Frequently Asked Questions

How can you be so cheap? What's the "Catch" here?

We decided we would take the money we planned to spend on advertising and use it to subsidise our AWireless packages. We decided to use this monthly marketing budget to buy extra AWireless bandwidth and pass this extra bandwidth and saving onto anybody who signed up for any of our AWireless packages.

How is it possible that we are offering such low prices per GB?

If you sign up we will subsidise the cost of your bandwidth with our planned monthly marketing budget (as explained above). We are not getting a special deal from any AWireless provider. We are paying the same wholesale rates as other companies selling AWireless.

Can I use the bandwidth anytime? Or is it limited (i.e. only 6 PM to 6 AM)?

The bandwidth is applicable 24 hours a day and there is no specific time limitation as to when you can use it. You can use it at any time of the day or night and it will cost you the same.

Can I use this bandwidth for both local and overseas websites?

Yes - the bandwidth can be used for both local and international sites and downloads.

Is my telephone line enabled for Wireless service already?

Please contact High Speed customer services to confirm. If it is not then you need to ask High Speed to enable it for you.

What do I need to have AWireless?

You will need 3 things:

• A High Speed line with AWireless service enabled
• An AWireless modem or router
• An Sahal AWireless Account

Can I install Wireless on a prepaid telephone line?

AWireless service is only supported on an account with a monthly subscription from High Speed.

Do I need to have a separate telephone line to have Sahal AWireless?

AWireless allows you to share an Sahal high speed internet connection & your voice calls over the same physical telephone line.

Do I have Wireless service in my area?

Please click here to verify whether your exchange offers Wireless service.

Can Sahal make my telephone line Wireless ready?

Yes we can, please visit our AWireless Access page for more info.

Will I get an email account with my AWireless subscription?

Sahal will provide you with your very own email address @sahaltel.co.za.

Where can I see my AWireless bandwidth usage?

Your bandwidth usage is available through your Sahal Client Zone - simply fill in your username and password to access it.

How long does it take for my AWireless service to be active after I signup?

Sahal will activate your AWireless account within 24 hours of your signup. Generally within 5-10 minutes.

Is Sahal AWireless shaped or unshaped?

Sahal provides a world class unshaped AWireless service for our Capped and Prepaid Accounts.

For our Uncapped accounts, we provide semi-shaped bandwidth. We employ a Quality of Service which delivers the best possible internet experience. We give highest priority to real time services such as browsing, streaming, gaming and VoIP, with lower priority on Peer to Peer downloads and torrents, as per our AUP (Acceptable Use Policy)

Is my IP address always the same if I have an Sahal AWireless account?

Your IP address will change everytime you make a connection to the AWireless server.

Does Sahal offer 24/7 AWireless support?

Yes. Sahal is committed to giving the best service ever. You can get a call back anytime of the day and night by SMS'ing "Help" to 32541 (a standard rate SMS).

What do I do if I reach my bandwidth cap?

Sahal provides a top up service which you can use to refill your AWireless account.

Will my unused Wireless Data rollover into the new month?

No, unused data will expire at the end of the month, and new data will be allocated on the 1st of the new month.

Please note that Wireless Data Topups will only expire at the end of the next month. For example, if you buy a data topup on 5 February, your topup data will only expire at midnight on 31 March - giving you even more value.

Do I have to sign a contract to get Sahal AWireless?

Sahal offers a month to month service, no contracts - no strings attached.

What Wireless line speed do I need, 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 4Mbps or 10Mbps?

The speeds above refer to how fast you will download data from the internet. We recommend the 1024Kbps or 2048Kbps for home users and the 4-10Mbps for businesses and heavy internet users.

How do the different Wireless Line Rental Profiles work?

Due to the fact that upstream and network services are provided by High Speed, Sahal offers a "back-to-back" SLA with the applicable High Speed SLA. The terms of this SLA are set out below.

Wireless Profile
The following Wireless profiles are available (quoted figures refer to line sync speed):

Wireless Up to 2048kbps
Down stream: min 416kbps; max 2048kbps
Up stream: min 64kbps; max 512kbps

Wireless Up to 20Mbps (VWireless)
Down stream: min 11Mbbps; max 20Mbps
Up stream: min 1Mbps; max 2Mbps

Wireless Up to 40Mbps (VWireless)
Down stream: min 21Mbps; max 40Mbps
Up stream: min 1.25Mbps; max 3Mbps

Wireless Up to 4096Kbps & 10016kbps
The Wireless Up to 4096kbps and Wireless Up to 10016kbps services have sub-profiles, which are used to stabilise client's service that experience re-syncs (service interruptions) on their AWireless lines due to last mile distance, noise and attenuation. Therefore subscribers that experience problems on the service may be accommodated on any of the secondary profiles below:

Up to 4096kbps Secondary Profiles
A. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 4096kbps
B. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 3072kbps
C. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 2048kbps
D. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 1024kbps

Up to 10016 Secondary Profiles
A. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 10016bps
B. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 8032kbps
C. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 7008kbps
D. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 6144kbps
E. min sync rate: 640kbps; max sync rate: 5024kbps

What the above entails is that if a subscriber does not sync at the profile listed in A above they will be accommodated on B, C or D (etc.) depending on the line sync speed.

Subscribers will automatically be upgraded to the highest speed possible on the service that they applied for as per the profiles above. Where the Wireless service is unable to connect (sync) at the speed applied for due to factors such as line length or quality, it will be accommodated down from the service applied for in 32 kbps decrements, but not lower than the minimum download speed, until the service connects (i.e. syncs successfully).

Where a subscriber's line syncs at a certain rate and at a later stage the line degrades, the service will also be accommodated down in decrements until sync is re-established, the downward synchronisation due to line quality will happen automatically within the profile parameters.

What products are shaped and unshaped, and how does shaping work?

Online activity will be subject to the available bandwidth, data storage and other limitations of the service provided, which Sahal may, from time to time, revise at its own discretion and without prior notice to the client.

Capped & Business AWireless
As a Capped client you are completely unshaped no matter what you are doing, and no matter what the time of day or night it is. This means that we will not slow down your connection speed (by either shaping or throttling) no matter what you download or connect to. Your speed will be as fast as your High Speed AWireless line allows for every kind of traffic (Actual speed is dependent on line speed, distance from the exchange, quality of  the cabling in your area and current capacity of your High Speed exchange).

Uncapped AWireless
This Policy will try to explain as clearly as possible what you can expect from your Uncapped Sahal AWireless account. We want our Uncapped Internet experience to be the best it can be. In order to do this we manage our network by prioritising the different kinds of traffic used.

There are two main types of traffic that you can use when connected to the Internet:

Instant, Realtime traffic protocols such as: Web browsing (HTTPS); Live Streaming (YouTube); Secure browsing (HTTPS); VOIP; Email; Terminal services (SSH)
Non-Realtime Downloading protocols such as: HTTP Downloads (downloading a file from your browser), Torrents (BitTorrent), News servers (NNTP)
In order to  ensure that everybody has the best experience possible, we will manage our network by prioritising the types of traffic to make sure that our clients' Internet experience is as fast as it can be - no matter the time of the day or the utilisation of our network. We will never throttle nor shape any of the Realtime  services at any time of the day or night - no matter what your overall usage is. Your speed will be as fast as your High Speed AWireless line allows for Realtime traffic (Actual speed is dependent on line speed, distance from the exchange, quality of  the cabling in your area and current capacity of your High Speed exchange).

To make this possible, we will shape non-Realtime services during our busiest times. Non-real time services will be shaped on a sliding scale, with our higher bandwidth users getting shaped more than lower bandwidth users, only on these services (NEVER on real time services). This will ensure that our network is not congested and that all of our clients' experience is not negatively affected.

If left completely unchecked Torrents and non-Realtime downloads would use most of the network capacity, which makes the use of all other types of traffic very slow, unstable and unpleasant for all clients. We need to manage the non-realtime downloads of our higher bandwidth users so that everyone (including them) can have a great Realtime Internet experience.

What does this practically mean?

This means that on an Uncapped account - no matter how much overall data you download - you will get the fastest Realtime Internet experience that your line can handle for 24 hours a day.  For our high bandwidth users users, non-Realtime Internet traffic (such as torrents) will be dynamically shaped during peak network usage so that congestion can be prevented and a good overall quality of service can be guaranteed. During non-peak usage, everyone (even the highest bandwidth users) will get as close to full speeds on ALL types of traffic (Realtime and non-Realtime) as the network will allow.

If you are one of our higher bandwidth users, when are the peak times that your torrents and non-Realtime traffic will be shaped?

In general, peak times on our network are between 08h00 and 0h00 every day. This means that non-Realtime services will be shaped on a sliding scale, with higher bandwidth users getting shaped more than lower bandwidth users, and the higher bandwidth users will not get full speeds during these times for non-Realtime services (Realtime services will continue at full speeds).

Generally, after midnight and before 08h00 each day, non-Realtime traffic will be less shaped (or not at all) and you will get the fastest speed your High Speed line (and the network) allows.

Please note that the times mentioned here are meant to give a general indication of possible network behaviour. Since the network management is demand based, Sahal cannot guarantee shaping or abscence of shaping at a specific time - as this is entirely dependant on collective user behaviour (demand for bandwidth) at any given time of the day.

What determines who will be shaped (or who is a high bandwidth user)?

Our system looks at a variety of factors, such as bandwidth consumption patterns and historical usage, to determine which users are grouped together. The system does this dynamically, so there is no set guideline to determine how you will be grouped or shaped, as it is determined by the network capacity at that point in time.  The network management system determines how to optimise the available network capacity to benefit all clients and give the best possible overall internet experience.

Are there ways around QoS so I can download more?

The QoS is an important feature which protects the integrity of the network and ensures that all clients get the best experience. We strongly discourage (and take active measures to prevent) clients from using means which bypass or override our network management. This constitutes abuse of our network, and will be dealt with as such.

How much can you move each month?

This will depend on your Internet usage habits.  All Realtime usage will not be throttled or shaped. Non-Realtime usage may be shaped during peak hours.  You can click here to see how many GBs our current high bandwidth uncapped clients are getting on our Usage Leaderboards.

We hope that this helps you understand what we define as Acceptable Usage, how we plan to manage the network and what this means for you. If you have any questions please send an email to aup@sahaltel.com and we will answer it and add it to our FAQ (if it's not already there).

Will I always get my maximum line speed all the time?

We provide the best internet experience we can. Unfortunately, sometimes this involves factors outside of our control, like your AWireless line or demand on your local High Speed exchange, as well as demand on our network. So while we'll do our absolute best to give you the very best speeds possible at all time, performance may vary from time to time, depending on the factors mentioned.