Telkom has announced the first roll-out of ADSL in Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Potchefstroom and Welkom.
Making the announcement, Telkom`s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Nombulelo Moholi, said ADSL had taken off in SA with footprints now covering all major metropolitan locations of the country.
Telkom began the move into the world of high-speed broadband to the home with its new ADSL service in August last year.
"The strategy to start slowly with a limited introduction, gaining valuable experience in all areas of providing high quality and sophisticated services, has paid off. Now that the groundwork has been laid, the benefits of high speed Internet can be enjoyed in all metropolitan areas," Moholi said.
ADSL is an acronym for asymmetrical digital subscriber line. It is an always-available, flat-rated access service to the Internet. It uses a modem technology that turns an ordinary telephone line into a multitasking tool.
While maintaining the existing telephone service, ADSL will in addition provide data transmission at higher speeds than an ordinary or ISDN dial-up service. ADSL has an uplink speed of 256kbps and a downstream of 512kbps.
Customers using ADSL do not have to fear that being on the Internet for a long time will increase their telephone bills. Residential customers are charged a fixed amount of R680 per month with no call charges for the Internet connection.
This charge is over and above the normal telephone rental and call charges. The business ADSL monthly rental charge is R800.
There is a once-off installation charge of R404. ADSL users, however, also require a special modem and surge protection unit. Modems and surge protection units are available from Telkom or may be purchased from external suppliers. Visit www.telkom.co.za and click on the ADSL banner to obtain a list of ICASA-approved modems.
Telkom charges for modems are R2 469 for an Ethernet modem or R2 067 for a USB modem. The USB modem simply plugs into the USB port on the computer, while the Ethernet modem requires a network card and offers concurrency, in other words more than one computer can be used on the same ADSL line.
To obtain maximum benefit from a Telkom ADSL line, the user`s PC must meet the minimum specification, typically for users of Windows 2000, a Pentium 11 with a processor speed of at least 166MHz and 128MB of Ram, 100MB storage and a CD drive. Go to the Telkom Web site www.telkom.co.za and click on the ADSL banner for a list of a variety of other PC and software configurations.
To maintain a quality service at all times, Telkom ADSL customers have a cap of 3GB throughput.
"The fact that we are situated in SA means that international bandwidth is purchased at a premium and not unlimited," said Moholi.
The 3GB volume cap protects users from a small minority of people who abuse the service by using it for purposes it is not intended for. "It ensures that ADSL users enjoy the full ADSL Internet experience," Moholi said.
To put the cap in perspective, at 3GB one could download four full-length movies or over 500 songs a month.
ADSL customers can use any Internet service provider (ISP) that is connected to the Telkom ADSL network. The ISP portion is charged separately and is in addition to the ADSL access and line rental charges. Telkom Internet offers two innovative ISP products Prolog and Prolog plus. More information on Telkom`s Prolog and Prolog plus can be found on www.telkomsa.net.
To check if ADSL is available in your area and to order the service online, visit www.telkom.co.za (click on the ADSL banner). A toll-free number 0800 ADSL 00 (0800 237 500) will give access to the business call centre that handles all orders and customer enquiries.
"Soon Telkom will supplement its ADSL service with a satellite service that will bring always-available, flat-rated access to the Internet within reach of rural areas," Moholi said.
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