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MEGABIT – TECHNOLOGY AND YOUR BUSINESS BY SCOTT DAVIES
Having worked in the small and home business environment for the past few years, I have noticed that many small business owners either shy away from technology (technophobes) or make use of incorrect or expensive solutions to their problems. And let’s face it – as a small business owner, you cannot afford to be anything but lean and efficient. Spending money or time on unnecessary software or hardware is not where you want to be! So I have drafted a few articles to assist you to navigate your way through the technology and IT minefield. Today’s article deals with internet connections.
INTERNET CONNECTIONS – WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
A few years ago, South Africans had almost no choice when it came to what internet connection to use – there was dial up and ADSL or you had to be a corporate. Dial up was slow and ADSL was expensive. Thankfully this is no longer the case and we have now got a whole range to chose from – so much so that making a choice has becoming a bewildering experience.
This article will hopefully assist you to choose the most appropriate option. Remember that in many cases, there is no one connection that will tick all the boxes in terms of your needs – you just have to find the one that ticks the most boxes. So in increasing order of cost (more or less!):
DIAL UP
This solution is ONLY worth considering if your internet needs are VERY low and you already have a Telkom landline (or the cost of the line makes this solution unviable). You pay per minute that you are connected and down and upload speeds are extremely slow. Nowadays, this service is not really viable except for specialised cases.
IBURST
iBurst has been around for a few years now and their service has proven to be stable. Their coverage is also relatively wide in major urban centres. Despite this, iBurst has a bad reputation in some circles but this is usually due to the service being used in areas with bad signal. So as a start point, if you would like to use iBurst, make sure your signal is good (or install an antenna to make sure it is). You can do this on the JustConnect website.
iBurst offers 4 types of modems – a USB modem, a PC Express modem, a Desktop modem or a Webfone modem. The first 2 are useful if you are a user on the move; the last 2 are more suited to a home or office environment and are not portable. The last 2 can also be connected to a router to allow MULTIPLE computers to connect and share the connection.
The Webfone offers the added benefit of being a telephone as well; offering lower cost phone calls without the need for a Telkom line. For the phone service to work well, signal must be very good. Clients can take a 24 month or month to month package.
 
NEOTEL
Neotel has a number of options to choose from. Most are only suitable for the home user or 1 man business since they can only be connected to a single computer.
1. Neoconnect Lite is a phone which includes BASIC internet access at dial up speeds. Ideal if you just need a phone. Connects to 1 computer via USB. Costs start at R99 per month.
2. Neoconnect Prime is a phone that includes higher speed (broadband) internet access & is ideal if you want internet and a phone in 1 unit. Connects to 1 computer via USB. Costs start at R279 per month.
3. NeoGo DataCard is a device similar to the cellular providers’ 3G service. It is designed or the user on the move. Costs start at R239 per month.
4. Neoflex Data is a modem and wireless router in 1 device which can be connected to multiple computers. It does NOT include a phone. This solution would be ideal for the small office and costs start at R499 per month.
Since Neotel is also wireless, it is important to check coverage at your intended use location. Neotel’s coverage is still relatively limited. Again you can use the JustConnect website to check your coverage. Clients are contracted for 24 months.
3G
3G is offered by Vodacom and MTN as well as Telkom. Usually, 3G is sold on a 24 month contract basis. The latest versions of 3G offer up to 21mbps theoretical speeds! However, in practice users find they usually experience speeds well below this. In fact, speeds will usually not be more than 2mbps. Still that is pretty impressive but there is a catch – costs are pretty high too.
Remember that speeds are dependent on your modem AND the capability of the network in that area. So if you use your 3G connection in a rural setting, speeds will be much lower than in a major urban area.
Usually, 3G is used on a single computer and often it is used for when a user is out of the office. But 3G can also be used by multiple users by connecting the 3G USB modem to a 3G router. These routers start at around R1000 odd. 3G is often a good solution to use as a backup to the primary connection – eg as a backup to ADSL in the office.
Something that many people don’t think about is that most cell phones today are 3G enabled. By using the software that is supplied with the phone, it is possible to use your cell phone as a modem. This means that in cases where a user has an OCCASSIONAL need for internet connectivity on the road, there is no need to buy a separate contract with a 3G modem -rather use your existing cellular phone. If your data usage is high, buy a data bundle on your contract. You can do this on an ad hoc basis or ongoing by simply contacting your service provider.
A comparison of 3G packages can be found at http://www.hellkom.co.za/hsdpa/
ADSL
As a rule, ADSL is the most reliable, stable solution to use for internet connectivity. If you can afford to get ADSL, then that would be the way to go. You will need a Telkom line and on top of this you add your ADSL service. This means that you will have to pay a Telkom line fee, a Telkom ADSL fee and your ADSL ISP fee. This can add up to a lot and means that for many smaller businesses and home users, ADSL is not cost effective.
There is not much you can do about the Telkom line and ADSL fee as these are pretty much fixed, but the ISP cost does vary quite widely. For example, at the current time, Afrihost offers data at R29 per GB where the “standard†price is more like double this.
Many companies are now offering an uncapped service as well. I would caution against going for these uncapped services UNLESS your data usage is higher than 15 to 20GB per month. An analysis will show you that purely on cost basis; the uncapped services are to be avoided if you are a lower usage customer. MWEB’s 4mbps uncapped costs R539 per month. If you use Afrihost’s R29 per GB service, R539 would buy just under 19GB of data. Most business use less than this per month so Afrihost’s solution would prove more cost effective.
Furthermore the uncapped solution is usually a handicapped solution. What the ISP’s do is to increase the contention ratio to reduce costs. By way of explanation, consider a freeway. The contention ratio would be the ratio of cars using the freeway to lanes available. By increasing the number of cars without increasing the number of lanes, costs are kept low BUT the traffic slows down. So at busy times this freeway will slow to a crawl. That is what the uncapped solutions offer – they buy less capacity per customer. So if you are a heavy downloader who doesn’t really mind if speeds are sometimes slow as long as in 1 month you download a LOT of data, then by all means consider the uncapped solution. For business users, we still recommend a standard capped service.
Below is a comparison of these solutions showing costs per GB. Notice how for users using 1 to 5GB of data, iBurst is most cost effective, whereas from 5 to 10GB, Neotel and iBurst are close in price. As usage goes over 10GB, ADSL becomes cost effective. However, this chart does not factor in variables such as speed and reliability. Nevertheless, for cost sensitive businesses or businesses unable to get ADSL, iBurst and Neotel are well worth a look.
 
iBurst Neotel 3G ADSL
Telkom line needed No No No Yes
Pricing starts at R49 R99 R80 R199
Minimum Data Limit 80MB 0MB 100MB 1GB
Maximum Data Limit 15GB 15GB 20GB Unlimited
Data Carry Over Yes No Yes Usually no
Portable (coverage dependant) USB and PC Express Modems Only NeoGo Yes No
Coverage Most major centres Patchy in the major centres Excellent Check with Telkom
Network shareable Yes - Desktop and Webfone modems NeoFlex Data Yes - use a 3G router Yes
Month to month option available Yes No No Yes
Recommended for * Home users
* Small offices (up to around 10 users)
* Portable use within major centres
* Backup to primary internet connection
* Users needing a phone line * Home users
* Small offices (up to around 15 users)
* Users needing a phone line * Home users
* Small offices * Home users wanting to do online gaming
* Small to large offices (up to 30 users)
OTHER SOLUTIONS
There are several other solutions available to consider, including WiMax, WDSL, Metronet and Diginet. These solutions are niche and expensive. They are only worth considering in special cases or when the above solutions are unavailable. For a fuller discussion on alternatives, or to discuss your options in more detail, we welcome your queries.
Scott Davies is the owner of JustConnect (Pty) Ltd, a company that specializes in internet connectivity and Voice over IP telephone services. Visit our website – www.justconnect.co.za or email scott@justconnect.co.za for more.
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