SA DigitalVillages any good?

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reinhartbuit

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Hi Guys.

I noticed there is a company called SA DigitalVillages, which is supplying fibre to selected complexes Like Greenstone Ridge from Balwin properties.

Does anyone know if they are good, and what the Pricing is for these connections.

Thanks a lot! :)
 
I recently moved in and looking at internet options. SA digital villages Fibre 2Mbps uncapped at R699, shaped for fibre is not bad, R949 for a 4Mbps uncapped shaped is getting more expensive. I was hoping for the 10Mpbs one with a higher cap e.g. 200GB per month at around R800 but they only have 10Mpbs capped at 50GB. ADSL comparison is around R700 for 4mbps uncapped so fibre is a bit more expensive. Plus once installed, its not like you can change ISPs. Not sure how reliable they will be.

Does anyone if there will be Telkom lines in Greenstone ridge and if yes, when?
 
I find the pricing really really expensive compared to someone like greencom who provides fibre to home for R575 pm at 10mb uncapped unshaped.
 
parmalat said:
I recently moved in and looking at internet options. SA digital villages Fibre 2Mbps uncapped at R699, shaped for fibre is not bad, R949 for a 4Mbps uncapped shaped is getting more expensive. I was hoping for the 10Mpbs one with a higher cap e.g. 200GB per month at around R800 but they only have 10Mpbs capped at 50GB. ADSL comparison is around R700 for 4mbps uncapped so fibre is a bit more expensive. Plus once installed, its not like you can change ISPs. Not sure how reliable they will be.

Does anyone if there will be Telkom lines in Greenstone ridge and if yes, when?
Click to expand...

Guy's! How's your experience been with SADV I'm moving to Greenstone Ridge on 1st of May.

It seems rather expensive but there not really much choice?
 
I'm moving in September and the SADV prices are expensive. Maybe we can convince another provider to come to the complex.
 
KaMoS said:
I'm moving in September and the SADV prices are expensive. Maybe we can convince another provider to come to the complex.
Click to expand...

There was a company called Evotel that was looking at implementing FTTH in various complexes in Greenstone Hill including Greenstone Ridge but they seemed to have dropped off the map.
 
SADV is fine. I'm on the 2mbps uncapped package for R699. Expensive compared to others yes. And you're forced to go through their ISP, so you can't use Web Africa/Afrihost or MWEB

MTN has the entire Greenstone Hill covered with FTTH except Greenstone Ridge. I think there might be some kind of exclusivity agreement with SADV. I know the network planner for Telkom for the area and she said that they wanted to pull fibre there but the body corporate didn't allow them and that there wasn't enough space for their own trunks.

The other day I received a newsletter from the complex stating Telkom will only install if there's enough demand (a total 180 to what the network planner said happened), so I'm not sure who is telling the truth and/or what kind of deals are in place in the background.
 
envo said:
SADV is fine. I'm on the 2mbps uncapped package for R699. Expensive compared to others yes. And you're forced to go through their ISP, so you can't use Web Africa/Afrihost or MWEB

MTN has the entire Greenstone Hill covered with FTTH except Greenstone Ridge. I think there might be some kind of exclusivity agreement with SADV. I know the network planner for Telkom for the area and she said that they wanted to pull fibre there but the body corporate didn't allow them and that there wasn't enough space for their own trunks.

The other day I received a newsletter from the complex stating Telkom will only install if there's enough demand (a total 180 to what the network planner said happened), so I'm not sure who is telling the truth and/or what kind of deals are in place in the background.
Click to expand...

I got some feedback from them today, it seems like the backhaul is actually wireless and not fiber, this is just temporary until they have enough uptake in the complex to put the fiber in place which they expect to happen in the next 2 months, after which they will offer higher speeds and caps.

I'm signing up today for 4Mbps Uncapped, hopefully in 2 months or so they will offer faster speeds.
 
Yea it's a direct link to Teraco as far as I know. Really hope they up the speeds significantly when the fixed line backhaul is done (I was under the impression from my chats to Anton that it was already!)
 
I am at Greenstone crest and I'm supposed to be on the 10Mbps line. I haven't had 10Mbps speeds yet on upload or download, mostly less than 5mbs sometimes but seldom up to 7Mbps. :( and today i'm back to less than 1Mbps which is really frustrating because I can get that with my crap 3g. Anyone else getting consistently good or bad speeds?
 
R4V3N said:
Worst Internet experience ever. Browsing not to bad but if you want to stream you have a problem. Local content is fast. No problems there... Especially on peering traffic via NAP Africa. International content is where the problem is. I am on the 4Mbps package and my connection buffer almost 6 - 8 times in 15min period when watching Netflix. I looks like they dont have enough international capacity and they have to shape/contend traffic to accommodate all their users. I have no problems when I get shaped but why do you shape real time entertainment?

I dont have DSTV and use Streaming services in the evenings. At my previous house I had a 4Mbps DSL connection and it was much better than SADV. I think even Afrihost is better than SADV right after the new IOS has been released.

LTE here I come. Cant pay for something I cant use. Wish another ISP came to greenstone and provide use with a proper service
Click to expand...
If your local bandwidth is as flawless as you claim, then it sounds like you could benefit massively from a locally-hosted VPN ;) I normally frown upon bypassing ISP shaping, but clearly your ISP needs to get their international pipe sorted out. Obviously setting up a VPN is a pain in the butt you shouldn't need to go through, but if it solves your problem then it might be worth looking at (especially if you're short of other last-mile options, as you say you are?). It's not really going to harm them either anyway because it's precisely their own international pipe which is at fault - if anything you're alleviating load off that link by utilizing their 'fast' local peering to get your international work done
 
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South African Digital Villages was okay when I first signed up, I got their "Platinum Media Extreme" package which is supposedly 15Mbps but I generally downloaded at a speed 0f 1.2Mbps, which is to be expected I guess...

For the last week however my download speed has been at a ludicrous 20kbps, with any streaming actually having to buffer at 144p!

Speedtests are fine which just drives me up the wall as Speedtest.net says that my line speed is actually going up to 2.4Mbps, even internationally!

SADV has left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth, I'm paying thousands for a speed that can be outdone by simply plugging in my cellphone and connecting through 3G!

Support has been helpful and there's a small chance the issue is on my end, although I've tested my line on multiple devices, turned the router on and off, etc...

I'll give a shout if I'm wrong and the issue was on my side but I highly doubt it...

parmalat said:
Does anyone if there will be Telkom lines in Greenstone ridge and if yes, when?
Click to expand...

There has been some news that Telkom might be setting up but I've also heard that they only will if people push them to, such as by sending emails and the sort...
 
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LujanD said:
South African Digital Villages was okay when I first signed up, I got their "Platinum Media Extreme" package which is supposedly 15Mbps but I generally downloaded at a speed 0f 1.2Mbps, which is to be expected I guess...

For the last week however my download speed has been at a ludicrous 20kbps, with any streaming actually having to buffer at 144p!

Speedtests are fine which just drives me up the wall as Speedtest.net says that my line speed is actually going up to 2.4Mbps, even internationally!

SADV has left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth, I'm paying thousands for a speed that can be outdone by simply plugging in my cellphone and connecting through 3G!

Support has been helpful and there's a small chance the issue is on my end, although I've tested my line on multiple devices, turned the router on and off, etc...

I'll give a shout if I'm wrong and the issue was on my side but I highly doubt it...



There has been some news that Telkom might be setting up but I've also heard that they only will if people push them to, such as by sending emails and the sort...
Click to expand...

I am on the 10mbps at Greenstone Ridge also. I have also been told that it is on my side. I had removed all devices of my network. Connected one device to their hardware and still could not get decent speeds.

After which I complained again then they state there is an issues. I have just send a mail to everyone at SADV as we are paying for a service that is not up to scratch. Not like its a couples hundred bucks.
 
R4V3N said:
Hi Fragtion. Same day I posted the article I did a VPN to my work and tunnelled all my traffic via a different Tier1 ISP. It buffered less than before but is was still not 100% perfect. But I was able to watch the movie. Disconnected the VPN.... Back to *&^A download speeds and streaming. I phoned them a couple of times and they couldn't help me at all. I am still waiting for them to call me back.

As for connectivity... They might have fibre inside the complex but they backhaul it to Teraco via a wireless link. This is not fibre. The last mile might be fibre but backhaul/long-haul is what we need. I now even get packet loss via peering network.

They also send us a notification saying that due to the high uptake in the complex their wireless backhaul is running congested. When I first asked them about congestion they replied NO. Hopefully by 10th of September they fibre build will be completed and we will get better service. Just wish other providers could supply us with better and cheaper bandwidth. Some providers charge the same price as SADV and you get 100Mbps line. No one want uncapped internet... We want fast reliable Internet with average usage per month. Come on SADV. Give the users wat they want but first sort out your mess. I pay for fibre Internet and I expect to receive it. If this is not working out I might opt for a wireless link from Bitco. Will then supply my own Internet. Any takers?
Click to expand...

SA DigitalVillages pricing is terrible for the services they are providing. With these sort of prices I would only accept a Month to Month contact but they make you sign up with 12 month contact.

I would honestly save my money and start signing up with someone like http://evotel.co.za/ and talk to other people about it or new residents, so they don't make the mistake with signing up with SA DigitalVillages.

I had also thought about Bitco but the Body Corporate will not allow for dishes/antennas to be installed.

There has been alot of bad feedback regarding SA DigitalVillages. I for one am not going to sign up with them.

Greencom FTW
SA DigitalVillages FTL
 
ooh_pee_see said:
I am on the 10mbps at Greenstone Ridge also. I have also been told that it is on my side. I had removed all devices of my network. Connected one device to their hardware and still could not get decent speeds.

After which I complained again then they state there is an issues. I have just send a mail to everyone at SADV as we are paying for a service that is not up to scratch. Not like its a couples hundred bucks.
Click to expand...

It's not just you dude. For the past week and a bit speeds have been terrible to downright unusable. I would suggest you contact Rashni (the estate manager) as well
 
1. We have received all the wayleaves required from council to proceed with the installation of the fibre infrastructure
2. Installation is expected to start on Friday 22 August.
3. Estimated build time is 2 weeks so the estimated date to complete the fibre build would be 5 September
4. We are expecting to light our fibre backhaul in the week of 7 September.
 
envo said:
1. We have received all the wayleaves required from council to proceed with the installation of the fibre infrastructure
2. Installation is expected to start on Friday 22 August.
3. Estimated build time is 2 weeks so the estimated date to complete the fibre build would be 5 September
4. We are expecting to light our fibre backhaul in the week of 7 September.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's great news!

Which estates will you be launching with?
 
Hi.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one.

My experience with SADV has been terrible.
Paying for the 10meg gold and its been an uphill battle ever since I got my line. Drops, packet loss ect.
Steaming.... NOPE
Downloading... I might hit 400KB/s if I'm lucky. On a bad day its like 20-80KB/s
RDP/VPN.... Maybe if the line holds up.
Skype/Jabber.... Hell no way to much stutter.
Games.... lag. Local servers lag (When you get a local ping to a TS server of 150+ its laughable)

Lets see if this upgrade works!

Also its dis-hearting to have to tell a tech on the line how routing works.... or where the problem resides.
Its like they have a book that say "say this -the problem is your end"
 
tyzer said:
Hi.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one.

My experience with SADV has been terrible.
Paying for the 10meg gold and its been an uphill battle ever since I got my line. Drops, packet loss ect.
Steaming.... NOPE
Downloading... I might hit 400KB/s if I'm lucky. On a bad day its like 20-80KB/s
RDP/VPN.... Maybe if the line holds up.
Skype/Jabber.... Hell no way to much stutter.
Games.... lag. Local servers lag (When you get a local ping to a TS server of 150+ its laughable)

Lets see if this upgrade works!

Also its dis-hearting to have to tell a tech on the line how routing works.... or where the problem resides.
Its like they have a book that say "say this -the problem is your end"
Click to expand...

Any news after the upgrade? I was told it was going to happen between the 7-10th of the month.
 
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