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Wireless internet

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Not applicable
Hi 555 I am on a farm line and access is hopeless due to ; wind,rain,thunder,stolen wire,even aunties farts. what are my cheapest alernatives? email [email protected]
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13 REPLIES 13
Marko_1
Contributor
Telkom does have a satellite based system which I have seen advertised in the Farmer's Weekly - supposed to be just the thing for those in the "Styx" I can't offer further comment because it remains Telkom based.
If u have fair to good cell phone reception, then maybe a good cell-phone doubling as a modem could solve your problem.
I don't know if the 3gHD plug in cards (Sentech, iBurst etc) have coverage in your area but this also remains an option.
Word of warning : I think the advertised price for the Satellite based Telkom thing starts at about R1k per month which would exclude initial outlays....
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destech
Contributor
I find a data bundle on cellphone still the best option if you're travelling or visiting somewhere on a --- "Nommer Asseblief?" . . "plaastelefoon". 3G is great, but GPRS will be quite adequate for general surfing. It also costs less than a direct dial-up (as low as R1/MB @ MTN). You can do this with a new type cellphone, or buy a data card with some airtime for your PC. Speak to your local cellphone people. Landline ADSL is still the best but it doesn't help if your copper wire gets used to build wire-cars with.
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Not applicable
Got 3g went to swaziland.....no cover would i then need to ask for roaming??? the fun thing is where i was is not to far from the boarder,so sometimes u can get cover(sometimes maybe standing in the right spot)GPRS only which is a killer.
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just_another_bo
Occasional Contributor
Sorry to be negative but stay away from Telkom based services. They are quick to sell you if but the rest is up to the wind and the rain. Try anybody els they will be at least 1000 times better. I am with M-Web and very happy.
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Not applicable
Like u aka name,playa
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Pleiades
Frequent Contributor
I have Telkom ADSL with MWeb as ISP. Since Mar06 had someone hacking the 3 Gig a/c from 2 locations. Lodged case with SAPS (so they can subpoena Telkom to reveal address of hackers). Hacked again Aug (from new locations)& Nov (even tho password changed regularly). Turned on pc 3 Jan and 3gig already been used!! Each time it costs R99/gig to boost, and a day lost to sort out. By afternoon of 4 Jan 1gig more had gone! SAPS still hasnt made progress. I'm convinced possible inside job at MWeb. Next stop Carte Blanche - anyone else with similar prob? Any suggestions on alternatives?
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Not applicable
I had similar problem - 2 gig gone in like 2 days. Mweb were very snotty about it. I had my PC disconnected so now way it was a virus or something. All they did was keep sending me the usage list which they claim is proof that I was using. My neighbours who I know well and trust were not the culprits - I live in a semi rural area and apart from neighbours there is nothing else around - would be keen to know the outcome....
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Tango
Super Contributor
hi all. Similar thing happened to a friend - he went on holiday for a couple of weeks and unplugged his router completely. MWEB account. Got back to his whole capped used up. Definately not virus/spyware activity, automatic updates or anything else on his side. It's possible his router was hacked before he went on holiday and password extracted, but now it looks like there are other people experiencing the same issues
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Richard_1
Occasional Contributor
Might be a stupid question but is the hacking done on/via the Telkom ADSL or on/in the Service provider (Mweb in this case)????
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Tango
Super Contributor
In my opinion, there are 2 places this can happen (maybe three) - Firstis the Internet Service provider (in this case MWEB).. MWEB do their own authentication, capping etc. It's possible that someone currently (or recently) in the employ of MWEB has access to username/password combos and is using them or sharing them. The other obvious place security can be compromised is on the router itself - many users do not disable remote access (admin access) to their routers, and don't change their default admin passwords. This is a very well known exploit - hackers scan for routers, attempt to login with the router default un/pw, then pull out the actual network username and password. All ADSL ISPs are vulnerable to this unless they get their users to block access from the network. Third option is a leak inside Telkom, although I suspect that they don't know what the ISP un/pw combos are.
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Wumpus
Frequent Contributor
This is a security flaw in ADSL lines. They are hacked and the capped used up. Quite easy to do really... The service provider can prevent this by blocking all connections on your username from a different Telkom box. I know Imaginet does. That way, if your ADSL user is piggibacked, the connection will fail
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Brommie
Frequent Contributor
Dear Farmer Brown. I also stay in the good old platteland, to the nearest town and back is close to 160km. I use a laptop, vodacom and a nokia with bluetooth. Pay per page as I download. Seems to work out cheap, but remember that I only do my research at night and have no time for day trade.
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Not applicable
Hi Farmer Brown, We live in town, but new development without telephone lines for loooong. We got a 'premicell'. It is a handunit that connects via the cellphone network to telkom. Works out cheaper than cellphone calls, also with contract and we worked through nashua mobile to get this. The unit has 10 cm antena, but you need to have cellphone coverage.
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