Telkom My Pet Hate

[Butch Hannan]

I have had an ongoing battle with Telkom for some years about the charges that I pay. My monthly account is never less than R2500.00 Per month. I use 35Gigs per month. In addition to me using the internet there are three other people in the house who connect wirelessly to my ADSL. They mainly go onto Facebook. For many months my system was very unstable. I had a go at Reuben September and some of his people from Pretoria paid me a visit. I do not understand all the technicalities but one of the technicians told me that I was on the borderline for effective ADSL as I lived 4kms from the main post office in Middelburg. When you sign up for an ADSL connection you are not told about this. If my ADSL is set at the speed that I am paying for it becomes unstable. I am told that the copper cables from the main post office to my house are not supposed to carry this speed. It has now been set at the slower speed which gives me greater stability.

What really angers me is that I am actually paying for something that I am not getting. This does not seem fair!!
I cannot wait for an independant operator who has no strings attached to Telkom
Butch Hannan

[SilverNodashi]

Butch, what do you get for that R2500? i.e. what is on the invoice? Is it line rental + phone calls + internet?

I'm asking cause I currently pay R30/GB, which equates to R1050 for 35GB. So if you're paying R2500 just for 35GB bandwidth, then that's about what Telkom charges and many other people pay the same price.


Regarding the speed, it would help if you're a bit more specific i.e. are you paying for 4MB and only getting 512K ?

If that's the case then you need to speak to their accounts dept. and get them to change your package to 512K and bill / credit you accordingly.

[Butch Hannan]

Butch, what do you get for that R2500? i.e. what is on the invoice? Is it line rental + phone calls + internet?

I'm asking cause I currently pay R30/GB, which equates to R1050 for 35GB. So if you're paying R2500 just for 35GB bandwidth, then that's about what Telkom charges and many other people pay the same price.


Regarding the speed, it would help if you're a bit more specific i.e. are you paying for 4MB and only getting 512K ?

If that's the case then you need to speak to their accounts dept. and get them to change your package to 512K and bill / credit you accordingly.

Hi SoftDux
My Account Numbers are line rental R114.91 Dsl Fastest Bundle R362.28 Standard Call Answer R8.64 Telkom Closer Option 5 R114.17 and 7 times X 5GB at R209.65 each. This gives you R2067.55 fixed charges. To this amount you add VAT and calls to Mobiles which gives me a total amount this month R2712.66 Eina!!!

I also did a speed test which gave me Download 413KBytes/s and Line speed was given as 3304kbits/s. I again did this test 5 minutes later and it gave me 244KBytes/s and 1952kbits/s

I spoke to 0800 375 375, 10210 and 10219 and I am not really any the wiser.
One of the technicians told me that the package I am on is actually from 1024 to 4097kb p/s. The speed obtained is dependent on the distance from your nearest server. If you are under 4km then you should run at 4MB. I am just over4 km and mine was very unstable. My line speed was changed to 2048kb p/s which has given me far greater stability.

When I signed up for this package none of this was explained to me and I was under the impression I was getting a 4MB system
The question is do I have a legitimate gripe?

Butch Hannan

[SilverNodashi]

Hi Butch, I still don't understand the problem. You subscribe to a lot of services with telkom so you can't expect to pay next to nothing for it? Surely you can't purchase a 7 series BMW and expect to pay the price of a Toyota Carola? On Vodacom's 3G, you would be paying R7343pm for 35GB traffic, WITHOUT the phone, line rental, SMS & talk-time.

How then, is your bill wrong? If it's too much, use less bandwidth, as simple as that.

Regarding the speeds you're getting, very few places have 4MB lines at this stage, it's still very new. Some of our clients need to pay for 4 512MB ADSL lines to get 4MB, simply cause the area they are in. Chances are you're in an area where the 4MB lines are still being tested out. Their website also clearly indicates this: http://www.telkom.co.za/products_ser...onditions.html

The DSL Up to 4096kbps service has 4 sub-profiles, which are used to stabilize customers' service that experience re-synchs (service interruptions) on their ADSL lines due to last mile distance, noise and attenuation. Therefore customers that experience problems on the service may be accommodated on any of the secondary profiles below:

Secondary profile

min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 4096kbps
min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 3072kbps
min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 2048kbps
min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 1024kbps
What the above entails is that if a customer does not sync at the profile listed in A above they will be accommodated on B, C or D depending on the line sync speed.

Customers will automatically be upgraded to the highest speed possible on the service that they applied for as per the profiles above. Where the DSL service is unable to connect (sync) at the speed applied for due to factors such as line length or quality will be accommodated down from the service applied for in 32 kbps decrements, but not lower than the minimum download speed, until the service connects (sync's successfully).

Once a customer's line syncs at a certain rate and at a later stage the line degrades the service will also be accommodated down in 32kbps decrements until sync is re-established, the downward synchronization due to line quality will happen automatically within the profile parameters.

So, to answer your question very blatantly, you have no leg to stand on, since they did nothing wrong and you are actually getting what they're offering.

IF, on the other hand you only got 64Kb connection, then you had a legitimate gripe.

P.S. I'm not a telkom employee, nor do I work for them, or even like them

[Dave U]

How then, is your bill wrong? If it's too much, use less bandwidth, as simple as that.

Are you honestly suggesting that we just bend over and take it? The rest of the world has had cheap, fast, reliable and unlimited internet for years now, and your solution is to "use less bandwidth, as simple as that"?

[SilverNodashi]

Dave, if the rest of the world is so much better, why don't you emigrate? We are not the rest of the world, we are South Africa, and we cannot be compared to USA or Europe, and we never will be.

The point I was bringing across is that what the OP is paying, is what they're offering, i.e. he wasn't done in. BUT, if you want a T1 line @ $45pm, then I suggest you move to the USA. While you're there, enjoy their higher tax rates, higher cost of living and more expensive imported fruit. You need to accept that we're a unique country with our own everything.

[Dave A]

Butch's solution is probably one of those new uncapped Mweb deals.

Trying to tell Telkom how to price has been a waste of time for ages. Fortunately the options to work around their pricing seems to be growing.

[Butch Hannan]

Hi to all,

I suppose to sum this little lot up I have to ask the following question. Am I really using 35G per month? I have my doubts and I question the way Telkom actually meters the usage. I have questioned Telkom on this aspect but to no avail. We are dealing here with what is basically a very large public utility that is being allowed to make obscene profits at our expense. If they use a bigger portion of the profits to improved their infrastructure to deliver a better service I would possibly become one of their fans. You can lump Vodacom under the same umbrella as Telkom. They are just as bad.

The answer is not to tell people to emigrate. We have lost far to many good people in this way. We have become so conditioned to accepting inferior service. We need to challenge this aspect head on with whatever means we have at our disposal. It does not have to be like it is. If we just dumbly accept what is dished up to us we are in fact condoning it and deserve what we get.

[Dave U]

Dave, if the rest of the world is so much better, why don't you emigrate? We are not the rest of the world, we are South Africa, and we cannot be compared to USA or Europe, and we never will be.

Hi Rudi

I find it very interesting that you assume I mean USA or Europe when I compare South Africa to the rest of the world. It shows you actually have no idea how far behind we are when it comes to the internet. My most recent experience with internet in "the rest of the world" is actually from South America. I spent quite a bit of time there, about a year ago. I was very impressed by what they'd had for years.

You seem to think I'm a whiner who just wants faster internet for his own benefit. But the internet can do so much for our economy and will benefit rich and poor alike. Unfortunately, decisions are not always made with the interest of the people at heart (and this is not a uniquely South African phenomenon). But I'm happy that the internet situation is changing and will continue to change remarkably over the next 2 years.

It makes me sad, Rudi, when someone suggests I emigrate just because I think we should hold our country to a higher standard. I sincerely hope you're a tiny minority, because I can't stand to think I'm surrounded by people who have a problem with someone having a vision for our country. That would mean we've already lost. (Thank you, Mr. Hannan, for showing me that this is not the case)

[Pap_sak]

My 2 cents...

The price you pay for the line is an up to speed: the further you live from the exchange the worse your signal will be. For some people it is pointless buying the 4meg line as you could only get 512kb/sec...this though, should have been explained to you. You speed will always vary, depends who else is also using bandwith in your area - 02H00 in the morning is probably the best time to surf the net!!

35GB is massive a month. That is not usual surfing, thats downloading lots of music, or yoy have a youtube/movie addict in the house...of course, a young man in the house can go through bandwith pretty quickly, for obvious reasons.... If this is not the case then you need to check your wirless conections, someone could be stealing your bandwidth. I haven't done wireless for ages, but "back in the day", you should use "mac" addresses for all wireless connections, but a bit of searching on the web will sort you out. My wife and both use our connection frequently and rarely get through 2.5 GBs, never mind the 3gbs we pay for

And don't move overseas, you'll hate it...

[twinscythe12332]

I agree with Pap_sak. First try to justify the bandwidth being used. Ask anyone who is using your internet what they get up to with it. if you can afford to, drop your wireless connection and plug in with a regular RJ-45 cable for a month. if you see the data drop, you'll know that you've been supplying someone else in the neighbourhood (and it may point to the slow speeds being a symptom).

[SilverNodashi]

35GB is massive a month. That is not usual surfing, thats downloading lots of music, or yoy have a youtube/movie addict in the house...of course, a young man in the house can go through bandwith pretty quickly, for obvious reasons.... If this is not the case then you need to check your wirless conections, someone could be stealing your bandwidth. I haven't done wireless for ages, but "back in the day", you should use "mac" addresses for all wireless connections, but a bit of searching on the web will sort you out. My wife and both use our connection frequently and rarely get through 2.5 GBs, never mind the 3gbs we pay for

And don't move overseas, you'll hate it...

We don't know what the OP does with his bandwidth, but since he said he had 7x 5GB accounts, then it makes me think he has planned this a bit Some of our clients moves 60 - 100GB bandwidth a month, one being a very active stock photographer, another doing 3D graphics design.

But it could help, if you want to cut costs, to find out what's using the bandwidth and deciding whether you actually need to move 35GB or not.

[Butch Hannan]

I agree with Pap_sak. First try to justify the bandwidth being used. Ask anyone who is using your internet what they get up to with it. if you can afford to, drop your wireless connection and plug in with a regular RJ-45 cable for a month. if you see the data drop, you'll know that you've been supplying someone else in the neighbourhood (and it may point to the slow speeds being a symptom).

Being a 68 year old IT challenged individual I am swimming in rather deep waters for me. The other three wireless connections in my house are used mainly for Face Book in two cases and the one for Gaia. The children attend school for most of the day so the time spent on the internet is limited as they are normally in bed by 10PM. The people around me do not have internet. At what distance can someone tap into my setup. My understanding is that you have to be very close. My gut feeling is that I am being had either by Telkom or some individual siphoning off my Gigs.

[SilverNodashi]

depending on your wireless setup, someone could get a signal between 20m & 200m of even further. Our wireless reaches to the garage, garden and our neighbor. This is only a 54m AP, but a 108MB AP, or 300MB AP could very well reach our neighbor's neighbor as well. I put it high up cause I want to signal to travel far (I found this very helpful while working on my car and I had to google something ), but then I lock down all the wireless devices (my laptop, my cellphone & PC's on the firewall using MAC filtering, and DHCP based firewalling. I also hide the AP's name so other people won't easily see it.

[twinscythe12332]

okay, well then let us begin the lock-down...
first off, here are some questions: (forgive me if I ask questions that you think are simple. "IT challenged" is a term I've grown accustom too, and it is often by asking the questions in english (or close to) rather than technology-speak that results are achieved)
A) have you got a password on your wireless?
B) do you have a central wireless "hub", or are you using USB/internal wireless connection devices or latops to connect with eachother?
C) if you have a hub, have you ever logged into it?
D) do you know the company name and model number of your devices?


As I stated before, can you justify the internet usage?
Considering I'm a gamer, I am assuming you mean the game Gaia online... please correct me if I am wrong.
Ask whoever is using facebook in your household if they play farmville (the only application I know that can burn through 1 GB in a month)

another thing you could try is to take a look at each of the computer's network connection statuses. it will give a total of bytes kinda like this:

divide the numbers by 104856 to get to mb. if it is abnormally high (like 1000 mb) then you may have found the culprit. ask if they have copied files to another computer first though.

hopefully this will help you a bit.