What IBurst Think

When I met with WBS, I tried to bring up the topic of port shaping and the cap. The topic was quickly dropped and changed. The Chief operating officer was very carefull not to make any comments on the topic.

When the question of hardware prices was raised this was once again dropped very quickly, however they did mention that they would like to make the hardware more affordable for end users.

He was also very defensive of Sentech when the topic came up.

There are several ways to interpret the avoidance of these questions. I will leave it up to you guys to make your own judgements.

For now I agree with noone, make the best of the bandwidth before they cap it. Cause it might be 10 years before we see true broadband again.
 
ADSL here I come.

After reading all this I'm gonna wait a while before signing any contracts with iBurst, Sentech, Telkom or any other company.

I just hope I can get ADSL, Telkom still has to come around and check and everything. Probably only call them in a few weeks.'

If iBurst sticks to their 3gb, and less, cap then I can bet a lot of people are gonna stay away from them.
 
I don't know who in management would have dismissed MyAdsl users as the minority - all of us, including management should know better.

Why?

- a large number of our user base learnt about iBurst on MyAdsl
- management personally know many MyAdsl users who actively post here, even some of the vocal ones
- many MyAdsl users have become subscribers
- members of the public who walk in and talk to management drill them about MyAdsl continuously
- discussions on MyAdsl are often brought up

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My views are mine, and mine alone.<br /></i></font id="size1"></center>
 
<b>Anakin</b>, thanks for the comment, I think we need to hear from the <i>who in management</i> (<b>WIM</b>) that THX1138 allegedly got all this info from.

<b>THX1138</b>, as Anakin says, WIM did you meet with[?] - it is time to name and shame the WIM, and provide the WIM with an opportunity to defend themselves...
 
Ic, there is no necessity to go on a witchhunt for WIMs at this stage. If anyone did indeed make any such remarks, it certainly does not represent the attitude of WBS management towards this forum. It would simply be a mistake, if we did not embrace the viewpoints expressed here.

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My views are mine, and mine alone.<br /></i></font id="size1"></center>
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by anakin</i>
<br />Ic, there is no necessity to go on a witchhunt for WIMs at this stage. If anyone did indeed make any such remarks, it certainly does not represent the attitude of WBS management towards this forum. It would simply be a mistake, if we did not embrace the viewpoints expressed here.

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My views are mine, and mine alone.<br /></i></font id="size1"></center>
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Translation: Damage control.

-Information anarchist-
www.sentechhatesfreespeech.org.za
I support:
www.hellkom.co.za
www.poopband.co.za
Looking for something better than IE?
www.mozilla.org/products/firefox
 
Hi Anakin, I am not proposing a witch hunt.

Note that I don't know who THX1138 is, and I don't know if any of this actually happened, THX1138 has made allegations that need to be backed up.

Please understand that as WBS customers, we are investing 2 years of our finances with WBS. In my case that is R15551.00.

What we need is transparency and openness, which is why THX1138 should tell us WIM he got all this from.

Then WIM must respond, and we the customers should take it from there.

Added: <b>Anakin & Sihen</b> this whole topic is spiralling out of control, I would like to think that WBS Management must be aware of it by now. Damage control or not, I suggest that someone high up registers as a MyADSL member, perhaps with the username <i>WBSManagement</i>, and at the very least states that a further in-depth reply is on its way.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">If THX1138's comments are accurate<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I wasn't making a judgement on whether his comments where accurate or not, but there has been more than enough background chatter in a similar vein to give them a little credibility. On the flip side of the coin however it does <b>seem</b> that WBS is paying a great deal more attention to the requirements from customers than Sentech ever did which is commendable.

I would also rather have very clearly laid out restriction on use than vague references to what is acceptable behaviour, even if I disagree with those restrictions.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by hArTh</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by anakin</i>
<br />Ic, there is no necessity to go on a witchhunt for WIMs at this stage. If anyone did indeed make any such remarks, it certainly does not represent the attitude of WBS management towards this forum. It would simply be a mistake, if we did not embrace the viewpoints expressed here.

<hr noshade size="1"><center><i><font size="1">
My views are mine, and mine alone.<br /></i></font id="size1"></center>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Translation: Damage control.

-Information anarchist-
www.sentechhatesfreespeech.org.za
I support:
www.hellkom.co.za
www.poopband.co.za
Looking for something better than IE?
www.mozilla.org/products/firefox
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Precisely.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kai</i>
<br />

Thank God I didn't sign a contract... and they can buy the modem back...

bb, I would LOVE to get ADSL, but I can't... exchange doesn't support it, and if Telkom thinks I'm going to reapply every second month to see if that status has changed, they have another thing coming!

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Hi there I have been reading these posts with interest for a while. (managed to put me off MW!)
I applied six weeks ago for ADSL, to be attached to the phone at the place I am moving to the end of this month. I called today to check up on things, only to get told there are no ports, and that in the meantime someone managed to get things a TAD mixed up, and TK didn't put in for a normal line - so at the moment, come 1 December I probably won't have SQUAT!
So I am looking at alternatives, and believe it or not, I am a "non-power user" who actually IS prepared to pay to be connected all the time - IF things work! What I'm NOT prepared to do is pay over R2000 for a modem, only to find that things actaully s-ck - and then be stuck with it - so what's this about them buying the modem back??? Will they do this????

Thanks,
D

Stewing over bad service - roll on any alternatives!
 
I mentioned once that it might be a possibility seeing as they've been very open to suggestions and very flexible. If you're afraid in getting locked into a 2 year contract, I suggest trying WBS anyway, you have a 7 day window period in which you can cancel. The prelaunch phase is a bit cheaper. Plus, you can cancel at any time you want.

The reason why you sign a 2 year contract is simple : You get the modem for free and WBS needs some kind of document to say that you're prepared to stay a customer of them for at least 2 years so they can make the cash back that they laid out in buying and importing these modems.

This is where Sentech went crazy, the whole contract was based around the actual service, and not the fact you got the modem for free and that you're actually signing it to agree that you'll "pay the modem in 2 years with a monthly installment"

WBS told me that, once you have saved up the cash amount to buy the modem (or feel you have had good service and they're not doing another Sentech on us a few months down the line) OR you wish to cover your ass in case they DO go "Sentech", you can switch from the 2 year contract to a month by month contract by BUYING the modem.

This is possible, because then WBS is only selling you internet access, and do not need to worry about the potential loss of revenue put in to actually buy and supply the modem to you.

As for buying the modem back from you if you decide not to have WBS anymore, you can always ASK.

For example : I've been staying at the same place for the last 2 years (renting in and staying in a small commune) and by only ASKING, I now have a 25 square metre room (biggest in the house) and my own garage. Only by asking, you open so many doors.

I suggest you call Dylan during office hours, and ask him to find out if it is possible.

In my opinion, they'd be more than happy to help you "re-distribute" your modem by selling/renting it out to someone else, because ultimately it means they dont have to spend x amount of money more to bring in another modem.

As for the topic, damage control indeed. I just find it fun to wait and see and use a system I find very fast and responsive. No ports for ADSL, no liking Telkom or SuckTech... Im more than happy to stay with them for the meanwhile.
 
I was just wondering. If a company is so good that it would provide you with the service you're paying for, plus good support, why in the world do they need you to sign a 2 year contract? If their ongoing service is so good, no one would leave them, not in two years or five years. We all know that sentech's two year contract was just a scam to tie you down while they screwed up their service.
 
Like I mentioned, the 2 year contract is only to ensure they get their money back for the initial "investment" they have in you, aka the modem.

It's exactly (yet more difficult to cancel) as a vodacom or mtn contract with a new shiny phone. both of the service providers GIVE you the cellphone for free, but it usually comes at a 2 year contract price with yearly escalations. After those two years you have an option to upgrade your cellphone... this is to make sure you stay "hooked" for another 2 years, because, to get your upgrade and stay "trendy" (and not pay 4000 for a cellphone), they lock you into another 2 years with the lure of a free upgrade.

Thus, I entirely dismiss the whole contract thing, and mentioned in my previous post re: What Sentech did with that contract.

Use your common sense...

They have good service thus far, good technical support that calls you back and can actually DO something for you when you do call, they follow up even if you told them you'd call them and their internet access is superb.

The only constant in life is change, so let's see what the future holds, stop being scared children and touch those big boobs when a lady offers them to you, doesn't matter HOW drunk she is... :)
 
To those thinking I was referencing porn again, no, bandwidth does it for me, and the lady with big boobs (aka bandwidth) is WBS... and I'm cupping a feel while she's drunk [;)]
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by noone</i>
<br />To those thinking I was referencing porn again, no, bandwidth does it for me, and the lady with big boobs (aka bandwidth) is WBS... and I'm cupping a feel while she's drunk [;)]
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Bloody communist !

Heck, where was the internet when I was slumming it in communes - bastard ! [:D]

Vat hom Fluffy!
 
I see ppl are talking about the 3gig cap...now as I understand it you get 3gig at top speed then everything drops to 64kbps - how would this impact then if you still dl'ed 24/7 after that at 64kpbs. You would far exceed the 3gig top speed, are they (WBS) gonna charge you for the extra bandwidth? YOu can do almost 18gig at 64kbps 24/7. Do these guys really know whats going on? I need some clarity.

"Broadband in SA is like the holy grail - everybody knows what it is but nobody has ever found it"
 
Noone, glad to see you've cooled off a bit, I think this topic has "agitated" all of us iBursters, myself included.

<b>I will be waiting for an official WBS Management response to THX1138's <u>allegations</u> here</b>.

Like noone says, the 2 year WBS contract should be about paying off the UTC/UTD.

Cellular Network Operators make you sign a 24 month contract - the reason - to tie you to them hand and foot, although they lure you with a shiny new phone, which they tell you is free. Nothing in life is free, and you are definitely not getting a cellphone for free, you're actually paying it off at an inflated price over 2 years.

Like I mentioned WBS Should bill separately for the UTC/UTD. The 2 year contract should apply only to the UTC/UTD, and the ISP part of the contract should be month2month (i.e. 30 days notice), with the provision that when you cancel the ISP part you either pay off the UTC/UTD or continue to pay it on a monthly basis.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bb_matt</i>

3gig is effectively 100meg a day.

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I used to download about 150MB a night (about 11hrs) with 64k ISDN.

3 gig cap is crazy.

At least give 1gig a Day.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Killer</i>
<br />At least give 1gig a Day.
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This isn't going to happen, however when you have a 1 mbit connection you should at least be given enough so you're not counting the bytes every time you download something.

Actually thinking about it what may work better in the iBurst environment is a daily cap rather than monthly one e.g. you're given 200 megs a day fast speeds and when you exceed that you're switched to 64kb/s. This way you could surf at full speed during the day and set your downloads to run overnight when it doesn't matter if you're running at 64kb/s. This will also level out overall network usage as you won't have people congesting the network at the beginning and end of the month.

It would be awesome if WBS could implement a package like this alongside the current packages they're planning. I'm sure it's technically possible. Also unused "fast" megabytes don't even need to carry over to the next day as long as you get a reasonable amount like 200+ megs per day. It's a win-win, users get more bandwidth without having to worry about busting their entire cap in a few days and WBS get more even network usage making it easier to manage. What do you think anakin and sihen? (or any of you guys for that matter [;)])
 
Yep, I have been thinking the same thing - daily cap that is. I know someone mentioned it in another topic somewhere sometime - probably a topic on Telskum & ADSL...

Luckily my home address is not known (I hope), bcos I risk my life by saying:
Have a Daily limit, but <i>control things so that bandwidth gobblers (P2P) have an incentive to gobble in the evenings/'off-peak'</i> - rather than normal business hours. Perhaps it is technically possible to route P2P traffic through a separate subnet, the idea being that P2P customers would regulate themselves by creating their own contention ratio dynamic. Ok so I'm talking a lot of twoddle here, but maybe there is something to it[?]

Also: Packages need to be flexible and not designed to tie customers to a service provider. Rigid packages that are accompanied by a medium to long term contract are anti-competitive, and allow the service provider to monopolise each and every customer that signs such a contract. Customers should be allowed to switch to another service provider if they want to - at a price naturally.

And: This whole topic is supposed to be about <b>What WBS Think</b>, but we really do not know what WBS think - there is no clear statement about what direction packages etc are going in, which I can understand since this is still pre-launch and WBS are hopefully still deciding, listening to all of us deranged people.

Our pre-launch comments & views are WBS' chance to put some really amazing customer focused stuff together - before the official launch in 2005.

Having said that, I think they should try running some of the stuff by us (not likely to happen), so we can give them an idea of the reaction(s) they might get when they launch.
 
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