Hi folks
As mentioned in the previous post, various issues regarding the provisioning of ADSL by Telkom in relation to the ADSL regulations were discussed. Telkom told MyADSL and ICASA that they will be in full compliance with the regulation by the end of November 2007, and some of the discussions focused on interim solutions …
Here is a run-down of the discussions:
Local capping:
MyADSL contended that local bandwidth shall not be capped according to the regulation and that Telkom does in fact cap local bandwidth. TelkomInternet said that they do not cap users who reach their monthly allowance, but allow access until they reach a ‘monthly threshold’, after which they will have unlimited access to the Telkom website, the four banking websites for Internet banking and email. Telkom said that ISPs cap and not them.
MyADSL suggested that an interim solution may be to allow for 30 GB local bandwidth after reaching the monthly cap, and also to allow access to a wider variety of local sites like News24, IOL, MyADSL etc. after being capped. Telkom did not accept the idea, and suggested that they will implement a solution if it benefits 80% of their client base. MyADSL could not agree to this for various reasons, including that we have no control over what is considered beneficial to the customer base etc.
The parties agreed to discuss the issue further through the CCC (Consumer Complaints Commission) to see if a compromise could be reached.
Port prioritization
MyADSL said that Telkom currently prioritizes traffic and is hence in non-compliance with the regulations. Telkom said that they feel that they are complying with the regulations, and that it is not feasible for them not to prioritize traffic. Their reading of the ADSL regulations is that they are not allowed to impose port prioritization on consumers and since they offer both a shaped and an unshaped option they are not imposing this condition on customers.
This issue remained unresolved and after receiving complaints from consumers the issue will be referred to the CCC.
Guarantees
MyADSL said that Telkom does not give any guarantees on their ADSL service. Telkom said that they guarantee the speed of the access portion (from the client to the DSLAM) but that they can not give any guarantees beyond that point.
This issue remained unresolved and after receiving complaints from consumers the issue will be referred to the CCC.
Service Level Agreements
MyADSL said that Telkom did not provide users with any SLA’s despite this being a requirement of the ICASA regulations. Telkom said that they consider their terms and conditions to be an SLA, but that they will have an ADSL SLA ready by the end of the month. ICASA has prepared a draft SLA of their own, and the two will be ‘matched’ to ensure a quality document. ICASA stressed that the SLA agreement will not simply be a matter of formulating a document which consumers will then have to accept, the Regulator would have a hand in the conditions within the SLA as it affect ISPs and the SNO as well.
This document will be released to consumers as soon as the ICASA council approve it.
Installation times & Fault repair times
MyADSL said that many members are complaining about installation times longer than 30 days. Telkom said that their current installation time is 23 working days, and ICASA confirmed that they received no complaints about this issue recently, and that all the old complaints have been resolved.
This issue therefore does not require any specific agreement between MyADSL and Telkom, and in the case where installations are not performed within the 30 day period the CCC should be contacted.
MyADSL also pointed out that fault resolution times are unacceptably long, but Telkom said that while they had severe storms and a lack of staff in December that most of these issues were resolved. ICASA said that fault resolution times should be 24 hours.
In the case where faults are not resolved in a timely fashion consumers are encouraged to contact the CCC.
24 Hour resets
MyADSL said that the regulations clearly state that there should be no periodic resets of the ADSL regulations which Telkom is in fact doing. Telkom said that this issue will be resolved by the end of November 2007.
While not entirely happy with the agreement, MyADSL said that it does not justify a CCC investigation as the process will most likely only finish after November 2007 which makes an official process fruitless. As long as Telkom sticks to the deadline of discontinuing periodic resets by November 2007 the issue is resolved.
Your feedback is most welcome. I will give details about how to complain and to whom to write as soon as I receive details from ICASA.
This was a rather long and tiresome meeting but still a positive step by ICASA bring some of the roleplayers together and trying to find solutions to some of the problems... Let’s hope these processes improve the provisioning of ADSL…
As mentioned in the previous post, various issues regarding the provisioning of ADSL by Telkom in relation to the ADSL regulations were discussed. Telkom told MyADSL and ICASA that they will be in full compliance with the regulation by the end of November 2007, and some of the discussions focused on interim solutions …
Here is a run-down of the discussions:
Local capping:
MyADSL contended that local bandwidth shall not be capped according to the regulation and that Telkom does in fact cap local bandwidth. TelkomInternet said that they do not cap users who reach their monthly allowance, but allow access until they reach a ‘monthly threshold’, after which they will have unlimited access to the Telkom website, the four banking websites for Internet banking and email. Telkom said that ISPs cap and not them.
MyADSL suggested that an interim solution may be to allow for 30 GB local bandwidth after reaching the monthly cap, and also to allow access to a wider variety of local sites like News24, IOL, MyADSL etc. after being capped. Telkom did not accept the idea, and suggested that they will implement a solution if it benefits 80% of their client base. MyADSL could not agree to this for various reasons, including that we have no control over what is considered beneficial to the customer base etc.
The parties agreed to discuss the issue further through the CCC (Consumer Complaints Commission) to see if a compromise could be reached.
Port prioritization
MyADSL said that Telkom currently prioritizes traffic and is hence in non-compliance with the regulations. Telkom said that they feel that they are complying with the regulations, and that it is not feasible for them not to prioritize traffic. Their reading of the ADSL regulations is that they are not allowed to impose port prioritization on consumers and since they offer both a shaped and an unshaped option they are not imposing this condition on customers.
This issue remained unresolved and after receiving complaints from consumers the issue will be referred to the CCC.
Guarantees
MyADSL said that Telkom does not give any guarantees on their ADSL service. Telkom said that they guarantee the speed of the access portion (from the client to the DSLAM) but that they can not give any guarantees beyond that point.
This issue remained unresolved and after receiving complaints from consumers the issue will be referred to the CCC.
Service Level Agreements
MyADSL said that Telkom did not provide users with any SLA’s despite this being a requirement of the ICASA regulations. Telkom said that they consider their terms and conditions to be an SLA, but that they will have an ADSL SLA ready by the end of the month. ICASA has prepared a draft SLA of their own, and the two will be ‘matched’ to ensure a quality document. ICASA stressed that the SLA agreement will not simply be a matter of formulating a document which consumers will then have to accept, the Regulator would have a hand in the conditions within the SLA as it affect ISPs and the SNO as well.
This document will be released to consumers as soon as the ICASA council approve it.
Installation times & Fault repair times
MyADSL said that many members are complaining about installation times longer than 30 days. Telkom said that their current installation time is 23 working days, and ICASA confirmed that they received no complaints about this issue recently, and that all the old complaints have been resolved.
This issue therefore does not require any specific agreement between MyADSL and Telkom, and in the case where installations are not performed within the 30 day period the CCC should be contacted.
MyADSL also pointed out that fault resolution times are unacceptably long, but Telkom said that while they had severe storms and a lack of staff in December that most of these issues were resolved. ICASA said that fault resolution times should be 24 hours.
In the case where faults are not resolved in a timely fashion consumers are encouraged to contact the CCC.
24 Hour resets
MyADSL said that the regulations clearly state that there should be no periodic resets of the ADSL regulations which Telkom is in fact doing. Telkom said that this issue will be resolved by the end of November 2007.
While not entirely happy with the agreement, MyADSL said that it does not justify a CCC investigation as the process will most likely only finish after November 2007 which makes an official process fruitless. As long as Telkom sticks to the deadline of discontinuing periodic resets by November 2007 the issue is resolved.
Your feedback is most welcome. I will give details about how to complain and to whom to write as soon as I receive details from ICASA.
This was a rather long and tiresome meeting but still a positive step by ICASA bring some of the roleplayers together and trying to find solutions to some of the problems... Let’s hope these processes improve the provisioning of ADSL…
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