Uncapped local ADSL bandwidth kicks in

Telkom Internet is trialing its uncapped local ADSL bandwidth service where users who have reached their cap still have local access.
Telkom Internet is trialing their uncapped local bandwidth ADSL service where users who reach their monthly bandwidth limit, or cap as it is more commonly known, will only be capped on international bandwidth. All local websites and services are therefore still available to ADSL subscribers who are ‘capped’.
Telkom has previously indicated that it will charge a reduced fee for all local bandwidth consumption after the usage limit is reached. Telkom is however currently not charging for this service and the price for this local bandwidth has not been communicated yet.
The Telkom Internet usage tracker website simply states that “Local Bandwidth is in a testing phase and more details will be communicated at a later stage. Please ignore usage that accrues on the Local Bandwidth tracking tool and it will have no impact on your original blended threshold purchased.”
Lower threshold cap
Telkom Internet became known as an ADSL ISP which did not cap its users immediately when they reached their monthly usage limit. They made a name for themselves by endorsing a more lenient capping policy that allowed for a fair amount of usage after the ‘capped value’ had been reached.
This is however something which may change. Telkom has recently told ICASA that it will enforce its international capping policy more strictly.
According to feedback from Telkom Internet subscribers, many users are capped shortly after exceeding their monthly usage limit, typically between 3 GB and 4 GB for ADSL users with a 3 GB cap. The same holds for 1 GB and 2 GB subscribers who said that they were capped nearly immediately after they reach their monthly limit.
Performance
The performance of the local ADSL service after being capped looks the same as an uncapped account.
The Gamco speed test gave a downlink speed of 2.59 Mbps while the Sentech Speed test displayed a download speed of 1643.66 Kbps.
The iBurst speed test, located on the Verizon Business backbone, indicated that the download speed was 3.48 Mbps and the uplink speed was 244 Kbps. Telkom’s own FTP speed test gave a speed of 3200 Kbps.
These results are similar to results achieved on a Telkom Internet account where the monthly usage limit has not been reached yet.
No official launch date yet
Telkom’s Group Executive for Corporate Communications Lulu Letlape said that Telkom Internet commenced testing its intended solutions from 1 November 2007 in a live environment to ensure that the solution complies with the regulation concerned.
“Specific changes to Telkom Internet's subscribers’ contracts, as well as any new packages, will be communicated once testing is successfully completed,” said Letlape.
Source: mybroadband.co.za