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This is a short explanation of the iBurst Wireless packages and the benefits:
iBurst Wireless, a.k.a. Bubbles, uses a wireless access network which has a maximum of up to 1061 kb/s up and 346 kb/s down per subscriber. These are typically achievable using the Batman or Dark Knight modems. A higher end modem the Silver Surfer can achieve speeds of up to 2122kb/s down and 692 kb/s up. The optimal download speeds can also be stated as 125 KB/s and 250 KB/s. Typically, when poor signal conditions are experienced these can be improved by using a omni or flat panel antennae. Signal conditions have an adverse impact on speed and latency. Signal conditions are influenced by physical obstructions like foliage and walls, distance from tower and load on the tower. iBurst uses a porcupine base station which provides good spectrum re-use in a single national 5Mhz band for the whole network. This video explains the technology. One of the features is the ability to do high speed handovers as demonstrated here or here.. This can be demonstrated using a drive test with a laptop and a Batman travelling from Pretoria to Johannesburg. There are three legacy modem types out there that may still be in use: the Blonde Knight, Robin and the Grandpa Surfer.
Speed is often tested using www.speedtest.net and latency using www.pingtest.net. iBurst maintains it's own java based test at speedtest.iburst.co.za. Another alternative is to use speedtest.mybroadband.co.za. The signal strength can be viewed for the Dark Knight and Silver Surfer using the process described here. Additionally, the Batman (and the Dark Knight using it's USB port) has a driver which provides an iBurst Terminal that displays signal strength. The connection is setup using the operating system's broadband connection manager. As an example, the process for Windows XP is described here.
The above hardware can be purchased new, second-hand or on contract. The modem has a unique reference number called a UTID that is linked to your account which restricts usage to that hardware and prevents data fraud when account details are stolen. It is possible to have a maximum of three modems associated with an account. The Dark Knight and Silver surfer have an ethernet port that allows it to be connected to a broadband router. These broadband routers include the open source versions of tomato and dd-wrt. A common broadband router that is used is the Linksys WRT54GL. ROS is also supported and can be used with two modems to provide a wan load balancing solution. The most common ROS device is the RB750. The Batman uses USB and thus is appropriate for laptop use. The Dark Knight and Silver Surfer have better signal abilities.
iBurst Wireless has the following packages Starter, 1, 2, 5, 8 and 15. The bandwidth is allocated on the 1st and 15th of each month. The 15th allocation is referred to as the free midmonth topup. This means that each iBurst Wireless package enjoys DOUBLE the initial monthy allocation:
- Wireless 1 is effectively a Wireless 2
- Wireless 2 is effectively a Wireless 4
- Wireless 5 is effectively a Wireless 10
- Wireless 8 is effectively a Wireless 16
- Wireless 15 is effectively a Wireless 30
During the period Midnight to Morning (00:01am to 8am) a different discounted burn rate applies to each of the above packages. Thus, as an example if you are using a Wireless 2 package you can download 4GB instead of 2GB. The Daily Maverick calls this Broadband Heaven! With the midmonth topup this value increases to 8GB.
When your bandwidth cap is used your are hard capped. However, even when hardcapped you will still have uncapped access to the iBurst websites and services including email and VoIP. If you wish to continue surfing using non-local iBurst sites you can purchase a booster which provides out of bundle rates at the same rate as the base package. We do not charge a premium for out of bundle data.
iBurst implements a rollover on bandwidth up to a maximum of three times your initial allocation. So if you have a Wireless 8 you can rollover a maximum of 24GB.
Bandwidth usage is reported using the iBurst website. The website also allows you to view statements and invoices and purchase boosters. It is also possible to have a daily usage email sent to yourself.
The iBurst network consists of more than two hundred and fifty high sites with a number of additional repeater sites used to extend the diameter of the network. iBurst has multiple data centres in Gauteng, one located at Midrand and the other at Gallo Manor. The one at Midrand is our own facility while the one at Gallo Manor is a third party. We have created multiple redundant paths to each data centre and every high site has a separate physical path to each data centre. To achieve this we have created a fully redundant fibre ring of more than 200 km operating at up to 10 Gb/s with more than twenty high sites. These are attached to more than twenty RF rings operating at speeds in the region of STM1 or STM2 that provide path protected transit to the remainder of the towers. iBurst also has in the region of STM8 international links which are routed via the Africa east (EASSY) and west coast (SAT3 with migration plan to WACS). These links terminate at an iBurst point of presence in Telehouse, London where international transit is obtained from Telia and Cogent. During the course of the year peering connections to LINX will be implemented.
iBurst owns and maintains a C-Band satellite earth station at Gallo Manor and provides services on this infrastructure.
iBurst has presence at both CINX and JINX and subscribes to an open peering policy, meaning we will not impose conditional restrictions. The JINX location is actually a node on the high speed fibre ring (as is Teraco) One of the srvices provided via JINX is DSTV OnDemand. Currently, iBurst is forced to procure local IP transit from a third party within South Africa. This transit also caters from a local national backhaul capability of in the region STM1 which provides connectivity to points of presence in Durban and Cape Town. The following regional centres are also connected: Polokwane, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Kimberly, Port Elizabeth and Pietermaritzburg.
iBurst maintains quality of service parameters on the network to achieve a balanced user experience for all subscribers. A wireless environment is a limited resource and it will be impacted by not only usage but connection count. For this reason aggressive peer to peer usage on a tower will be detrimental to service quality. On the network this protocol is shaped to ensure overall service quality and good user experience. This type of service control even makes it possible to use the network for gaming. Typically, these parameters are relaxed in the early morning hours when there is a trough in the connection count.
iBurst Wireless, a.k.a. Bubbles, uses a wireless access network which has a maximum of up to 1061 kb/s up and 346 kb/s down per subscriber. These are typically achievable using the Batman or Dark Knight modems. A higher end modem the Silver Surfer can achieve speeds of up to 2122kb/s down and 692 kb/s up. The optimal download speeds can also be stated as 125 KB/s and 250 KB/s. Typically, when poor signal conditions are experienced these can be improved by using a omni or flat panel antennae. Signal conditions have an adverse impact on speed and latency. Signal conditions are influenced by physical obstructions like foliage and walls, distance from tower and load on the tower. iBurst uses a porcupine base station which provides good spectrum re-use in a single national 5Mhz band for the whole network. This video explains the technology. One of the features is the ability to do high speed handovers as demonstrated here or here.. This can be demonstrated using a drive test with a laptop and a Batman travelling from Pretoria to Johannesburg. There are three legacy modem types out there that may still be in use: the Blonde Knight, Robin and the Grandpa Surfer.
Speed is often tested using www.speedtest.net and latency using www.pingtest.net. iBurst maintains it's own java based test at speedtest.iburst.co.za. Another alternative is to use speedtest.mybroadband.co.za. The signal strength can be viewed for the Dark Knight and Silver Surfer using the process described here. Additionally, the Batman (and the Dark Knight using it's USB port) has a driver which provides an iBurst Terminal that displays signal strength. The connection is setup using the operating system's broadband connection manager. As an example, the process for Windows XP is described here.
The above hardware can be purchased new, second-hand or on contract. The modem has a unique reference number called a UTID that is linked to your account which restricts usage to that hardware and prevents data fraud when account details are stolen. It is possible to have a maximum of three modems associated with an account. The Dark Knight and Silver surfer have an ethernet port that allows it to be connected to a broadband router. These broadband routers include the open source versions of tomato and dd-wrt. A common broadband router that is used is the Linksys WRT54GL. ROS is also supported and can be used with two modems to provide a wan load balancing solution. The most common ROS device is the RB750. The Batman uses USB and thus is appropriate for laptop use. The Dark Knight and Silver Surfer have better signal abilities.
iBurst Wireless has the following packages Starter, 1, 2, 5, 8 and 15. The bandwidth is allocated on the 1st and 15th of each month. The 15th allocation is referred to as the free midmonth topup. This means that each iBurst Wireless package enjoys DOUBLE the initial monthy allocation:
- Wireless 1 is effectively a Wireless 2
- Wireless 2 is effectively a Wireless 4
- Wireless 5 is effectively a Wireless 10
- Wireless 8 is effectively a Wireless 16
- Wireless 15 is effectively a Wireless 30
During the period Midnight to Morning (00:01am to 8am) a different discounted burn rate applies to each of the above packages. Thus, as an example if you are using a Wireless 2 package you can download 4GB instead of 2GB. The Daily Maverick calls this Broadband Heaven! With the midmonth topup this value increases to 8GB.
When your bandwidth cap is used your are hard capped. However, even when hardcapped you will still have uncapped access to the iBurst websites and services including email and VoIP. If you wish to continue surfing using non-local iBurst sites you can purchase a booster which provides out of bundle rates at the same rate as the base package. We do not charge a premium for out of bundle data.
iBurst implements a rollover on bandwidth up to a maximum of three times your initial allocation. So if you have a Wireless 8 you can rollover a maximum of 24GB.
Bandwidth usage is reported using the iBurst website. The website also allows you to view statements and invoices and purchase boosters. It is also possible to have a daily usage email sent to yourself.
The iBurst network consists of more than two hundred and fifty high sites with a number of additional repeater sites used to extend the diameter of the network. iBurst has multiple data centres in Gauteng, one located at Midrand and the other at Gallo Manor. The one at Midrand is our own facility while the one at Gallo Manor is a third party. We have created multiple redundant paths to each data centre and every high site has a separate physical path to each data centre. To achieve this we have created a fully redundant fibre ring of more than 200 km operating at up to 10 Gb/s with more than twenty high sites. These are attached to more than twenty RF rings operating at speeds in the region of STM1 or STM2 that provide path protected transit to the remainder of the towers. iBurst also has in the region of STM8 international links which are routed via the Africa east (EASSY) and west coast (SAT3 with migration plan to WACS). These links terminate at an iBurst point of presence in Telehouse, London where international transit is obtained from Telia and Cogent. During the course of the year peering connections to LINX will be implemented.
iBurst owns and maintains a C-Band satellite earth station at Gallo Manor and provides services on this infrastructure.
iBurst has presence at both CINX and JINX and subscribes to an open peering policy, meaning we will not impose conditional restrictions. The JINX location is actually a node on the high speed fibre ring (as is Teraco) One of the srvices provided via JINX is DSTV OnDemand. Currently, iBurst is forced to procure local IP transit from a third party within South Africa. This transit also caters from a local national backhaul capability of in the region STM1 which provides connectivity to points of presence in Durban and Cape Town. The following regional centres are also connected: Polokwane, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Kimberly, Port Elizabeth and Pietermaritzburg.
iBurst maintains quality of service parameters on the network to achieve a balanced user experience for all subscribers. A wireless environment is a limited resource and it will be impacted by not only usage but connection count. For this reason aggressive peer to peer usage on a tower will be detrimental to service quality. On the network this protocol is shaped to ensure overall service quality and good user experience. This type of service control even makes it possible to use the network for gaming. Typically, these parameters are relaxed in the early morning hours when there is a trough in the connection count.
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