Telkom today launched an unshaped version of TelkomInternet powered by ADSL, offering customers unshaped international bandwidth with a 4Giga Byte (GB) monthly volume cap.
``Feedback from customers indicates those at the higher end of the scale want more immediate access to a wide range of multimedia services. With the ADSL 4 GB Unshaped service, TelkomInternet is now able to meet market needs by offering a service in which all protocols share the available bandwidth equally,`` Steven White, Telkom`s Product Development Executive said.
Niche users, for example, telecommuters, will be able to build secure VPN`s to their corporate headquarters elsewhere in the world, while gamers can connect to any gaming server anywhere in the world.
The current shaped ADSL service suits users who want to access the Internet for normal Internet usage. It gives priority to HTTP, the protocol designed for surfing the web or retrieving e-mail and has a 3 GB monthly volume cap.
Telkom has gained valuable experience in the rollout of broadband services in South Africa`s major metropolitan areas. "The ADSL footprint now covers all major metropolitan locations in South Africa. The introduction of new equipment (Mini Dslams) has enabled us to extend the access of ADSL to areas that are served by optic fibre cabling" White said.
The cost of access to ADSL will remain the same at R680 for residential customers and R800 for Business Customers. Customers who sign a two year contact are offered the ADSL bundle which includes a free modem valued at over R1500.
Telkom offers two new ISP packages: Prolog Unshaped at R879.30 and Prolog Plus Unshaped at R902.30 monthly..
The 4 GB cap is set on a monthly basis. A subscriber`s usage is set to zero on the first day of every month and does not get carried over to the next month. Similar to the 3GB service, the 4GB is also measured on up and downloads combined and includes both national and international traffic. Once the 4GB cap is reached, a subscriber will be disconnected from the ADSL network.
This means Internet access over an ADSL connection will no longer be possible. Subscribers will however still have the option to access the Internet on a normal dial-up connection with a dial-up modem. Should the customer choose to access the internet via a dial-up connection normal Telkom per second tariffs will apply, and the traffic usage won`t be allocated towards their 4GB allocated bandwidth. Customers who require more than 4 GB per month can buy an additional Prolog or ProLog Plus unshaped package.
The idle and absolute timeouts imposed on the current 3GB shaped service will stay the same for the new 4GB unshaped service, where the idle timeout is set to one hour and absolute timeout is set to 24 hours. IP addresses will be allocated dynamically as with the current 3GB shaped service.
Key features of TelkomInternet powered by ADSL portfolio include access to value-added services such as e-mail and web hosting, free access to the online usage tracker at http://adsl.telkomsa.net and optional security software from Secur-IT on www.cybertrademall.co.za. TelkomInternet also offers a free anti spamming tool.
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