Rupert Neethling
“You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.” – The Borg, Star Trek: The Next Generation
South Africans who want an Internet dial-up account or who wish to switch to a different Internet service provider (ISP) are discovering that as far as the major ISPs are concerned, they have few choices.
Six months ago, PCReview featured a round- up of the largest nationwide ISPs catering to subscribers who dial up by telephone (known in the industry as “analogue” dial-up subscribers). Taking a look at the same list today reveals that two of the biggest fish in South Africa’s Internet pond have gone on a feeding frenzy.
The ISPs featured included NetActive, Club Internet, Cyberhost, Icon, Yebo!Net, Intekom, SANGOnET and M-Web. Four of these have since been swallowed and one changed its name. M-Web now owns NetActive, Club Internet (“outsourced” to M-Web), and Cyberhost’s dial-up subscriber base. Icon and Yebo!Net have been absorbed by WorldOnline.
Some may wonder what has become of Global Internet Access (GIA) and UUNET Internet Africa. Before becoming WorldOnline, Vodacom-owned Yebo!Net made a meal of GIA’s dial-up user base. And Internet Africa’s dial-up customers are now paying their bills to M-Web.
Of the eight ISPs originally listed, only Intekom and SANGOnET, www.sn.apc.org, got off scot-free. But Intekom is a wholly- owned subsidiary of Telkom, and with the recent launch of TelkomInternet, www.telkomsa.net, one has to wonder if Telkom really intends to compete with itself. So far there is no sign that Intekom’s status as an “independent” ISP is about to change, but its subscribers are certainly wondering why TelkomInternet’s rates seem to be lower than Intekom’s. As for SANGOnET, their NGO client base means they don’t compete with commercial ISPs anyway.
So, why shouldn’t you go with M-Web, World-Online or the new TelkomInternet? By all means do. If you don’t like them, you can switch. But you don’t have that many options, do you?
Actually, there are a few more alternatives. Among these are ISPs that have not been swallowed thanks to their comparatively small dial-up subscriber figures, which may not have been regarded as worth the effort. (Be warned, though: neither WorldOnline nor M-Web have given any indication that they’ve finished expanding yet.)
There are many options available to those who would prefer to shop around some more. All of them are smaller but well- established ISPs offering a full service including dial-up subscriptions and website hosting. If not specified otherwise, each of the ISPs listed offers points of presence (PoPs, or dial-up points) in major centres throughout the country.
The Internet Service Providers’ Association, www.ispa.org.za, to whom many of South Africa’s ISPs belong, maintains a list of 45 members which is available at www.ispa.org.za/members3. php3. Depending on their membership categories, ISPA members enjoy access to peering points in Cape Town and Johannesburg that help to speed up traffic between ISPs.
A long list of ISPs making use of Telkom’s South African Internet Exchange (SAIX) infrastructure can be found at www.saix.net/business/ network-clients.html.
While all these ISPs offer a wide range of services at competitive rates, ZAnet offers the additional benefit of being a local mirror to superior software- downloading sites such as TUCOWS, FileDudes and Linuxberg. Subscription to ZAnet costs R85 per month, which entitles you to unlimited Net access, five separate e-mail addresses, two megabytes of free Web space and 24-hour, seven-day technical supportE…Etheir website, however, sucks.
If you don’t mind the advertising, you can also investigate XsiNET, www.xsinet.co.za. Originally known as X- Stream, this ISP lets you surf for free. A new banner ad from XsiNET’s advertisers will appear at the top of your computer screen every minute, which is why it’s free. E-mail will cost you R112,86 every six months, or R171 for a year.