...I wonder how many people complain about Speedy haven't set it up right.
Setting up an ADSL connection is not very difficult to do by yourself. Takes maybe 5 minutes, or so.
However, you must be brave enough to look into your modem's settings.
Where are they?
Modems are accessed by logging into them. They appear in your web browser when you type in the modem's IP address. A typical one is something like 192.168.1.1
Unless you've already changed something, like the modem's user name and password, the default login could be as simple as "admin" and "admin", respectively.
Once there, you will need to enter your Telkom Speedy user-name and password (which
should appear on your receipt from Speedy when you signed up).
There are three citical settings you need to make sure of.
The VPI and VCI entries. For Speedy, they are
VPI = 8 and
VCI = 81.
And
PPoE. (
Sorry - I don't have time to explain what these are right now.You just need them.)
Yes, that's scary stuff. But - most modems have an option to set-up your connection automatically, provided that you know your ISP's user-name and password.
How hard is that?
Changing DNS
Changing which DNS your modem uses can definitely improve your internet experience. I'm not 100% sure that Speedy's are as bad as some people say.
However, I haven't used them for years. I choose my own.
Two popular ones are
Google's DNS (primary = 8.8.8.8 and secondary = 8.8.4.4), and
openDNS (primary = 208.67.222.222 and secondary = 208.67.220.220). Both free alternatives to the one you're saddled with.
They're both good, but there are even more alternatives, if you know how to find them.
There is a small, free software programme called
namebench. Once installed, you can run it to find and compare all the DNS's available
where you are.
The initial scan can take quite a while, so you have to patient. When it finishes, you can see the fastest ones for where you are, at the time of your scan.
Then change your DNS settings in your modem accordingly (
remembering to write down what they were before you change them, just in case).
If you have a wireless router on your home network, or take your laptop to free wifi spots,
Inssider can show you what's available connection-wise, and even details about which channels are broadcasting, their security profile, and signal strength.
Namebench:
https://code.google.com/p/namebench/
Inssider:
inSSIDer 4 - The Worlds Best WiFi Scanner
Hope this helps....