Uncapped ADSL speed upgrades for free

[Mister 44]

As I've said this before on mybb, this is bad bad bad. This will only congest the already congested exchanges even more congested. If Afrihost and other ISP's follow suit this is going to be a nightmare.

I think you're right. Some exchanges are already so congested that people can only sync at a fraction of the speed they are paying for. These upgrades will make the situation even more dire for these people.

Lucky for me, our exchange has a pretty low contention ratio, so I'll be one of those that get a tangible advantage.

[Cicero]

As I've said this before on mybb, this is bad bad bad. Talking about the free line upgrade and not price reduction.This will only congest the already congested exchanges even more congested. If Afrihost and other ISP's follow suit this is going to be a nightmare.

Telkom is focusing on the wrong stuff here. What a surprise.

Yeah its probably going to be bad to begin with, but its a necessary evil. We need to bring up speeds in SA and this is the way to do it. Free of charge, and I can virtually guarantee that every ISP will do the same.

I dont think Telkom is focussing on the wrong things at all. Yeah there's gonna be teething issues, and some of us will be screwed (me included, I had terrible congestion since the last one for months), but it has to be done. It just has to.

[Lyt]

We need to bring up speeds in SA

That we do, but we cannot do it until the sh*tty last century copper is replaced (even better use fiber, a lot cheaper in the long term, although Sooth African workers are the last I would trust in laying down optical fiber) and the dsl multiplexers are upgraded. One step at a time.

[Tydmors]

If you have an uncapped account, then yes. But in a capped scenario, no. You will either get a faster line or pay less. Finish en klaar.



I've been through these line upgrades a few times, so I'll try to explain to the best of my ability:

Capped bundles or accounts
This is how it should work (and probably will for most ISPs):
Telkom is upgrading lines for free. So your ISP is incurring no additional cost for giving you faster line speed. The ISP will do one of two things: Upgrade your line for free or charge you less.

So let's assume you have a 2mbit line and 50GB cap bundle. Once the upgrades are done, you should either have a 4mbit line with 50GB or pay the same as somebody with a 1mbit line and 50GB pays now. Your data cap will not change (some ISPs may decide to increase cap, but this is doubtful).

Remember: With capped products, the amount of data is fixed and thus line speed and cap does not influence each other. Even in a bundle, part of the cost is for line and part is for cap.

If your ISP doesn't upgrade your line speed for free or charge you less in total, they are effectively charging you more for your capped data and you should then consider getting another ISP!

Uncapped bundles or accounts
With uncapped, a faster line speed means more data consumed so what will happen is not as straight forward as with a capped account. The way this is implemented will differ between ISPs and it is best to wait and see how your ISP handles it.

tl;dr version:
If you don't pay less or get a faster line with a capped account/bundle when the upgrades are done, you are being screwed by your ISP.

Mister44,

I understand what you are explaining, it makes sense, either you get better line speed or you pay less. But Axxess sent me an email yesterday that was all about -- FREE Uncapped Account Upgrades for Existing Clients -- nowhere it said anything about line speeds.

So that was why i was saying its nice to have the uncapped account upgraded from a 2mb/s uncapped to a 4mb/s uncapped, but they did not say anything about line speeds being upgraded.

I know i'm just being stupid but on their site they have already updated their prices for their ADSL accounts (https://www.axxess.co.za/uncapped) but their ADSL lines (https://www.axxess.co.za/adslline) and bundle prices (https://www.axxess.co.za/bundles-uncapped) have not changed.



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I'm on their uncapped 2mbps bundle, my price did not go down nor my speed up.

[Mister 44]

Mister44,

I understand what you are explaining, it makes sense, either you get better line speed or you pay less. But Axxess sent me an email yesterday that was all about -- FREE Uncapped Account Upgrades for Existing Clients -- nowhere it said anything about line speeds.

So that was why i was saying its nice to have the uncapped account upgraded from a 2mb/s uncapped to a 4mb/s uncapped, but they did not say anything about line speeds being upgraded.

I know i'm just being stupid but on their site they have already updated their prices for their ADSL accounts (https://www.axxess.co.za/uncapped) but their ADSL lines (https://www.axxess.co.za/adslline) and bundle prices (https://www.axxess.co.za/bundles-uncapped) have not changed.



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I'm on their uncapped 2mbps bundle, my price did not go down nor my speed up.

It will come, just give it a while. ISPs like to drag these things out for maximum publicity and exposure.

Edit:

FREE Uncapped Account Upgrades for Existing Clients -- nowhere it said anything about line speeds.

The account upgrades just mean that when the lines upgrade, the accounts will upgrade with them free of charge.

[Tydmors]

It will come, just give it a while. ISPs like to drag these things out for maximum publicity and exposure.

Edit:



The account upgrades just mean that when the lines upgrade, the accounts will upgrade with them free of charge.

Thanks, I thought as much.

[Mister 44]

Thanks, I thought as much.

No problem. These things can get pretty complex because Telkom does "free upgrades" and not a straight forward cost reduction.

One thing to keep in mind is the time frame for the upgrades. It will start on 11 November, but Telkom will have a network freeze in place during December and January after which the upgrades will resume.

So when exactly each ISP will choose to implement each of their product's reduction/upgrades... Well, your guess is a good as mine.