A study has been launched to test local broadband services and assess whether they deliver on their promises.
Rudolph Muller, MyADSL founder and lecturer at the Department of Business Information Technology (BIT) of the University of Johannesburg, is spearheading the study. Muller says the study is being conducted both at the BIT`s new broadband testing laboratory and at the homes and offices of 150 volunteers.
"While smaller comparative studies have been carried out in SA, this will be without a doubt the biggest and most comprehensive study to be carried out into South African broadband services to date," he says.
It will assess offerings including Telkom`s ADSL, Sentech`s MyWireless, WBS`s iBurst, Vodacom`s 3G and MTN`s 3G.
Muller says the wireless broadband providers - Sentech, Vodacom, WBS and MTN - support the initiative and have supplied BIT with free hardware and testing accounts. Some providers even sent technical experts to ensure their service is functioning properly, he says.
The study, which began at the beginning of September, will cover a range of factors, including upload and download speeds, whether the services deliver on their promises, and what each offering is best suited for. Volunteers taking part in the study have been given diagnostic tools and guidelines, and will also report back on user experiences, customer support and other issues.
The first full findings will be published next month, and these will be updated regularly. "We want to assess South African services and help users determine what is the best option for them," says Muller. "Currently, consumers really have only the advertisements to guide them. We will incorporate previous research, lab test results and volunteers` reports to help users make an informed decision."
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