FAQ

Satellite based ADSL vs. Fibre based ADSL

ADSL always uses copper-wire up to the Telkom DSLAM. From the Dslam it connects to International sites via either Satellite or undersea Fibre SAT3 cable. Local (South African) bandwidth is always over fibre.

Satellite based ADSL is the best ADSL solution for basic email, web browsing, and local Virtual Private Networks (VPN). When your purchased Cap (or limit) has been reached for either local or international access, then international access is slowed down drastically, but free local bandwidth is allowed (refer to table). You may upgrade or top-up to any of our allowed caps only : 1,2,3,5,7,10, or 20 GB.

Fibre based ADSL is the best ADSL solution for basic email, web browsing, high-speed international downloads, video & audio streaming, international gaming, VOIP, and local and international Virtual Private Networks (VPN). When your purchased Cap (or limit) has been reached for either local or international access, then a hard-cap prevents all access. You may upgrade or top-up to any cap : 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 or 20 GB.

Fibre based bandwidth is more expensive than Satellite, and all international bandwidth is much more expensive than local. Fibre offers better speed and latency (Fibre international latency of 250ms - 350ms, Satellite latency of 400 - 500 ms), is not affected by bad weather, and is not affected by sunspots a few times a year.

If you do not need faster international speeds, and do require a soft-cap with free local bandwidth - choose Satellite Adsl. If international speed and lower cost is important, choose Fibre Adsl.

Naming:
Satellite Adsl has a user-id such as  isp12345@dsl512.isdsl.net
Fibre Adsl has a user-id such as      yourname@fibreg.fdsl.co.za

Migrating from Adsl Sat to Adsl Fibre:
a) Contact us to cancel your Adsl
b) We will schedule the Adsl to be deleted at the end of the month in which it is cancelled.
c) We will supply you with a fibreg.fdsl.co.za user-id and password
d) On the 1st day of next month you must input the new Fibre user-id into your Adsl Modem. Please ensure you know how to do this or contact us for assistance.
e) If you use both the Adsl and Adsl Fibre accounts at any time within the same month, we shall charge you for both on a non pro-rata basis.

Concurrent logins (PPPoE sessions):
On Fibre the default is to allow 1 connection from 1 line (but many computers can connect at same time) in order to prevent bandwidth theft. Contact us to raise the concurrent limit up to 10.
On Satellite up to 4 concurrent connections are allowed, so you can login from say 3 branches and from home (all usage counts towards your Cap). This limit cannot be changed.

Usage reports:
A daily email with total usage to date will be sent. For Adsl you may exceed 100% by using the free local bandwidth, or contact us to upgrade (keep same user-id) or top-up (get a new user-id).
On Fibre Adsl you should upgrade or top-up before reaching 100%, as no access is allowed thereafter.

Check Usage online:
You may check your usage on-line at any time.