I basically have two routes to the internet - ADSL during the day and HSDPA in the evenings.

At times my ADSL gives me trouble, particularly if I'm trying to access Internet Solutions hosted sites. This seems to be due to a peering problem between Telkom ISP and Internet Solutions. However, for the most part, it's entirely workable.

My HSDPA connection, however, is an entirely different story. To say there h been a steady decline in this service would be putting it mildly. At this point, it now approximates the extremely poor service that MyWireless became famous for about three years ago.

In comparing the MyWireless and HSDPA browsing problems, there is a notable difference - for me the MyWireless package only promised a maximum of 128 kbps whereas HSDPA offers speeds up to 1.8 mbps. HSDPA should be substantially faster.

Whilst on an extended trip in Gauteng, I can say that I suffered no such inconvenience up there. My lack of activity here was due to an endless series of meetings and training sessions. However, my short forays on the internet over HSDPA were short and fast.

Now back in KZN, my attempts to make up for lost time was..... not pleasant. An hour set aside for working on this forum last night was spent fighting to get pages downloaded and uploaded - and I did not manage to get many done at all.

Connecting to the internet should not be about a technical wrestling match. It should be about effeciently transfering information. My thoughts, which should be focused on the business of this forum, are spent on trying to figure out why my internet connection is damn near non-functional despite a 4/5 signal.

Vodacom - you're killing the joy. And if the real problem is SAIX *cough* Telkom, for goodness sake start using that financial muscle of yours to get the problem fixed. It's getting worse, not better. And KZN connectivity is way worse than in Gauteng. Your worst is day is better than our best.