Splitting Local vs International ADSL usage, from user's computer
I didn't realize that it's possible to have two concurrent connections going through one ADLS line (that's at the *saaame* time).
This means that we could access local sites on and get charged literally 1/10th of the price for that local usage.
Of course to take full advantage of this we need to let the user rest assured that they are accessing a site that is hosted on a local server. That can be done by using a parent domain name, or by some sort of proprietary trademark that can be placed on a website.
So I guess the real question here is what is the potential for such a setup? Can having very good local prices benefit the local tech community? I believe so.
But other than that it seems to be a good business idea regardless and I'm sure SA in general would benefit from it.
I don't know if there are any technical difficulties involved in setting up the dual connection on the user's computer, it seems easy on linux, is it possible on windows?
It would be nice to hear from some of the ISP guys what they think of this.
Personally, I think it would be great idea to encourage local engagement, and push our boundaries a little further.
This means that we could access local sites on and get charged literally 1/10th of the price for that local usage.
Of course to take full advantage of this we need to let the user rest assured that they are accessing a site that is hosted on a local server. That can be done by using a parent domain name, or by some sort of proprietary trademark that can be placed on a website.
So I guess the real question here is what is the potential for such a setup? Can having very good local prices benefit the local tech community? I believe so.
But other than that it seems to be a good business idea regardless and I'm sure SA in general would benefit from it.
I don't know if there are any technical difficulties involved in setting up the dual connection on the user's computer, it seems easy on linux, is it possible on windows?
It would be nice to hear from some of the ISP guys what they think of this.
Personally, I think it would be great idea to encourage local engagement, and push our boundaries a little further.
Views: 2
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tim Lind on -
This is the article I came across that explains how to do it on linux. http://www.empyrean.co.za/blog/?p=315
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Permalink Reply by Johan du Bois on -
Given the pricing regime in South Africa splitting local & international usage would allow many services that are currently impractical. However, a user transparent ISP-level solution is required.
There are various guides on MyBroadband for doing it on Windows or with open-wrt routers. But, I ask you with tears in my navy blue eyes does this mean anything if there isn't a turnkey consumer solution? Something that just works without configuration and that provides peace of mind. The user needs to know they are not going to gobble their whole international cap because their configuration isn't perfect.
Pada's Traffic Splitter app
Splitting Traffic - by Locality
Stroebs' guide for RouteSentry in Vista/7
Is this not something which needs to happen at the ISP level? Currently Telkom sells 5GB "blended" and then x GB local after that. Why not sell 5GB local and x GB local off the bat? Surely, they - or a technically competent player - can handle the logic of separating local from international traffic?
Then, I as the user can rest assured that no matter how I connect to my ADSL account - per workstation, directly from router, etc. - my bandwidth splitting is in place. I would even pay a few rand for this value-add.
Only then can we start developing bandwidth intensive services, e.g. movie rental, using local servers to keep costs manageable. Maybe this is what Axxess is plotting for their new service - though it beggars belief that they have launched without it. They mention something about "cheaper local only accounts". Not good enough. I'm not going to mess around with switching accounts on the router nor am I going to run a Windows proxy 24/7. -
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Permalink Reply by Tim Lind on
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Yeah you're right, it does make a lot more sense to do this at the ISP level, I'm sure ISPs just need some decent motivation for doing it.
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Permalink Reply by Johan du Bois on
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It seems at least one ISP is moving on this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/ADSL/11419.html
Tim Lind said:Yeah you're right, it does make a lot more sense to do this at the ISP level, I'm sure ISPs just need some decent motivation for doing it. -
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Permalink Reply by Tim Lind on
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Actually, I think this is something that needs to happen at the user's computer as well, purely for the sake that the user needs to know whether they are accessing local or international content as they do it.
That is what I was writing about over here http://timlind.posterous.com/local-networks-a-better-local-internet... -
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