Comments on: Reichelt’s broadband plan could help Cell C leapfrog rivals

By: Brett

Brett — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:55:29 +0000

Nice idea all that bandwidth, but we don’t see a reduction in rates.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:26:26 +0000

Well Ichtys the reason they only have 5000 customers is because they don’t have prepaid yet. There’s a few hiccups with the system and they don’t have the needed basestations yet for a full launch without it falling over the same way Vodacom’s is doing now. I’ve learnt from others’ mistakes and won’t sign a contract with anyone even a month to month one.

Matthew, the theoretical speed is what the technology is expected to be capable of and not what you will get with perfect signal. Normal HSDPA was expected to reach 21.6Mbit/s but has apparently topped out at 14.4Mbit/s on software updates alone. Just as nobody needed better reception to use the 7.2Mbit/s HSDPA upgrade nobody will need it to use the new speeds. As long as they have the network to handle the speeds you will either have good enough reception to use it or not at all.

By: Ichtys

Ichtys — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:28:26 +0000

Dear Mr Editor, thanks for your reply. However, the testing phase has long been over. I’ve heard that there are currently more than 5000 customers subscribed to the W-CDMA service. Anyone can walk into any Telkom shop now and order/purchase the W-CDMA Huawei connection, sim card and equipment. It’s just not widely advertised as such. Heard of Telkom’s product called “Do 3G”? Thats W-CDMA in disguise. Interesting as well to hear that all copper cable thefts are not being replaced any more. The services to the Telkom customer are being replaced by a W-CDMA connection to the nearest Telkom cellular tower. Gratis! My colleague’s dad stays in Kameeldrift west, he can testify to that. It looks like things are changing quite fast at Telkom and all for the better.

By: Matthew French

Matthew French — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:53:26 +0000

The theoretical speed is very nice, but is it practical if we can only reach that speed while standing outside with one hand in the air? The speed of 3G should be fast enough for most tasks, but there are many areas where Cell C’s EDGE network is faster than the competing 3G networks.

It is difficult to determine whether this is because of too much wireless traffic, inadequate backhaul links, or because of the base station’s location. But I think it is fair to assume that the only way we will get the theoretical performance with any consistency is if there is a base station on every corner.

Now does Cell C really want to open that can of worms? Or will we have yet another wireless data network that is broadband in theory but dial-up in practice?

By: Editor

Editor — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:00:36 +0000

Ichtys, Telkom is testing a W-CDMA network running at 7,2Mbit/s. It’s using the same technology as Vodacom and MTN, and so presumably can upgrade to 14,4Mbit/s in 2010. Telkom is expected to launch its W-CDMA offering commercially in 2010.

By: Ichtys

Ichtys — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:25:42 +0000

No mention is made in the article about the Telkom WCDMA implementation and how it compares speed wise with CellC’s HSPA+. I’ve also heard yesterday that Telkom offers now a fully operational cellular voice and data solution. Any news on that?

By: The_Librarian

The_Librarian — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:35:16 +0000

Good to hear. Hope this will also stir the market up big time so that we get higher speeds, bigger caps and lower tariffs.