Access is not dedicated. Thats marketing hogwash! I speed tested a 128k line at a friend's office (he had it installed ages ago, cost him 30k for installation), and it wasnt doing over 40k at any time. We tested severally, it was painfully slow!!

Further, I don't think any ISP will have "too many customers". Remember, Safcom must have suddenly onboarded a few million surfers in a couple of days, hence could not cope. Probably they can cope, but were not bothered to buy more bandwith given they knew that offer was a short-term thing.

I hear the cable co sells a 2mb line for $100,000 for 25 years. That comes to a paltry 25,000 bob a month. That line can be "subdivided" many times beacuse not all users have same surfing profiles. Even a straight division of 128k gives you 15 lines, each paying 4640/= that comes to 69,600 revenue. Assumes 70% cost income ratio (ridiculously high), they still make 20,000 clean on a real dedicated division. I'm willing to bet they do probably 50 lines per 1mb!! How can an ISP with 3000 connections make such profits?

Wikipedia states usual UK contention ratio is 20 to 50:1 per 1mb. US and satelite links have higher ratios.

Assuming we are at UK ratios (which sounds like hogwash, like Access marketing), that means a 2mb line that costs 25,000 a month will generate 100 1mb lines, or 780 128kb lines!!! WOW, revenue of 3.6m.

LOL. Anyway, this ISP business might be high capital, but it sure is also high profit once you get it up and running. And I have this idea that they like keeping us dissatisfied, so we can upgrade to the next product. Why is it that the same office, same no of computers, rigorously protected from viruses, has an increasing need for bandwidth upgrades?

CONSPIRACY: I think they have this software... In your first two or so months, connection 120% effecient... In the next two, 80%... by month number 8, you're crying, and they tell you to upgrade.

it was doing 40kbps not 128!!

@inf*nity, nice name elegant. But not as elegant as the big Access@Home box, that you could mistake for the DSTV box. Are you sure you have that Alvarion unit at home?

Posting from the office and realised that with Access you often but not always get what you pay for e.g. office has a max 256k link down but we're a couple of guys sharing. So maybe we all get a fraction that comes to 1/10th per person at Kshs 2,400 per person. But for that I can use my Safaricom alone and max at 2mbps @##!!????

Maybe the answer in life is to be simple like Forest Gump - don't think too much, just try them all and use the fastest as long as the money adds up.