OpenWeb no longer supplying Gold accounts on VB backbone

Mike Hoxbig

Mike Hoxbig

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So I've been having authentication issues this weekend with my Gold account on the VB backbone. Prior to this I've been getting full speed 24/7 and was happy with the account.

I did what Keoma requested and mailed support. They gave me an alternate username (*@openweb.co.za) which did authenticate, but the speeds were no longer as consistent as they were on VB. Their response to this was that the VB account is experiencing unknown issues which will take time to investigate and resolve, so I requested that the fault be kept open until the issue is resolved.

This morning I get an email saying "Due to the consistent VB issues, we will no longer be supplying accounts through them." :wtf: So they just pulled this move out of the blue without notifying anyone?
 
not really up to anyone here to decide what service provider they use...

they resell a product. most people dont have an option, so now they the same as everyone else :)
 
Hello,

Im afraid the choice is not ours. Some suppliers consistently have issues, which are causing reliability issues for our clients. I'm afraid we cannot continue providing access through such suppliers.

When clients experience issues, we will systematically move them away from the network in question.

We currently offer Internet Solutions, DSLHeaven and BCS networks. Each has its own service level profile. We still have a great network choice that are more reliable than the network we are cancelling with.

We apologize if this causes any issues, but believe the long term benefits will far outweigh the short term inconvenience.
 
So those of us on VB will have our accounts moved to other networks?

Balls.

I'm cancelling my account as soon as that happens. I haven't experienced issues on VB the whole year, and none of the other networks are worth going to. VB is the only thing keeping me at OpenWeb.
 
No, not actively. If you experience an issue, you will be moved. We are not actively moving clients.


Graal said:
So those of us on VB will have our accounts moved to other networks?

Balls.

I'm cancelling my account as soon as that happens. I haven't experienced issues on VB the whole year, and none of the other networks are worth going to. VB is the only thing keeping me at OpenWeb.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
techead said:
not really up to anyone here to decide what service provider they use...

they resell a product. most people dont have an option, so now they the same as everyone else :)
Click to expand...

Sure but it's a product that we pay a premium for, and the various backbones (suited to different requirements) was one of the attractions. I was consistently getting full speed on my VB account, then OW goes ahead and cancel their agreement without informing us, and the alternate account provided to me runs at 20% of the speed that I used to get.

Now I need to waste time troubleshooting what the cause is, switching from backbone to backbone, which I can't afford to get wrong since I'm remoting into my router at home so if it bums out then I'd have to wait until 8pm when I get home :(
 
MrBEEP said:
No, not actively. If you experience an issue, you will be moved. We are not actively moving clients.

They have issues that takes days sometimes weeks to resolve. Im afraid we cannot associate our brand with such service.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. That's awesome news then! My VB account is still running flawlessly. I'd hate to lose it because I probably won't get another account as good as it again.

Viva OpenWeb! :p
 
You are paying a premium for lower contention ratios, not for a certain backbone.

We will provide you with the same service level you are paying for on another backbone.

Mike Hoxbig said:
Sure but it's a product that we pay a premium for, and the various backbones (suited to different requirements) was one of the attractions. I was consistently getting full speed on my VB account, then OW goes ahead and cancel their agreement without informing us, and the alternate account provided to me runs at 20% of the speed that I used to get.

Now I need to waste time troubleshooting what the cause is, switching from backbone to backbone, which I can't afford to get wrong since I'm remoting into my router at home so if it bums out then I'd have to wait until 8pm when I get home :(
Click to expand...
 
MrBEEP said:
Hello,

Im afraid the choice is not ours. Some suppliers consistently have issues, which are causing reliability issues for our clients. I'm afraid we cannot continue providing access through such suppliers.

When clients experience issues, we will systematically move them away from the network in question.

We currently offer Internet Solutions, DSLHeaven and BCS networks. Each has its own service level profile. We still have a great network choice that are more reliable than the network we are cancelling with.

We apologize if this causes any issues, but believe the long term benefits will far outweigh the short term inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Hi MrBEEP,

I understand the need to address reliability issues with your providers, but in terms of performance, the provider in question is far better than the others that I have been given to test. There has not been a day since I signed up for an OW Gold account where I was not able to get full speed during office hours. If you are unable to reach an agreement with your providers that provide a similar level of performance, I'm afraid that people will be more a lot more unhappy than having to deal with a few authentication problems.

MrBEEP said:
You are paying a premium for lower contention ratios, not for a certain backbone.

We will provide you with the same service level you are paying for on another backbone.
Click to expand...
Sure, but the lower contention ratio doesn't really mean anything if performance suffers as a result of moving to a different backbone. What it boils down to is simple: we're paying a premium for superior performance and it doesn't matter what mechanism is used to achieve this :)
Graal said:
Ah, okay. That's awesome news then! My VB account is still running flawlessly. I'd hate to lose it because I probably won't get another account as good as it again.

Viva OpenWeb! :p
Click to expand...
Was the same for me, until you're unable to authenticate :) Then you'll be moved to a different backbone.
 
OK so an update, there's no joy on the DSL-Heaven account either. There were promising signs when I peaked at about 80 KBps for about an hour or two early in the evening, but for the most part of the night up until now, my Usenet speeds have been between 5 - 35 KBps.

I've emailed support, and am awaiting their response, but I'm leaving this post here so that the time can be noted. It's around 01:50am and I'm getting a massive 8 KBps.

8sRV7.jpg


So where things are at right now is that my VB account has been cancelled, and I've tried IS and DSL-Heaven without much luck.
 
I also got the no authentication thing after a power failure at our house and my router rebooted so I e-mailed support and they sent me new details, my account has DSL-Heaven in the username so I assume I'm on their backbone and the performance has been great so far.

If anything it's improved on my old VB account, downloads {for ahem "linux distro's"} used to max out at about 100Kbps but since the new account details I'm getting a steady 110Kbps for the last couple of hours.

Just wanted to let everyone know that it's not all bad news I was worried when they gave me new account details that I would get a lemon but for me if the account remains like this I couldn't be happier. :D :D
 
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kat06sa said:
Can anyone on the BCS network give a short review?
Click to expand...

Its not bad with http and usually full speed but p2p and usenet on standard ports suffer a bit. This is on standard uncapped account.
 
Dsl heaven is web Africa's crappy uncapped. I'm on Gold with IS and very happy. Don't know what problems you guys are having. I get over 4meg speeds because I'm using a 6meg line.
 
Qwikslver said:
Dsl heaven is web Africa's crappy uncapped. I'm on Gold with IS and very happy. Don't know what problems you guys are having. I get over 4meg speeds because I'm using a 6meg line.
Click to expand...

The problem is that different backbones behave differently based on where you are, what exchange you're connected to and other factors, it seems. So, for some of us, our VB experience was equivalent to your IS experience, and our IS experience sucks ass compared to VB. I mean, there are some who think the DSL Heaven accounts are, err, a heaven sent.

Suddenly not being able to use VB means that I'll probably be cancelling because being moved to VB was the only reason why I chose to stay when I had crappy performance on DSL Heaven and IS. Pity really, as I just installed a second line and it too would have used an OpenWeb account.
 
Morning Friends,

This thread is proof enough that the decision to drop this network was wrong!

I made the decision this morning to continue selling VB.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused!

We will work out a fault resolving plan with the network in question.

Thank you so much for your feedback. This is why I love receiving live, on the spot feedback from our most valued clients!



efitol said:
The problem is that different backbones behave differently based on where you are, what exchange you're connected to and other factors, it seems. So, for some of us, our VB experience was equivalent to your IS experience, and our IS experience sucks ass compared to VB. I mean, there are some who think the DSL Heaven accounts are, err, a heaven sent.

Suddenly not being able to use VB means that I'll probably be cancelling because being moved to VB was the only reason why I chose to stay when I had crappy performance on DSL Heaven and IS. Pity really, as I just installed a second line and it too would have used an OpenWeb account.
Click to expand...
 
MrBEEP said:
Morning Friends,

This thread is proof enough that the decision to drop this network was wrong!

I made the decision this morning to continue selling VB.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused!

We will work out a fault resolving plan with the network in question.

Thank you so much for your feedback. This is why I love receiving live, on the spot feedback from our most valued clients!
Click to expand...

This is great news. Will request a switch back to VB.
 
MrBEEP said:
Morning Friends,

This thread is proof enough that the decision to drop this network was wrong!

I made the decision this morning to continue selling VB.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused!

We will work out a fault resolving plan with the network in question.

Thank you so much for your feedback. This is why I love receiving live, on the spot feedback from our most valued clients!
Click to expand...

That's awesome news, thanks MrBEEP! I understand your frustration in having to deal with VB, but trust me as clients, we'd rather have the odd authentication problem every few months than the frustration of poor speeds on the other backbones, and the constant changing of backbones to try and resolve the problem. Thanks again :)
 
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