Which ISP should I choose?

Yes mostly you should get equel to 128k ISDN but yes it depends. If you have a EDGE enabled phone maybe that will boost it by maybe 2kbs so yes Id say its much better than 56k dial up
 
Thanks for confirming guys. Virgin Mobile it is then.
Of course we will test first with minimum amount of prepaid.

Speed is not so much the issue. My old phone does not have EDGE, but most of the time normal GPRS should not be slower than 56k dialup modem.

Problem with dialup web browsing is that you pay per time. When reading a downloaded page, you are still paying for the idle connection sitting there until you request the next page. To connect and disconnect all time is just not practical.
 
Thanx this was brilliant...

Thanx MrG. Brilliant post, it has really helped. Now at least we know what to do & whom to do it with...!!:D
 
Moving to Telkom ADSL?

Hi

I am new to this forum. I have read a few posts in here but I am still confused. I am currently with Storm Internet (5 Gb @ R410/mo) with a faster Telkom adsl line (R286 + R130). Here in Gordon's Bay, I can not say that I am truly happy with my internet speed and recently I experienced bad customer support from Storm (dns issues).

I checked Telkom closer option 5 with fastest adsl (4 MB speed) and that is where I am really confused. How much is it really per month on top of the adsl line rental for internet access at that speed including a minimum of 3 Gb and how much per extra Gb?

Is Telkom adsl the best choice?

Also, is there a notice period before I can move from Storm and how quick is it to move across to another ISP?

Last question, is there any possibility to have a fixed IP address?
 
/me ninjas paulgondwana
/me greets the ninja'ed paulgondwana
Welcome to the MyADSL Forums! :D

Good to see someone online that is also from Gordon's Bay!

If you go with plain telkom all the way, the best you can get is DO Broadband 3 package at R554 per month. This includes your 4Mbit ADSL Line rental and your ISP portion that gives you 3GB of usage per month. Do note you will need to have a normal (not prepaid) line already for this. The installation of the ADSL line will be R490 if done by Telkom, or I can even come and do it for you if you want to save a few bucks - I'm close. Then you will also need an ADSL modem but the costs can be <R500 to as high as R2000+ depending on your needs.

There are a few other ISP's that offer One-Price ADSL that could fit you better if you would like to look at those options? For instance:
(4MBit line rental included with 3GB Usage limit/cap)
SAINET is R509pm

Then another thing - do you use any of Telkom's Closer packages at the moment?

I do not have a clue how Storm works but I will try to fish around a bit.
 
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Hi Id13!
I am in Gordon's Bay, right and as I said, I also have adsl already installed (faster) with a modem. I eventually want to change from Storm to another ISP.

So my questions...

1/ How do I go about upgrading my current telkom faster adsl line to the 4 Mb line?
2/ You said Do Broadband 3 package is R554 including line rental & 3 Gb (actually I pay Telkom R430 + Storm R410 for 5 Gb), is that correct?
3/ How much for any additional Gb?
5/ What about Telkom Closer? What benefit for me?
 
I check the Telkom site and it says that the R554 for do Broadband level 3 exclude line rental. This means an extra R130, isn't it?

I can not find anywhere mention of the cost for extra Gb. Does anyone know?

Also they say that the local 30 Gb only starts after the 3 Gb have been used. So I understand that after using the international bandwith in the initial 3 Gb, you can browse local for free within your 30 Gb limit (or 27 Gb) but what about international traffic from that point? Will Telkom bill you separately from that point?
 
I'm with Openweb/Openbrowse. Very happy, very impressed. Works out much cheaper than Telkom for a heavy user like myself.
 
paulgondwana said:
Hi Id13!
I am in Gordon's Bay, right and as I said, I also have adsl already installed (faster) with a modem. I eventually want to change from Storm to another ISP.

So my questions...

1/ How do I go about upgrading my current telkom faster adsl line to the 4 Mb line?
2/ You said Do Broadband 3 package is R554 including line rental & 3 Gb (actually I pay Telkom R430 + Storm R410 for 5 Gb), is that correct?
3/ How much for any additional Gb?
5/ What about Telkom Closer? What benefit for me?
Click to expand...

1 - You pick your phone and call Telkom. Upgrading to a higher package is usually instant from what I've heard. I hope you did not sign a contract.

2 - Ah, my bad, I misread that. Thought you did not have a line already. Lets see...

At the moment you have a 512K faster line [R326 ADSL line rental + R111 phone line rental]. We don't want to transfer that line as it will only be a pain - so we skip the One-Price accounts from other ISPs.

If you go with the DO3 Package it will be R554 per month for the 4Mb ADSL line rental with a 3GB cap & an additional R111 for the phone line rental. Total of R665 to Telkom.

If you want to split the cost up a bit you just ask Telkom to upgrade your line to a 4Mb. So then the ADSL Line rental part will go up to R413 and you still pay the phone line rental of R111. That is now R524 that you pay Telkom. You then Drop Storm and go with another ISP eg.

Sainet (After R99 once-off account activation)
1 GB - R49
2 GB - R79
3 GB - R139
4 GB - R189
6 GB - R249
10GB - R449

Openweb
5GB - R239
10GB - R459

Do your maths and see what will work out cheaper for you.

If we ignore the activation fee, the better value combination you can get here is:
4Mb ADSL+Line rental (R524) & 3GB Sainet account = R663 in total

Or if you want to spend about the same amount per month for more value:
4Mb ADSL+Line rental (R524) & 6GB Sainet account = R773 in total vs the R840 you usually paid per month.

I think that covers it?

3 - With the telkom ISP accounts like DO3, it will cost R64.76 per 1GB Topup, but as you will be using other ISPs I'd rather recommend that should you need extra gigabytes at the end of the month to rather get a WebAfrica/Axxess Prepaid account @ R70/R69 per 1GB. These prepaid accounts allows your bandwidth to roll over month after month - so you can use 100MB now, and leave the rest for next month. They basically never expire.

4 - The Closer 3/4/5 packages gives you Unlimited calls to anywhere in South Africa during Callmore time as well as 1000 inclusive Standard time minutes per month at a fixed fate with ADSL + Phone line rental included. But they do not bring the savings they used to do after the last price reductions.

paulgondwana said:
I check the Telkom site and it says that the R554 for do Broadband level 3 exclude line rental. This means an extra R130, isn't it?

Also they say that the local 30 Gb only starts after the 3 Gb have been used. So I understand that after using the international bandwith in the initial 3 Gb, you can browse local for free within your 30 Gb limit (or 27 Gb) but what about international traffic from that point? Will Telkom bill you separately from that point?
Click to expand...

Yes it excludes phone line rental of R111.90 (home) / R148.68 (business).

With the Telkom ISP account you get 10GB free Local with each 1GB of international with that account. So with the 3GB you get 30GB of local free, not 27. How it works is, your first usage, either international or local (blended), counts towards your initial 3GB cap. They still allow you to go a bit over that (+-200%) at times but then you get Capped. From that point onwards you cannot use International at all. You are then running on a 30GB local only account. This will allow you to visit sites that are situated within SA, like this one, and a few other stuff if you search around on the forum a bit.

Telkom will only bill you separately for local usage should you go over that 30GB at a rate of R25.55.

What I do when I get capped like this at the end of the month is get myself a Webafrica Prepaid account to last me that last few days. They are nice in the sense that they are roll-over you use 30mb this month, another 30 next month etc etc - as I explained above.

Does that cover it? ;)

It is a bit long - Please excuse any errors &/ slips of the mind &/ if something has already been answered by someone else while I was typing this :o
 
First of all, thank you Id13... and I will definitely need sometimes to digest everything! I appreciate the time you spent to reply to all my questions. I am sure this will be useful for many of us!

I will surely contact Telkom tomorrow morning. I should better say try to contact Telkom and try to speak to someone who knows their product (adsl & phone) very well.

Is their any special requirements to benefit from the 4Mbps line? With my current 512K line the real speed is around 431K. What is the real speed I can expect from the 4M from Gordon's Bay? Can I ask Telkom to test the max speed on my current adsl line first? Anyway, for less than R100 a month, it seems to be a good move IMHO...

My major problem with Telkom is their long queue for talking to support. On the other side when there is an issue and you have Telkom + another ISP, the problem is always on the other side.

Regarding cost, Telkom only (do Broadband 3) 3Gb @ R554 is cheaper than Telkom + SAInet 3Gb @ R663, but if I want more Gb I have to go with SAInet 6Gb @ R773 (or even 4Gb @ R713).

However, if I understand what you are saying, I'd better get the Telkom do Broadband 3 and pay extra gig if necessary. 3Gb @ R554 + 3Gb @ 3xR65 = R749 is still cheaper than SAInet 6Gb @ R773.

Do these Telkom extra Gb roll over the next month as the WebAfrica/Axxess Prepaid card?

Last (I promise), sorry I want to go to the bottom line of this...

Do the Closer package works with several 3 lines on the same account? I mean will I have 1000 free minutes 'peak-time-anywhere-in-SA' whatever the line used, as well as for the free callmore?

Some more maths... Closer 5 seems based on Telkom site to be do Broadband 4 Mb with 3 Gb + all the benefits you did mentioned including phone line rental for only R651/mo. This is insane compare to what I am paying now! Does this price apply for business line?

On a completely different matter, I want to sponsor Internet access to one of my staff. He has a non active land line at his flat and no bluetooth cellphone. Is the traditional line with dialup access the best option to go at budget price? Installation @ R221.30 + Rental @ R57.25 + Internet @ R79. Is that all the monthly costs (R136.25) to spend max 75 hours on the Internet per month?
 
paulgondwana said:
Is their any special requirements to benefit from the 4Mbps line? With my current 512K line the real speed is around 431K. What is the real speed I can expect from the 4M from Gordon's Bay? Can I ask Telkom to test the max speed on my current adsl line first? Anyway, for less than R100 a month, it seems to be a good move IMHO...
Click to expand...

The requirement for 4Mb is that you are close to your DSLAM and that it is 4Mb enabled - the GB DSLAM is 4Mb enabled :). Just ask Telkom to test if you line is indeed capable of this or not. I do not know how far you are from the DSLAM or where this box is located. Regarding real speeds...unfortunately that's like predicting how long you are going to stand in the Que at the traffic department :(. If you can successfully sync at 4Mb speeds you should not have a problem reaching those speeds if all other factors are ignored - but you will see a significant difference in speed from your 512K line!

paulgondwana said:
My major problem with Telkom is their long queue for talking to support. On the other side when there is an issue and you have Telkom + another ISP, the problem is always on the other side.
Click to expand...

Do not fret too much about ISP side support. 99.99% of the problems I've had was Telkoms fault (the GB DSLAM has the tendency to fall over at odd times of the month). SAINET is my ISP and I never had the need to contact them regarding any problems.

paulgondwana said:
Regarding cost, Telkom only (do Broadband 3) 3Gb @ R554 is cheaper than Telkom + SAInet 3Gb @ R663, but if I want more Gb I have to go with SAInet 6Gb @ R773 (or even 4Gb @ R713).
Click to expand...

Whoa, stop the bus right there! DO3 is R554 + R111/R148 or whatever for your Phone/Home/Business/Analogue line rental. So R665pm if you go Pure Telkom. If you get the ADSL(R326) + phone(R111) line from Telkom and the 3GB account (R139) from SAINET, then it totals R663pm.
So its R665 vs R663 (depending on if this is a home or business Phone line). Also note that you are still free to buy Extra GB's does not matter if you go the Pure Telkom or Telkom+Sainet route.

paulgondwana said:
However, if I understand what you are saying, I'd better get the Telkom do Broadband 3 and pay extra gig if necessary. 3Gb @ R554 + 3Gb @ 3xR65 = R749 is still cheaper than SAInet 6Gb @ R773.
Click to expand...

That's not what I am saying.
DO3 (3GB) R554
+ R111 / R148 Phone Line Rental
= R665 / R684
+ 3GB @ 3xR65 Topup(195)
= R860 / R879 [6GB TOTAL]

VS

4Mb ADSL Line rental R413
+ R111 / R148 Phone Line Rental
= R437 / R456
+ 6GB Sainet R249
= R773 / R810 [6GB TOTAL]

;)

paulgondwana said:
Do these Telkom extra Gb roll over the next month as the WebAfrica/Axxess Prepaid card?
Click to expand...

Nope

paulgondwana said:
Last (I promise), sorry I want to go to the bottom line of this...
Click to expand...

You promise hey? :p

paulgondwana said:
This is insane compare to what I am paying now! Does this price apply for business line?
Click to expand...

"Telkom CLOSER is only available to Telkom residential Home Line customers. " :(

I will answer the rest separately....

EDIT:
Stupid me - paulgondwana just showed me the errors I made! :o *Fixed*
 
Last edited:
paulgondwana said:
On a completely different matter, I want to sponsor Internet access to one of my staff. He has a non active land line at his flat and no bluetooth cellphone. Is the traditional line with dialup access the best option to go at budget price? Installation @ R221.30 + Rental @ R57.25 + Internet @ R79. Is that all the monthly costs (R136.25) to spend max 75 hours on the Internet per month?
Click to expand...

Normally it would be R57.25pm phone line rental and then the R79pm = R136.25 + normal&internet dailup phone call charges, but...

Have a look at this offer by Telkom called Waya-Waya. You pay R250 once off and get free line installation + 1 year rental free (R120 per year thereafter) + R10 airtime + Free basic phone.

These prepaid lines have higher than normal call fees when compared to normal lines!

Then its only R79pm for the telkom dailup ISP account. But do note, then you still have not paid anything towards the internet dailup phone call charges that can run up quite high if you do not keep an eye on it. This is not ADSL that is online 24/7, you pay for How long you are on.

You can get cheaper dailup accounts than that though.

Otherwise, the cheapest you can get away with ADSL-Wise is:
Basic phone line rental @R111pm* + 384k line with 1GB cap...
R169 Cybersmart (1)
R189 Sainet (2)
R139 Nasua (3)
R199 Telkom DO1 (4)
^Above accounts are One-Price accounts as you order your ADSL line through these companies and get your ISP portion with cap all-in-one from them.

*ADSL is not available on Prepaid lines! So we have to get a normal line :rolleyes:
(1) R275 setup fee with Free modem
(2) R399 setup fee - free modem subject to 24month contract
(3) 12 Month Contract! with free modem
(4) Free modem Subject to 24month contract

ADSL modems cost R250++ (R250 is for the cheap USB DSL Wifi Stick from Telkom) and once again the ADSL installation fee of R490 (I was wrong before, sorry!) can be bypassed if I do it for you, given of course that this staff member is also in GB?

I think that covers it :)
 
Last edited:
OK I got my Telkom line upgraded to 4 Mb and I am waiting to switch over to SAInet tomorrow! For less that what I was paying now, I will get 4 Gb on a 4 Mb line. Thanks again to Id13!

Regarding the other request, the basic internet access, I still have some questions.

1/ What is the difference between a Telkom line at R57 and R111 / month?
2/ With the Waya-waya deal @ R120 a year, can you get Nasua dsl 1 Gb on top of that?
(I tried to call both Telkom & Nasua today, but with very little time I could not get through and get all the info)
3/ Now, it happens that my guy has a cellphone with bluetooth with a prepaid MTN card. Can he access the internet with that? At what speed? And at what cost? (May-be for limited traffic it could be an option - no waiting time for the land line to be installed - no rental - no adsl) Is that acceptable?
 
I don't think you can get a Telkom line at R57/month? You can't get ADSL on prepaid lines, including Waya Waya.

You can access internet over MTN, you get bundles like 500MB @ R189, 1GB @ R289, 2GB @ R389. Check their website.
 
Hey guys

So I have a OpenWeb account but lots of people have said that OW sucks, and some have said they don't. Someone has recommended WebAfrica or Imagine IPS(or something like that). Another friend of mine told me to rather go with WebAfrica, I'm thinking of going with his advice.
But first:
Those that say OW sucks, why do they suck?
Those that say WA is better, why are they better?
Any other advice?

p.s. At OW i have a IS account 2GB Int + 28GB local, I was thinking of going 3GB soon, since at OW its R209.
 
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