Connectivity

What is ADSL?

Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, is a family of technologies, used to provide a digital connection between a home or office user’s telephone (and PC) and the local telephone exchange. DSL still uses the same copper cables that ordinary analogue phones use. The different types of DSL connection are mainly differentiated by the bit rate or bandwidth of the connection. ADSL, or Asymmetric DSL, gets its name from the fact that the upstream bandwidth (from the user to the exchange) and downstream bandwidth (from the exchange to the user) are different. Usually, the downstream bandwidth will be much higher than the upstream bandwidth. When you obtain an ADSL line to your home or office, it is still possible to connect an analogue telephone on the same phone line, and to use your phone at the same time that you are connected to the Internet.

ADSL is what is known as an “always on” technology. This means that you do not have to “dial up” a call to connect to the Internet. Your ADSL line is always connected to the local telephone exchange, and is always available. Your telephone company (e.g. Telkom) and your Internet Service Provide may, however, logically disconnect your session after a while, so that you have to log in again. Unlike dial-up connections, you do not have to pay, based on the amount of time that you are connected – your monthly line rental provides for continuous availability of access.

What hardware do I need to connect via ADSL?
The main piece of equipment that you will require to connect an ADSL line to your PC is an ADSL modem or router. These come in two main varieties, either with a USB or Ethernet connection. Most modern PCs have USB ports, thus making it easy to connect a USB ADSL modem. If you decide to opt for an Ethernet ADSL modem, you will need to ensure that your PC has an Ethernet card, and that you have the correct flylead cable to connect your PC to the ADSL modem. Typically, USB modems are cheaper than Ethernet modems. The exact operating system and hardware requirements will depend on your modem selection and driver availability.

How do I get an ADSL line?
In order to obtain ADSL connectivity to the Internet, you will require two separate components, namely:

  • An ADSL phone line, which can be obtained from Telkom
  • An ADSL Internet access package, which can be obtained from an ISP such as Industrial Revolution IT Services.

ADSL lines are not available from Telkom in all exchanges. You will need to find out from Telkom whether ADSL is available at your exchange. (You will need to provide an existing phone number, in order for Telkom to determine whether you can obtain an ADSL line at your location.)

What does an ADSL line cost?

To obtain an ADSL line from Telkom, you will need to incur the following costs:

  • A normal phone line rental;
  • The normal charges of all your voice phone calls;
  • Installation (once off) charge;
  • Monthly ADSL line rental; and
  • An ADSL router, which can be obtained from us.

How can I sign up for ADSL?
Give us a call on 086 111 4948

How much can I download? 

We have ADSL packages from 1 Gig through to 30 Gig. In addition we have an Industrial ADSL product that allows for unlimited Bandwidth.

Can I still use my ordinary analogue phone with my ADSL line?

Yes. You may install what is known as a POTS splitter or ADSL Filter. The POTS splitter connects to your ADSL line where it comes from the wall socket, and then has two separate ports, one for your analogue telephone, and one for your ADSL modem.

How fast is your ADSL service ?

Speed is determined by the option that you choose with Telkom.

Telkom's ADSL services are available in 3 speed offerings namely:

  • Fast DSL up to 384kbps        ( R 152-00 p/m )
  • Faster DSL up to 512kbps     ( R 326-00 p/m )
  • Fastest DSL up to 4096kbps  ( R 413-00 p/m )

What bandwidth do I get with my ADSL service?
The rate, at which you are able to download from the Internet, via your ADSL line is affected by a number of factors, including:

The speed of the ADSL line between your home or office and the local telephone exchange.

Any crosstalk or interference on the copper cable between your home or office and the local telephone exchange may impact on the speed of your ADSL connection;

The amount of bandwidth available, and any congestion between your local telephone exchange and Telkom’s central BRAS (Broadband Remote Access Server). (The BRAS is a device that aggregates traffic from different exchanges, and performs functions such as user authentication);

Any congestion elsewhere on the path across the Internet to the server from which you are downloading data.

What service guarantees does ADSL give?
ADSL services are provided without any guarantees.

How do I find out if I can get ADSL at my home/office?
You will need to find out from Telkom, whether ADSL is available in your area. You can do this by calling Telkom on 10219, and providing your existing phone number.

Can I run a mail/web server at the end of my ADSL line?
In order to run a mail or web server, it is necessary that your server has an IP address, which never changes. This is necessary, in order to allow for an entry in the DNS to point to a unique IP address, which never changes, making it possible for other computers to connect to your server. If you use an ADSL line to connect to the Internet, you will generally get a different IP address every time you log in, to connect to the Internet, thus making it impossible to operate a server behind your ADSL line.