The great broadband face-off: iBurst vs ADSL
by Andrew Smith on 20/04/07 at 12:03 pm
18 comments
If you’ve read Ideate in the last few weeks you’ll know that we’ve been having a few run-ins with iBurst, our internet connection provider. When we joined them 2 years ago we were delighted to be free from Telkom’s wires. Installation was a breeze, speed was good, smiles all round, and we did our usual evangelism efforts to get everyone we knew signed up.
Then iBurst were bought by some guys with a lot of cash and they tried to take over the whole country. They rolled out new towers faster than a Woodstock Bergie rolls spliffs, and we received newsletter after newsletter announcing that everywhere from Richard’s Bay to Maatjiesfontein were now online. Funny thing was, existing clients like us sitting in Cape Town didn’t care about all their shiny new towers around the country. We just wanted to keep accessing the internet at a decent speed like we had been doing. But speed was something iBurst decided was an optional luxury as they flooded their network with more users than they could handle.
iBurst technology is advertised as having download speeds “17 times faster than dial-up”, which is about 1,000 Kbps in techie speak. We visited a friend who had 384 Kbps ADSL (ie about 3 times slower than iBurst) and when we experienced the speed he was getting we realised that iBurst had been letting things slip. Added to that was an admin issue that had been dragging on for months (they debited our account too much and to date still haven’t refunded us), so about 2 weeks ago we made the decision to sign up with ADSL – Telkom for the line, CyberSmart for the ISP bit.
About a week after applying we were sent to a Telkom office to collect our free modem/router/wifi thingy, and given some basic instructions for “self-install” – stick the CD into the drive, click next, done. Registering with Cybersmart was equally easy, and within a few hours we were up and running down the super-highway once again.
The difference was immediately obvious.
Over the last day or so I have been conducting speed comparisons using SpeedTest.net, with iBurst running on one computer and ADSL on the other. I checked the speed to Cape Town, London and Los Angeles at 5pm, 9pm, 8am and 11am, and averaged out the results. But before I give those to you I first need to try and explain some technical stuff, which I’ll probably fluff a bit, and need some bright people to correct me in the comments:
I tested 2 aspects – ping time (also known as latency) and download speed. Ping time is the number of miliseconds that it takes for a message to get from your computer to a server somewhere else in the world, and back again. Obviously the smaller that number is, the quicker you will start seeing something in your browser. Once a connection has been established, download speed comes in to play. This is basically the size of the housepipe between your computer and the server you’re browsing. You want a fat housepipe to get that big video file down from YouTube as quickly as possible.
Here are the results:
| ADSL | iBurst | |
| Average Ping Time: | 383 ms | 519 ms |
| Average Download: | 311 Kbps | 420 Kbps |
| Advertised Download: | 384 Kbps | 1024 Kbps |
| Do they deliver? | 81% | 41% |
ADSL delivered a far quicker ping time than iBurst – almost twice as fast in a lot of the tests. This means that when the gun is fired, ADSL leaves the starting blocks a whole lot quicker than iBurst does. iBurst did deliver a faster download speed once it got going (this will be more noticable when downloading bigger files), but remember that we are not comparing apples with apples here – iBurst is advertised as 3 times quicker than our ADSL package. iBurst is delivering 41% of the speed they advertise, while ADSL is delivering 81%. We chose the slowest (and cheapest) ADSL available to us – we have the option of upgrading to 4,000 Kbps if we need it.
Here are a few other comparisons:
| ADSL | iBurst | |
| Setup Fee: |
R0 | R2,000 for a modem |
| Total Monthly Fee: (3Gig Package) |
R370 | R599 |
| Feels like: | Roller-blading down Kloofnek | Doing a 3-legged race in a bog |
So, if you’re a small business or home user considering what internet package you should go for, as much as it pains me to say this, it seems like Telkom is right when the claim they’re “TheBestBroadBand.co.za“. After a few days of access through CyberSmart I can recommend them as a low-cost ISP.
It gave us great pleasure to make the phonecall to iBurst cancelling our relationship. They told us to send a mail to retentions@iburstgroup.co.za, which gave us the impression that someone would call and beg us to stay. 3 days have passed and we’ve heard nothing.
Of course, Telkom could drop the ball at any time, and this careful analysis could go out the window overnight. Perhaps the best solution is to pay for both connections and use whoever is quicker on the day.
technorati tags:iburst, telkom, adsl, cybersmart
Andrew Smith is the pedantic systems guy behind Live Alchemy, a SA e-commerce company. Andrew writes for Ideate in an attempt to make the world a more efficient place. View more articles by Andrew Smith.
JBagley
Apr 20th, 2007
People sometimes fail to realise that even though Telkom is evil, their ADSL is by far the best connectivity solution in SA. I have 384kb ADSL line at home, and not once can I complain about the speed or uptime. It is really terrific.
My friend across town with his “super wireless solution” as he calls it has to come to my place to make Skype calls to his family overseas, because his connection isn’t consistent enough…. shame.
David
Apr 20th, 2007
I used 3G for a while to do remote working in UK from Durban – MTN 3G was a shocker – They don’t have much 3G signal, and no HSDPA at all. I could only connect at GPRS speeds with them. To top it off their bandwidth shaping stopped me from using Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s) which is a must in the business world.
I then went onto 3G Vodacom – MUCH better! For a few months I loved it – A little expensive, but worth it for the speeds and ease of use. VPN’s worked fine as well. Then suddenly I started experiencing connection problems where the connection would drop, or where I could only upload information, but not download etc. When a colleague told me he was having the same problems with Vodacom, i decided to get ADSL.
I have had ADSL 385kb for a few months now, and never looked back! I didn’t want a contract with Telkom, so I bought my own modem/router for about R1500 and have a month-to-month subscription for the line. I then signed up with Web Africa (www.webafrica.co.za) as an ISP – They offer great “pay as you go” options where the bandwidth rolls over to the next month if not used, and you only pay R125 per 1GB unshaped, or R99 shaped.
If anyone wants to get ADSL my advice is to not use Telkoms modem, but get your own Netgear modem/wireless router or something from http://www.digitalplanet.co.za. Then subscribe with an ISP other than Telkom like Web Africa, and start your ADSL speed at 384kb – the slowest. If after a while you want faster speeds, you can upgrade for free, but downgrading costs you bucks.
I battle to say it, but Telkom is doing a good job when it comes to ADSL. That doesn’t mean that we as South Africans are not getting ripped off on the price of broadband though.
Andrew
Apr 20th, 2007
Thanks for the comments David. I would like to higlight the point you made about not signing a contract with Telkom. I would advise this for everything related to internet in South Africa – don’t sign 24 month contracts with your ISP, Telkom, MTN, iBurst etc. The fineprint makes the provider unliable to provide any guarantees on the speed or uptime, and you’ll probably be stuck with a degrading service. Hopefully we will see major strides forward in the next 2 years, and you don’t want to be stuck with a package that is from the relative dark ages.
W
Apr 21st, 2007
I suppose those ping tests are from Cape Town, in JHB iBurst pings seem to be around 350ms internationally, perhaps this varies.
How do you get no setup fee for ADSL? There is also a modem unless you go into a contract with Telkom (great idea) and there are installation costs unless you can do it yourself which not everyone is willing to do.
As for the speeds, well there is no such thing as an average on iBurst. It could well be lower than that for some users, or much faster for users with a good connection.
Just a few points.. but in general ADSL will feel faster than iBurst because on the ping times and the consistency.
Andrew
Apr 22nd, 2007
Hi W
There was no setup cost for us because we did self-install. I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t do self-install – it’s really easy. “Install” makes it sound like you have to crawl in the roof and lay cables, which is not the case. The install is mainly putting software on your computer. And there are operators standing by to assist you.
Because we chose self-install Telkom gave us a free modem/wifi router. We just took our reference number to a Telkom branch and they handed over the box.
Our iBurst signal is excellent. We are about 150m from the Plumstead tower.
I agree there is no such thing as average speed, and this test was very unscientific. But it was intended to put figures to what our hunch was – iBurst had become terribly slow for us over time, and ADSL is a faster option.
W
Apr 22nd, 2007
Yes, that option for the self install is a great deal. It is actually exactly what I was thinking of doing, and I’m in fact also on the Plumstead tower in Cape Town.
I still find hte Plumstead tower to perform pretty well, especially if you are 150m from it, but ADSL will almost always be better.
Nick Soper
Apr 23rd, 2007
It seems as though there are more satelite/wireless options. We are looking at one for our office, and they are telling us the speed should be 8Mbit.
I also heard that some building developers are putting in satelite internet connections and distributing it wirelessly to the occupants. Aprently the latency is low, and you get a direct line to the states. Thats all I know.
Any news on these sorts of providers?
Andrew
Apr 23rd, 2007
Hi Nick
I know of a couple of other wireless options like WDSL from Uninet, but as far as I know it’s not high-speed.
Satellite has been around for a while, but my understanding is that latency is in fact high. Even at the speed of light, data takes longer to travel up to a satellite many thousands of kilometers above earth than it does in an undersea cable. I’m also not sure of the cost, but I doubt it’s in the “small business” range of R300 to R800 a month, which is what we’re interested in.
Nick Soper
Apr 25th, 2007
I got in touch with a guy called Ryan at http://www.internect.co.za and he is offering an 8mbit wireless (I guess like iBurst) connection. You pay a R2499 installation and hardware fee, and R150 per GB, the more gigs you buy the cheaper they get aparently. Also what is nice is that there is no line rental – just the once off installation fee and the bandwidth.
He also said something about bypassing telkom, more direct link to the undersea cables and so on. Not a huge network person myself.
The only downer is you need to be within 10km’s – line of sight, from a beacon/tower/transmitter thing.
It’s also worth mentioning that another guy approached our office offering a similar thing, 8mbit too, so it looks like there might be a few of these services around.
Andrew
Apr 25th, 2007
Sounds interesting. Can’t see much by going to his site. Perhaps he could point us in the direction of some more info?
Nick Soper
Apr 26th, 2007
Hey, Um I am pretty keen to help. I should add that so far I have no actual user experience feedback, but I am optimistic.
Ryans number is: 0824609412 and he sent me the details below:
****************************************
R2499 excl. once off which covers the cost of the signal test, wireless receiver, router and installation. We cable a standard RJ45 CAT5 cable to a point which can either be plugged into a single computer, switch or wireless AP.
The only cost after that is the monthly bandwidth (prepaid) which is R150 excl. per GB. At 5GB this drops down to R140 per GB. Bulk discounts of course can be negotiated.
We usually do a signal test within 2 business days of a request, and the installation within 2 days of a 50% deposit of the R2499 amount (the balance payable on completion).
Our coverage within town and Gardens is excellent, we have multiple highsites in the area.
There is no monthly rental nor any other infrastructure required on your side. Payment is month to month and can be cancelled with a months notice. The bandwidth supplied is diginet bandwidth and dependent on signal can be up to 10Mb/s which of course will give far superiour results to connections such as ADSL when it comes to time critical applications such as VOIP or online gaming.
****************************************
I then asked about the prepaid bandwidth thing, assuming that no one wants to buy more than they will use, and also that everyone would use more than the expect and he wrote this:
****************************************
We can instantly add extra bandwidth on request as required at a cost of
R150/Gb, we just require some form of written confirmation whether it be
e-mail or fax. The extra bandwidth purchased is valid for 3 months.
I hope all this info helps.
PS the new paper clips look pretty cool, available in CNA in 2012!
Ideate - Small Business in South Africa » ASA nails iBurst; Ideate smiles.
Oct 17th, 2007
[...] you. You have felled the mighty iBurst with a single swoop of your axe. We, at Ideate have been crowing, crying and throwing our toys from our respective cots without one single bone being thrown back in [...]
Aida
Dec 10th, 2007
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Grant Suthers
Feb 13th, 2008
2 x Reminders :
1) ‘Broadband’ in SA is a major ripoff. Try telling a north american or european that you pay for data and laugh along with them for a bit.
2) The one consolation is that iburst is effectively WIMAX. I could never be tied down to a fixed line (ADSL) in my office. The least I can do when I videophone overseas is line up Table Mountain or the beach in the background and take an espresso break at an appropriate coffeeshop to show off my wonderful city.
Joyce Crouch
Jun 4th, 2008
Hi
Thank you for your above information. I am currently in York, U.K. and returning to S.A. tomorrow. I was surfing the web to find the best deal for having internet access at home. Your letter was very helpful and informative.
I live in Durban and was contemplating iBurst.
Thanks to you I am better informed.
Congratulations on the article which was clear and precise.
Well done!
Ideate - Small Business in South Africa
Nov 26th, 2008
[...] – loathsome thoughts towards the wireless internet provider iBurst. Read our past rants here, here, here, here and [...]
nomad-one
Feb 17th, 2009
Reading your article gives me mixed feelings, I’m happy for you guys that at least someone got some kind of good service from Telkom.
I recently went through the almost 3 month process of trying to get a Telkom adsl line setup at home. I specified to the sales guy that I only wanted the landline for adsl and if my address could not receive adsl service I didn’t want the line.
So I applied, then waited 2 months or more for an installatio date. I went through web africa for an adsl account, who after signing up told me I had to wait another 4 – 6 weeks for telkoms approval of adsl on my number. After 2 weeks I went into a local Telkom office where they said the order was placed and should take 30 – 40 days.
After about a week, I contacted webafrica asking if the process could be sped up at all. After conacting telkom they said, I would have to wait indefinitely for ports to be installed in my area or for someone to “cancell” their adsl account.
This is after paying R700 deposit to Telkom, R680 2 months to Web Africa and not a sniff of adsl on the horizon.
Sadly, MTN 3G is at it’s worst right in my house, and I’m a work from home web designer. Is there any light at the end of this tunnel?
miss t
Mar 31st, 2009
Isn’t the web incredible? It educates, it informs, it connects, it inspires. It enables us to know more, do more, be more. It allows us to stay in touch with each other and what’s going on. It saves us time and money. Perhaps we should call it the out of this world… wide web.