Stay away from Webafrica LTE services.

Stay away from Webafrica LTE

Once again another internet provider fails itself and its clients.

I have just moved into a new flat and after weeks of trying to get my land lord to agree to my AMAZING ISPafrika internet being installed that I had at my previous homestead I had to go for an LTE option as Telkom will never have a cent from me again and there is no fiber in my area of Wynberg, and data costs are just not worth it with and cell network.

It all started once I had selected my LTE option on the Webafrica site. You pick how many gigs you want each month and then you head over to the check out. Simple, easy and fast. Sadly that is the last thing that Webafrica actually is.

I waited two weeks for my free LTE router to arrive. I guess thats pretty cool being free, until it finally starts up. But its like sticking a 50cc engine in a Ferrari, Looks awesome but doesn’t give you chills when you turn on the engine.

Two weeks, Two weeks to deliver an LTE router in this day and age? It would have been three weeks if I take into consideration the week away that I had informed the webafrica operator about when I called to ask where my service was after the first week?

half way through the third week I get an sms saying that my router would be delivered on the 26th? I was away at the time and didn’t know how the operator had got it so wrong?

I then get home after the third week and get another sms that says the router will be delivered in the week between 9am and 5pm. So i take it that something went wrong and that they actually would still deliver it.

9AM - 5PM, Wow….that really helps. Lucky for me I work from home, But I cant see a normal working person sitting around all day waiting for Webafricas RAM delivery partners to drop off the router. On top of this, RAM doesn’t call you when they are outside or inform you in anyway that they were at your gate. If you didn’t hear the buzzer your pretty much *****ed.

I waited until 15:47 for my router to finally arrive.

So I open the box, set it all up and pop in the sim.

Hmmm…no blue light. At this point I’m desperate for internet and I need to get videos to clients and download footage from others etc.

I call the help center and they tell me it will take 6 to 8 hours to connect. Awww come on, I waited 3 weeks and now i have to wait another 8 hours? One more thing, I told the operator that I had waited two weeks, It would have been 3 weeks as she told me that my Router had only landed in CPT two days before I got it?!?

Around 9pm that night while waiting for it to start working I get an email with an invoice from Webafrica for R34,68.

So I have waited for 3 weeks, Waited almost a full working day for it to be delivered, and I’m busy wasting 6 - 8 hours for it to connect when I get an email for R34,68. FOR WHAT!!!!!!!!!

For waiting? For looking at the LTE router in all its un-working glory!?!?

At this point I’m pretty P**** off and email Webafrica asking about this R34,68. I would like to point out that you pay a once off charge of R200 when you sign up and you are meant to pay the full GB amount before the 15th of the month.

The next morning I wake up and I finally have a blue light on the router!!! Woooohoooo!!!

I start downloading my clients footage and boom, it stops working ten minutes in?!? I restart the router and go to connect the wifi and get a message saying I have reached my cap.

“How in the hell did I use 55GB in ten minutes” I said to myself. I then login to my customer centre and see I only have 1GB and thats why its capped?

Where did this 1GB come from? I didn’t see it in the T&Cs, didn’t know anything about it. Most importantly where is my 55GB?!?

Ding! I get a reply about 8 hours later, Telling me that its pro-rata for the data I have used already?!?!

How did I get an invoice for R34,68 before the router was connected??? Why didn’t you tell me about this 1GB and where is my 55GB. I Still don’t know as my ticket was lost “ due to a new system being installed” and they deleted all the tickets and ask you to re contact them about your issue blah blah blah. This email was sent to me yesterday.

Then about 6pm this same day I finally get my 55GB wooohooo!!! yay!!

Now this is where the real issue comes in.

The speed is shocking!!!!!

What is the point of having LTE internet when the speed is below 1mb more than half of the day.

This is where you Webafrica can learn from awesome, amazing companies like ISPafrika.

When ISPafrika sets up your wireless internet and you pay for a 10MB line. You get 10mb up and down constantly. Night and day.

10mb is nothing, But I got my 10mb up and down 24/7 So I knew that my files would get to my clients on time.

I did a speed test about 10mins ago and got 0.02 on the upload speed. 0.02, 0.02, 0.02!!!!!!! Thats not a MB, thats not even half a MB. Shocking service all round and then shocking internet speeds?

Let me do a quick speed test before I finish up to just check…..give me a sec

….speedtest page is still loading…

…here we go…

Wow…So my ping is 47ms, Download speed is a whopping 0.31 and my upload speed is 4.92. Hmm okay the upload is not that bad then. Its better than Telkom, but anything is better than Telkom. I think a carrier ***eon could get your files to your clients faster than both Telkom or Webafrica combined.

So that is my story, take it or leave it. I’m going to make it my mission to get better internet else where and I’m going to make it my mission to tell South Africa that Webafrica sucks.

Thanks for nothing.