With reference to this article, when will the South African government realise that Telkom is holding back the SA economy?

So, you're watching TV when an annoying internet ad comes on. There's the inevitable guy in thick-rimmed glasses using technobabble to mystify us "normal" people out there. Movies, music and multimedia flash about, vying for your attention.

Swooshing sounds and symbols depict all those bytes speeding around the world instantly and effortlessly to you.

Then you rush off to your own PC, eagerly turn it on and wait while your modem strangely courts the telephone cable with beeps and whistles. Another few minutes pass as your mail seems to take the scenic route to your inbox. It seems that the only web here is the one forming while you wait for pages to load. Not quite as instant and effortless as you saw on TV.

You're probably about ready to boot the old 56K modem out the window and upgrade to ADSL. But what is ADSL, why do we need it and why can't we just see what the next big fad is and catch on to that one?

Let me put my geeky goggles on and tell you about Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL.

ADSL is an efficient modulating and demodulating technology that makes use of the existing infrastructure to enable more digital data bandwidth for networking and internet usage. The flow of data is asymmetric, ie the downstream (from service provider to you) bandwidth is greater than the upstream.

Glasses off: ADSL is basically a new way of using ordinary telephone lines to allow your internet connection and networks to get and send loads of data really quickly, making your online banking, e-mailing, hosting and downloading a lot faster.

The advantages are that your connection is available 24/7 and there's no disconnecting, no waiting and of course no guessing at your phone bill because you pay a fixed monthly fee. Also, because of the different frequencies used for voice and data, with ADSL you can use both the internet and phone simultaneously.

ADSL is great for small business usage because the bandwidth can be shared across an office network quite easily, web-enabling all your workers. But if you're at home, occasionally downloading e-mails, searching for the answers to this week's crossword and the kids are getting some info for schoolwork, then dial-up should suffice.

With a large percentage of households in South Africa still without electricity, it doesn't come as a surprise that ADSL isn't aimed at everyone just yet. In fact there's a rather hefty and confusing price tag associated with it.

First you'll have to pay Telkom for installation, which is around R300, then you'll have to pay them the monthly rental fee and, to finally get some surfing time, you'll need to open your wallet again to the internet service provider.


The cheapest option will cost you around R500 a month, all inclusive. Comparing that with the cost of dial-up, one has to look at how often and why you use the internet to see if ADSL is worth getting.

There are dedicated websites with an abundance of information and debate around whether or not ADSL is suited for the everyday home user (see myBroadband.co.za). There are also some sites dedicated to getting Telkom to drop its prices by showing how high the cost of broadband in South Africa is compared with the rest of the world.
If you're interested you should take a look at http://www.hellkom.co.za/research/adsl2.htm. It makes for some interesting reading.

So what will you need if you're in need of high-speed, always-on internet? An ADSL modem, a Telkom subscription and and a service provider such as one of the following:


Telkom:


A business bundle will cost anything from R477, depending on what options you choose.

Telkom ISP ADSL options:


3GB shaped TIpA premium R235,96 a month, R269 (+vat)

3GB shaped TIpA advanced R218,42 a month, R249 (+vat)

2GB shaped TIpA standard R174,56 a month, R199 (+vat)

4GB unshaped TIpA advanced R595,61 a month, R679 (+vat)

4GB unshaped TipA Premium R613,16 a month, R699 (+vat)
MWEB:

1GB cap, R145 (excludes dial-up access)

2GB cap, R219 (excludes dial-up access)

3GB cap, R299

6GB cap, R539

9GB cap, R739
@lantic Internet Service:


Pronto ADSL pay-as-u-use: 10c per MB

ADSL 3GB gold R249

ADSL 3GB platinum R450

Business ADSL 512/256K uncapped R1 539

Business ADSL 1024K uncapped R3078


Even Absa is getting onto the ISP cyber-gravy-express:

3GB cap R225 per month for Absa internet banking customers and R250 per month for non-customers.

The cap referred to above is not a free gift ideal for keeping the sun out of your eyes but a limit placed on the amount of data the ISP will allow you to download before you either pay extra for more or wait till next month to continue your internet adventures.

With only 120 000 ADSL users at the beginning of 2006, perhaps the time is right for ADSL's wireless counterparts like 3G to drop their prices and tap into a potential broadband-starved market. In my opinion it's not a matter of whether we need broadband Internet, but rather imagine what new and innovative ways people would find to use the Internet in our everyday lives if we all had it.

www.sundayindependent.co.za
March 5, 2006

Alternatives to the horrifically extoritionate practices of the incumbent monopoly, Telkom are now available. However they still have to utilise Telkom's international fibre services as they are the only company legally allowed to provide fibre services from SA to the rest of the world.

iBurst is a relatively new technology offering up to 1024K/s or 1MB/s. Starting at R195pm. ($32) for an entry level package, however this is extremely limited. There are a number of packages available and has been quite successful.

There are also a number of alternatives available, although only running up to a maximum of 384kbps using 3G technology.

Anyone reading this should get there Iburst through a third party where ever possible. Preferably one that lets you pay month to month without debit order. Since they offer no transparency in the form of email and billing statements. Often taking money without you understanding where or why or which month you purchased a top up. You won't believe the effort I had to go through to get my service reconnected out of the billing department after i moved. Had no idea what they where zapping my account for also double debit orders are common at Iburst as well.