Why is Uncapped internet actually Limited connectivity in SA?

Arthur said:
I agree.

Which is why many people have said many times on this and other forums that the term "uncapped" in this context has run its course and should be abandoned. There really isn't such a thing except in a very narrow and specific sense.

Sadly, as long as consumers think there is and buy simply because they see "uncapped" without thinking further, the term will persist. And the truth is, for many users that's all that really matters for them. And that's fine. More discerning users need to educate themselves as with any other purchase.

The last thing we need is more government interference.
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And that is precisely why we the consumer should bring the ISP, Governing bodies and those that just accept it back into line and insist that they redefine the service using the appropriate language. otherwise it is just smoke and mirrors and I thought the internet was intended to help remove all the government, establishment white washing! So I believe my indignance over the incorrect usage should stand and others should join me in my stand.

I also don't see how consumers doing more reading changes anything. The ISPs are intentional duping us and we should keep complaining. Support calls cost them money and if enough support calls hit them over this issue they might just need to reevaluate their descriptions if for no other reason other than to drop their support costs.
 
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Arthur said:
I agree.

Which is why many people have said many times on this and other forums that the term "uncapped" in this context has run its course and should be abandoned. There really isn't such a thing except in a very narrow and specific sense.

Sadly, as long as consumers think there is and buy simply because they see "uncapped" without thinking further, the term will persist. And the truth is, for many users that's all that really matters for them. And that's fine. More discerning users need to educate themselves as with any other purchase.

The last thing we need is more government interference.
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Arthur I don't want you to think I am knocking your advice. It is good advice to those that seek the path of least resistance and want to just settle for the best deal they can get in between all the BS that the advertising departments of the companies come up with.
So I would just like to say your advice stands as good advice I just feel that sometimes we shouldn't just settle for second best just because first has been stolen.
 
By the way what is the page record for one of these forums? I once posted that the 1993 E36 M5 was the very last true M car ever to be made by BMW on a BMW fanatics forum and it went on for almost 900 pages. (LOL)
Although I do feel that this issue is somewhat more important to the future of what we expect from our ISPs.
 
innovator said:
By the way what is the page record for one of these forums? I once posted that the 1993 E36 M5 was the very last true M car ever to be made by BMW on a BMW fanatics forum and it went on for almost 900 pages. (LOL)
Although I do feel that this issue is somewhat more important to the future of what we expect from our ISPs.
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ThreadKiller I
It got so long that they had to close it and delete it as it caused DB problems! Now they lock each one at 10 000 posts.
 
MickeyD said:
ThreadKiller I
It got so long that they had to close it and delete it as it caused DB problems! Now they lock each one at 10 000 posts.
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I suppose at 10,000 posts there isn't much more one could say on an issue without repeating yourself. (LOL)
 
You know people always think that they can never make a difference on an issue but I must tell you can. I have affected many different organisations and how they do business today with my activity. I have even managed to get agents that were not towing the line for a major brand dropped for bad service.

Recently I managed to to cause so much stink both locally and internationally for a well-known brand that had sold me a chronically faulty fridge six years ago and just kept hiding behind the local agents support infrastructure while under warantee and then just ignored me after that but for three years I kept at them until finally I figured how they were using social media to affect brand image and I began taking them on on all their international social media points until their head office got so fed up that the forced the local branch office to swap out my fridge for a brand new uprated model (R25,000 worth).

So never think that we can't right a wrong if we are persistent enough and if there are enough of us we can affect change. Always remember that. Corporates with a brand are very wary of loosing face in the media and the new media is social media.
 
MickeyD said:
TK I - 303165 posts.

Funny place that... many questions are answered there as we are too lazy to start new threads for every little thing!
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I know what you mean. While familiar for many years with Linux, I am a resent convert to Ubuntu. After stripping my moer once to often with Windows 7 I dumped it and installed Ubuntu onto my Alienware laptop. And as I said I have courted Linux for years but until you actually dump Windows and dive into Linux as your only operating system you are not really using it.

So there I was all naked and Linuxed up and I tell I have just loved the assistance on all the forums. I haven't struggled with anything at all and yes I too have been guilty of cross pollinating forums whilst in this process of discovery. But have never waited more than five minutes for an answer. It has to be the most well supported sector out there.
 
OP, get a uncapped unshaped line. If the price is too much, downgrade since if you're getting 3mb anyway, go for 4mb that you will get consistently at full speed.
 
innovator said:
You know people always think that they can never make a difference on an issue but I must tell you can. I have affected many different organisations and how they do business today with my activity. I have even managed to get agents that were not towing the line for a major brand dropped for bad service.

Recently I managed to to cause so much stink both locally and internationally for a well-known brand that had sold me a chronically faulty fridge six years ago and just kept hiding behind the local agents support infrastructure while under warantee and then just ignored me after that but for three years I kept at them until finally I figured how they were using social media to affect brand image and I began taking them on on all their international social media points until their head office got so fed up that the forced the local branch office to swap out my fridge for a brand new uprated model (R25,000 worth).

So never think that we can't right a wrong if we are persistent enough and if there are enough of us we can affect change. Always remember that. Corporates with a brand are very wary of loosing face in the media and the new media is social media.
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Would agree with you if telkom would care about their image.
 
when CEO's pockets get full in a developing economy - then you know ;)
 
Johnatan56 said:
Would agree with you if telkom would care about their image.
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So true... ... but Telkom's days in Telecommunications is numbered they have seen the writing is on the wall so the have just acquired Biz Solutions so that they can break into another sector. If this is a sign it means that it is all about to go one of two ways: Heavier parastatal interference or more competition. I'm kinda positive the later is going to happen.
 
ajan said:
when CEO's pockets get full in a developing economy - then you know ;)
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"Ya no well no fine" or shall I rather say "hhhmnepotism!". ah bless you!

One just hopes that now that the ANC has competition for their followers that they will begin taking appointments and rewards a little more seriously or our next president might be Malema.
 
YangWenli said:
I think the really irritating thing is the whole lack of transparency. When I was with Mweb, they throttled the **** out of my 'uncapped' account. They refuse to tell me how many gigs of download until I am throttled(It seemed to be 40-70gb). ISP's should be upfront about how it really works! "Limited" is a truly befitting word for all those 'uncapped' accounts.

It is too expensive to go for those Gold/Platinum/Business accounts, I just want to use steam/GOG & Youtube Not download 5tb of **** knows. I am with Afrihost now (4mbps 'uncapped'). I can consistently watch Youtube and MGL at 720p with no buffering. They throttle all form of downloading to 10 -12kbps during lunch to midnight(I get 400kbps afterwards). It sucks but it is the best deal I have available for my budget. They call it "shaping", it beats throttling but is still designed to 'entice' you to buy their business package(It REALLY sucks big time if you want to download something during the day).

You just have to choose the lesser of the evils. They all suck, just choose which one sucks slightly less :'(
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I 100% agree with you regarding the lack of transparency. That was my whole argument which caused me to give Mweb the boot. Had uncapped line, found out once i hit 150Gigs that my "threshold/soft cap" was 70Gb :wtf: and was calmly told not to use my service for a month then they would remove the throttle...oh they did give me another option though:) that i could get another account in the interim until my uncapped service throttle is removed :erm:...:twisted:. I don't give a crap about deconstructing the terms Uncapped/Unlimited then using fare useage mumbo jumbo legal crap to justify there blatant bating of new users to subscribe to their service.
 
@supersunbird

Love your footnote, i agree:

Boycott MWEB
1. Leave MWeb! They WILL throttle your 1Mbps line to death as soon you download over 100GB
2. Cancellation form
 
blade1wp said:
@supersunbird

Love your footnote, i agree:

Boycott MWEB
1. Leave MWeb! They WILL throttle your 1Mbps line to death as soon you download over 100GB
2. Cancellation form
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Thanks. Its a bit old now. But ja, still waiting for my warning letter from them that I am using too much and they might throttle me (not that I can access the mailbox they had for me). Then I'll remove my sig.
 
If ISPs advertise and market "uncapped" services then that's what they should be: no soft caps calculated on the number of bits down/uploaded. Period. Introducing restrictions when some arbitrary threshold is reached, and justifying it in terms of an "acceptable use" clause, in my view amounts to misleading advertising. By all means shape. But you cannot sell uncapped on the one hand and then tell users that their total monthly usage is not acceptable.
 
Arthur said:
If ISPs advertise and market "uncapped" services then that's what they should be: no soft caps calculated on the number of bits down/uploaded. Period. Introducing restrictions when some arbitrary threshold is reached, and justifying it in terms of an "acceptable use" clause, in my view amounts to misleading advertising. By all means shape. But you cannot sell uncapped on the one hand and then tell users that their total monthly usage is not acceptable.
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Sadly ISPA - or at least the "independent" adjudicators - disagree in the strongest of terms. Large ISPs can and do call users abusers on uncapped products exclusively on the quantity used.

Further there is a massive distinction between fair use policies and acceptable use policies. The inclusion of terms that permit an arbitary threshold or gives some officiant without consideration, hearing or notice the power to decide that a particular form of usage is "unfair" and therefore abuse because the AUP states that users will use the resources fairly violates every principle of natural justice - and this is before the judge in own cause question creeps in.

A product can on its stated specification state thresholds at which additional shaping or throttling provided this information is known to the customer in advance and it is not a cap (hence uncapped) but there is a degree of honesty needed here - so for example that uncapped mobile offering from MTN a while back (not sure if it still runs) that throttles to 128kbps or whatever is uncapped but the clearly pointed out the 3GB threshold. Similarly a FUP that indicates a threshold at which more severe shaping or throttling (in the sense of a reduced line speed) kicks in are reasonable measures to control demand on a network BUT knowledge of the policy is really important.

What you shouldn't be allowed to do - but ISPA says it is fine (so long as you are a sufficiently large ISP) - is claim that you will never throttle and offer an uncapped product and then on the sole basis of quantity both throttle and call your customers abusers.
 
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