Wow!! Broadband woes in SA huh?

F

Fumblefingers

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
3
I am thinking of hooking my mom up in SA with broadband. But what a rip off the prices. And you have to get the ADSL line from Telkom, then pay an isp provider and then have limits on how much you can download?

I live in Los Angeles and have a cable modem/internet connection with my cable TV company. I pay $39.95 ( R280 ) a month which includes the modem, installation was free...all I paid extra for was a router so I could hook up my two Mac's in my music studio and my wifes PC in her office. I paid less than $50 for that. Actually the first 3 months were $29.95, as part of an ongoing promotion. Competition is fierce here.

The connection speed is blazing and I can surf unlimited, download as much as I want and leave my computer connected to the web all day long, all month long with no extra charges.

Of course the cable TV part is extra...we pay about $70 a month for God knows how many channels including HBO, Encore, IFC, Sundance and other 24 hour commercial free movie channels, cartoon and Disney channels for the kids etc. So my whole bill from the cable company for my internet and cable TV is around $100. $3-$4 a day for all out entertainment needs.

Some companies offer even better deals using DSL broadband...if you do all your communication with them...landline, cel phones and internet.

DSL is fine for most people but a cable modem is superfast. Here is a screenshot of a speedtest I just did. I often get in the 4000kbps range, it depends how many people in my area are on, but never less that around 3800kbps. My reading is the red one.



I mean...after all is said and done, how much are you guys in SA paying a month total for broadband? ADSL at least 500-700 kbps, and what is the average outlay to get all the stuff, modem router etc etc

I would be really interested to know because even with the exchange rate I might find this too costly to do.

I would appreciate any info. Thanks.
 
D

derekc

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2005
Messages
2,058
Depends on if u want to get a contract with Telkom or not. I would not recommend it as their Modems are kuk.

DSL 512 line rental - R362
TelkomInternet Account 3gb - R269 (Can get 3Gb at other places for R199)
Home line rental - R100

Installation - R440.
Modem - R500 (more if u going wireless)
Filter - R40

Therefore R1000 initial outlay. And roughly R720 p/m. so round abt $100 for a crap service.
 
M

mancombseepgood

Executive Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
9,351
My guess is...

that your mom won't be spending all her time downloading torrents, etc. So...
Get a 1Gb IS account from openweb www.openweb.co.za, and the 384 homedsl option from telkom...
R270 (line rental) + R99 (1Gb capped ADSL). Then get her a free gmail account for email so that she can jump ship but keep her email address if she wants. Of course, Gmail supports POP and SMTP, so she can use Outlook or Outlook Express. Total = R360 pm for 384k 24/7 dsl with 1Gb cap (plenty for most users). Of course, she can use Skype, etc and since it is an IS account, it is unshaped, meaning Skype works better on it than on a regular SAIX account. IS do have intermittent problems during bad weather since they use satellite for international bandwidth.

I recommend she gets an ADSL router as these are far less hassle once set up properly.

This excludes the once off fees for installation and modem / router of course.
 
Last edited:
bwana

bwana

MyBroadband
Super Moderator
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
89,424
Onepostwonder said:
that your mom won't be spending all her time downloading torrents, etc. So...
Get a 1Gb IS account from openweb www.openweb.co.za, and the 384 homedsl option from telkom...
R270 (line rental) + R99 (1Gb capped ADSL). Then get her a free gmail account for email so that she can jump ship but keep her email address if she wants. Of course, Gmail supports POP and SMTP, so she can use Outlook or Outlook Express. Total = R360 pm for 384k 24/7 dsl with 1Gb cap (plenty for most users). Of course, she can use Skype, etc and since it is an IS account, it is unshaped, meaning Skype works better on it than on a regular SAIX account. IS do have intermittent problems during bad weather since they use satellite for international bandwidth.

I recommend she gets an ADSL router as these are far less hassle once set up properly.

This excludes the once off fees for installation and modem / router of course.
Click to expand...
Why a 1gb IS account where a SAIX 1gb account can be as low as r75 and it rolls over.
 
M

matt loves telkom

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
868
MrG said:
4Mbit is good broadband, just the 3GB cap is a problem.
Click to expand...

Good to see someone with a positive outlook....this place shouldnt be called MyBroadband but rather my 'place-to-complain-and-bicker.com'

im gonna piss alotta people off when i post my 'First month of adsl' thread soon :D
 
M

mancombseepgood

Executive Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
9,351
Ha ha ha

matt loves telkom said:
Good to see someone with a positive outlook....this place shouldnt be called MyBroadband but rather my 'place-to-complain-and-bicker.com'

im gonna piss alotta people off when i post my 'First month of adsl' thread soon :D
Click to expand...

Naah - we'll just think you're o'ding on prozac... lol btw - if you make it through a month without being capped, you gotta ask yourself... why do I have broadband?
 
M

mancombseepgood

Executive Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
9,351
Well...

bwana v.18 said:
Skype is fine on SAIX - the shaped sat3 latency is bound to be better than via satellite, isnt it?
Does a 1gb account usually include 30gb local?
Click to expand...
1. Not necessarily - latency is much worse on a shaped SAIX account... it's bound to be with the priority Telkom would give VOIP. I have mentioned before that latency on dial-up is better than shaped SAIX ADSL. I have tested this.
2. 10Gb
 
F

Fumblefingers

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
3
That's a lot of info you guys thanks. Yes one of my main focuses, will be to hook my Ma up with Skype for video conferencing so she can see her granddaughters etc and they her.

I must say that all this shaped, unshaped, SAIX stuff sounds like a bunch of complicated bull to me. Especially the limits they place on use and all. Like I said, here in the US you call them, they come in the next couple days and hook you up and off you go. There is nothing complicated or hidden or slimy about it.

I wonder why the SA internet experience has to be so messed up. Is someone at the top making a bunch of money at everyone else's expense here?

By the way, hello to all from an ex-Durbanite who has been in the US since 1981.

Thanks for the info....keep it coming, I have a lot to learn about how it all works over there.

Cheers.
 
B

BeLgaRiOn

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
735
Fumblefingers said:
That's a lot of info you guys thanks. Yes one of my main focuses, will be to hook my Ma up with Skype for video conferencing so she can see her granddaughters etc and they her.

I must say that all this shaped, unshaped, SAIX stuff sounds like a bunch of complicated bull to me. Especially the limits they place on use and all. Like I said, here in the US you call them, they come in the next couple days and hook you up and off you go. There is nothing complicated or hidden or slimy about it.

I wonder why the SA internet experience has to be so messed up. Is someone at the top making a bunch of money at everyone else's expense here?

By the way, hello to all from an ex-Durbanite who has been in the US since 1981.

Thanks for the info....keep it coming, I have a lot to learn about how it all works over there.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Welcome to these forums :). Yes, it is a load of bull but when you have a monopoly (not for long I beg , with neotel coming in soon www.neotel.co.za) and an ineffective government and department of communications you get a fat cat analogy where people line their pockets with cash. Telkom made close to R20 billion I think last year :(.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top