
If you just plug in and go, then you have a router. We have sourced a cheap and so far decent CPE that includes PPPoE dial-out that we are offering clients at the moment (Zero Wire branded). This is going to get cheaper still. If you experience connection issues with this router, it can be configured in bridge mode and the built-in Windows PPPoE client can then be used.
Now P2P in the Gauteng area - we are currently testing a P2P server that will be hosted on our local network (NB - NOT an official GWI service, but a kind offer from a client). Should be available in about a week or so...
This server will have its own dedicated 1Mbps bandwidth for P2P. You will log in on a web page, upload a Torrent file and leave it to download. Once it has downloaded from the Internet, you can then download it at your local PPPoE speed, which means MUCH faster P2P than you'll experience anywhere else.
At the moment, it's only Torrents, but we hope to include other P2P clients soon.
Lastly - the support issue. Daffy is quite correct with his description, except we're a little more disciplined than he describes! If we're on duty, we're on duty and no hangover excuses are accepted!
Our 'call centre' is manned by 1 of 5 capable staff at any one time, and we are all available to each other at any time - so effectively you have 5 people available to deal with support issues. That is not including the Technicians or branches' technicians, where people often call first. So all in all there must be about 30-40 people that could be contacted.
He is also right about the call-centre not being a 24-hour manned center contributing to the low cost. We operate from 8am to 10pm, and can deal with 90% of issues from anywhere.
Last edited:
Called support on 22nd and ask if a technician can be sent to my house to sort out the problem. Was told it will come within the week.
Friday afternoon still no one contact me so Called Grant (for those who doesn't know he's the sale manager). Described the problem over the phone and tried a few tricks, no luck! An appointment was made that he will come today 9:30AM (Saturday 27).
He arrived at a quater past, climbed up the roof and opened the CPE, plugged the LAN cable to another port, some reposition of angle and settings, everything is back to normal( router's port took out by lightning probably, now I have all my equipments in my room protected with Belkin Surge Master).....And the best is because of the unconsistency I got with the decent signal, Grant decided to replace my equipment (supplied by GWI) for a new one at no cost to me on Monday.
Looking forward to this new P2P server and better services from GWI!
Friday afternoon still no one contact me so Called Grant (for those who doesn't know he's the sale manager). Described the problem over the phone and tried a few tricks, no luck! An appointment was made that he will come today 9:30AM (Saturday 27).
He arrived at a quater past, climbed up the roof and opened the CPE, plugged the LAN cable to another port, some reposition of angle and settings, everything is back to normal( router's port took out by lightning probably, now I have all my equipments in my room protected with Belkin Surge Master).....And the best is because of the unconsistency I got with the decent signal, Grant decided to replace my equipment (supplied by GWI) for a new one at no cost to me on Monday.
Looking forward to this new P2P server and better services from GWI!
[OUPA]MrNutz
Expert Member
lucky you...our local agent in die vaal is not 100% clued up...and the service is also not 100% here...going to give it another month or 2 - then i'm going 2 cancel again if things don't pick up after promised repairs/improvements...
its just not a stable platform locally....sigh
its just not a stable platform locally....sigh