If you are looking for faster internet speeds and you live in Somerset West SA, then you have come to the right place. The purpose of this site is to gather data relating to ADSL speeds in Somerset West so that we can approach Telkom as a group instead of individuals. This way we are more likely to get the Telkom exchanges upgraded to support faster ADSL speeds.
As you may have heard Telkom has been upgrading exchanges in other parts of Cape Town, like Durbanville, to be able to provide ADSL speeds of up to 40Mbps (Megabits per second). In some parts of Somerset West even speeds of 4Mbps cannot be obtained. Telkom has informed us that they have run out of 10Mbps ports at the Somerset West Telkom exchange. If you are more than 3km from the Telkom exchange then you will also not be able to get the full speed of your line due to line attenuation. Telkom then needs to install a mini exchange closer to you to improve your speed. This site is dedicated to try and achieve this for you.
DSTV in South Africa have no real competition so if you want good content then you are forced to pay for their premium package which is expensive. The only real competition they are likely to get is from companies who are planning to offer video streaming service from the internet. To be able to view HD video content over the internet without buffering you will need a 10Mbps or faster line.
That's where this site comes in. If we can get enough people to show interest in faster internet speeds in Somerset West then we have a better chance of putting pressure on Telkom to do the necessary upgrades that are required.
So what do you need to do? Provide us with your name and address and current ADSL internet speed. If you don't have a telephone line but it is not yet enabled for ADSL then we would also like to know if you would be interested.
Most people use the internet at home between 6-9pm in the evening. This is when the network can become congested, so please do you speed test during this time. The speed will vary so do a few tests and give us the average download speed. At this stage we are only interested in the download speed.
Please do your speed tests at www.speedtest.net and click on the Begin Test button. It will automatically pick the closest server to test speed. Please do the test with only one computer/cellphone connected to you ADSL connection and that you are not downloading anything in the background like Microsoft updates. This will then give you the true speed.
The information you supply will be kept confidential and only used to approach Telkom. We will also be creating a map and displaying the average speed per suburb, NOT individual addresses. This way if you are moving house you will be able to see which area has the fastest internet. Telephone lines do not all terminate at one Telkom exchange in Somerset West so there will be differences in speeds across Somerset West.
Click on contact us to make your submission.
