All about Vodacom data...

Here's a company that would not be missed, if they got out of South Africa... if you compare them to Eskom, Eskom actually doesn't look all that bad...

Here's why this lot should pack up and go, or else change the way they operate... Calling them with a network problem is a waste of time, Toby is the creation of an idiot, since both he and Toby are useless. Every year around December their network becomes useless, doing a traceroute from this end, gets nothing responding, but the connection is up, here are two snippets from a ping to one of the hosts on their network...

64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=538 ttl=243 time=87.3 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=539 ttl=243 time=89.0 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=540 ttl=243 time=101 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=541 ttl=243 time=70.8 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=542 ttl=243 time=241 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=543 ttl=243 time=107 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=544 ttl=243 time=94.0 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=545 ttl=243 time=1251 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=546 ttl=243 time=1291 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=547 ttl=243 time=3051 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=548 ttl=243 time=4560 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=549 ttl=243 time=5447 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=550 ttl=243 time=5487 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=551 ttl=243 time=8367 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=552 ttl=243 time=10017 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=553 ttl=243 time=10617 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=554 ttl=243 time=13270 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=555 ttl=243 time=15351 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=556 ttl=243 time=15671 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=557 ttl=243 time=16358 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=558 ttl=243 time=15916 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=559 ttl=243 time=15903 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=560 ttl=243 time=16230 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=561 ttl=243 time=16111 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=562 ttl=243 time=16831 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=563 ttl=243 time=21791 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=564 ttl=243 time=27708 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=565 ttl=243 time=35721 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=566 ttl=243 time=42236 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=567 ttl=243 time=45797 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=568 ttl=243 time=45967 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=569 ttl=243 time=49464 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=570 ttl=243 time=49842 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=571 ttl=243 time=55678 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=572 ttl=243 time=56927 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=573 ttl=243 time=55244 ms ... 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1078 ttl=243 time=32843 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1079 ttl=243 time=37192 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1082 ttl=243 time=39785 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1083 ttl=243 time=39105 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1084 ttl=243 time=41282 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1087 ttl=243 time=41500 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1088 ttl=243 time=44052 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1093 ttl=243 time=36425 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1095 ttl=243 time=36427 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1097 ttl=243 time=35572 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1099 ttl=243 time=39109 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1100 ttl=243 time=39855 ms 64 bytes from 41.21.235.2: icmp_seq=1101 ttl=243 time=41685 ms

this is 'ping -i 3 41.21.235.2' basically send a icmp echo request to 41.21.235.2 every 3 seconds and expect a response... well 32843 is 32 seconds and 843 milliseconds round trip time, this should be more like 40 or 50 milliseconds round trip time, not nearly 1000 times longer. No, there is no other traffic on this link congesting it, this is Vodacom charging for something they are not delivering. Just to clarify, here's another ping to a host, not on Vodacom's network, but obviously traversing this network of shame...

PING 196.25.1.1 (196.25.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=239 time=47852 ms 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=239 time=49982 ms 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=239 time=50372 ms 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=239 time=50342 ms 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=239 time=51695 ms 64 bytes from 196.25.1.1: icmp_seq=10 ttl=239 time=51379 ms ^C --- 196.25.1.1 ping statistics --- 60 packets transmitted, 6 received, 90% packet loss, time 59709ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 47852.392/50270.506/51695.391/1238.591 ms, pipe 52

1st icmp echo reply was 47.852 seconds down the road!!! Vodacan't *** are you guys up to? Also there is no way to talk to anyone technically competent on your end, either the idiot creation Toby or, if you are lucky/unlucky (take your pick) you end up with an actual human who is no better than Toby and the issue does not actually get resolved. (The usual let me re-provision your SIM or close all windows and open all windows does *NOT* resolve a physical problem on your network, it just annoys the hell out of the customer.)

So, how about making me happy and packing up your stuff and moving on back to the Brexit Isles? *********** outfits should not own the spectrum to provide bad service, ICASA, what are you guys doing about this kind of thing?

This Vodacom issue, BTW occurs end November / begining of December for the last 6 years or more, can't recall when it didn't and usually continues into January, maybe even February...

Just another UNhappy customer...