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MMX

The year in blogging & other stuff.

Posts: 35
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Most commented – 225 comments: New Adsl prices: -Rs 100 & My.T: Speed DOUBLE!!!

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2010 wasn't a great year due to a massive drop in posts. Well, doing the last year at UOM & having to devote time to final year project, that was to be expected.

Reviews

The most significant thing for me was indeed the reviews. What’s the use of being a blogger if all your “reviews” are based on other reviews & crappy YouTube videos. Well, in 2010, that finally changed. I became a proper tech blogger. I had my first hands-on with some trial hardware. & not just any hardware. Smartphones!
So big thanks to WOMWorld Nokia for the devices & gifts. Special thanks to @Rwishi for introducing me & some other Mauritian tweeps/bloggers to WOMWorld.
The devices were the resistive touchscreen Qwerty slider the Nokia N97, the portrait Qwerty Swiss knife Nokia E72 & the megapixel monster, the Nokia N8.

Nokia N97:

Nokia E72:

Nokia N8:

What remains of the N8 review - gaming & the camera. I still haven’t been able to trial the dream device I’ve coveted for so long – the N900. & mind you, these were completely honest reviews – I have been extremely critical of these devices. Not sure I’ll get more Nokia devices now… Hopefully, other manufacturers will step up. Unbelievable that I still haven't used any Android device!

Nikon L20

The best thing that happened to me in 2010? That's quite easy - I got my digital camera - the Nikon L20!
Managed to snag it from Rapidshare's reward program by converting my earned points (uploading mostly Top Gear!). I was lucky because just afterwards they closed down the rewards (& went downhill ever since).
After being "camera-less" since Oct 2008, it was an enthralling experience to discover photography all over again. Furthermore, it allowed me to accomplish something I've always wanted to do – open a photo blog.
109 posts & 305 comments. Very positive response. Here are the most popular posts:

As for the Nikon L20, I initially thought it was worse than my previous HP 635. I was obviously proven wrong, but even I have been amazed by what the cheapest of all Nikon cameras can do. Low-light performance aside, I think it's worth every cent... or rather every minute I spent "uploading" files.
I should single out the PAPM (Photographes Amateurs et Pros Mauriciens) Facebook group for having contributed towards sharpening my photographic skills. The sharing of photos with the accompanying critiques is much more valuable than any photography book.

First Bloggers Meeting

Once again, the L20 proved its versatility for my very first Black River Gorges National Park trek with fellow Mauritian bloggers. High fives to Yashvin, Tushal, Sun & everyone else for making this a success!
Some of the prominent bloggers present were active bloggers while others have already been ~~extinct~~ dormant for a while. The Mauritian blogosphere remains very vibrant with new blogs cropping up, especially with a rise in photoblogs & tumblrs... Let's hope for a bigger party at the next Mauritian Bloggers Meeting.

Prior to that there was the Caudan tweetup organised by @sjdvda & co. Was nice meeting @rrikesh, @yurit0s & some other tweeps!
The tweetup/Shootup was repeated in early November where even a larger cohorts of tweeps came for a lively get-together at Shooters.
Meeting all these lovely people is definitely an experience all other Mauritian tweeps should try!

Orange Mauritius

There was a speed double this year. But only for My.T+TV subscribers. The most faithful subscribers were left in the cold. ADSL users had a Rs 100 decrease & My.T (no TV) had nothing. As it stands, I won't be getting any 1Mbps connection. & every time I download something on my 512kbps, I'm painfully reminded of the knife firmly stuck in my back...

Infotech 2010

An absolute turn-off as there was really no innovative products there. 3D TV still remains a gimmick – although Orange is pushing it a lot (bet they’ll launch a 3D channel!). Android devices were invisible & the iPad was only on display only for some Face Time, no hands-on...
Oh, & let's not talk of the Electronic & Technology show...

Inception

I went to the cinema only three times this year - Avatar 2D, Iron Man 2 & Inception. Only one of them was mind-blowing. Christopher Nolan has yet to disappoint me. & that's why he's my favourite director of all time. The background score, the action, the plot. It was sublime. Double paisa vasool as some would say.
Still 2 years to go before we have Nolan's next magnum opus, The Dark Knight Rises.
In the meantime, next year will be the year when ~~Android~~ robots will explode on your screen with Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

A Thousand Suns

A die-hard LP fan, I knew that the only way to listen to this album was to listen it as a whole in one go. It was only several months later that I got my chance with the N8. It's not the best LP album of all time, but it's great. Nu-metal era is over, but I like these new experiments...

Man Utd

I seriously don't know what positives to extract from this 2010-2011 season. Yes, we are top of the league. Yes, we are the only unbeaten team. Yet, last Tuesday's yet-another-draw-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-victory brought everyone back down to earth. In 2010, we had 40-year-old Van Der Sar guarding the goal, Vidic rocking the back, Rafael bombing on the right, Anderson controlling the middle, Nani stepping up the assists, Park showing his mettle & Berbatov having the season of his life! Yet everything was shadowed by Mr Ambition’s saga. Notice how he hasn’t scored a goal ever since. Cursed, I believe he is.
However, I believe the problem is that the squad lacks depth & loses concentration when playing away. Remember the defeat against West Ham. The signing of Javier Hernandez is a mystery. He’s the fastest player in the EPL & is the most talented young player, yet no one gives him through balls. Someone should read this ZonalMarking post on the offside goal!
This season will be a tough one. Even while United aren’t playing at 100%, we are top. Here's my best goal of the year. Watch & learn...

World Cup 2010

2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa-artwork-wallpaper

Of course it crossed the line you dimwit! One man missed what a billion other people saw. We need technology. Sadly, the most despotic organisation in the world absolutely refuses to listen. & instead pretends that the most expensive auction of all time is a vote.
These controversies aside, Spain got their due & South Africa reveled in what was a great world cup. It was nearly the time for Africa as Ghana faltered on the doorstep of History.

Top Gear

Top Gear - The Three Wise Men Special. It wasn’t the best Special (Vietnam/Bolivia is much better), but the level of entertainment was classic Top Gear! Jokes, challenges, unforgettable quotes & the usual bantering, everything was there! James May’s non-serious head injury means that the Top Gear orangutan is the only who hasn’t had an accident yet! Now that everyone knows who The Stig is, I couldn’t think of any way Top Gear could re-introduce The Stig without over-doing it. Fortunately, they nailed it perfectly in that last scene! That was effing awesome! Bring on S16 on 23rd Jan! :D

That was it. I’ll end here on these photos, taken today. The last sunset of 2010.
Happy New Year 2011!

PS. Don’t forget to change your blog footer to 2011! ;)

More about → MMX

Speedtest.net Mauritius Host Server

You can now test your download & upload speeds on Speedtest.net by connecting to a server based in Mauritius, located in Port Louis. Alternative link - speedtest.orange.mu

& as expected, I got 2Mbps, as that is the local speed for all My.T 512K, 1Mbps & 2Mbps connections.

4Mbps subscribers will get 4Mbps.

& ADSL 512K users will get the above.

The reason is quite obvious why that server was setup… & I can already foresee legions of less tech-savvy users thinking, “Why is the speed test showing 2Mbps when I have a 1Mbps connection?”

Advice - use the Antananarivo server to know your actual international speed.

In other news, I just got this…

Hogwash.

Related posts from other Mauritian bloggers:

More about → Speedtest.net Mauritius Host Server

Cheated by Orange Mauritius

This is a rant post.

Quick recap

At the start of November, the ICT minister announced an Open Access Policy on SAFE, an end to Mauritius Telecom's exclusivity & cheap access to SAFE by other ISP's.
Following this OAP, MT decided to preemptively strike its competitors. They decreased their Internet prices while not being mandated by the government to do so. (Curiously, this decrease was announced by the ICT Minister).
I precise this is totally unrelated to the 16% to 24% price decrease written in the budget, to be applied in early 2011.
(Read the above sentence once again).

Which turned out to be as follows:

ADSL Home 256K 3GB – Rs 499 to Rs 399
ADSL Home 512K – Rs 848 to Rs 759
ADSL Home 1M (n/a to public) – Rs 1549 to Rs 1353
My.T 1M+TV – Rs 1699 to Rs 999
My.T 2M+TV – Rs 2999 to Rs 1699
My.T 4M+TV – Rs 2999

2 offers were scrapped - ADSL Home 1Mbps & My.T 512kbps (no TV - having only free channels).
ADSL 1M users could easily migrate to My.T 1M or 2M - because no one will keep paying Rs 1353 for something being offered at Rs 999. But for My.T 512K (no TV), there was to be neither a speed double nor a price decrease...

Pwned by Orange Mauritius

I'm an ADSL 128K (Rs 750+VAT = Rs 848) user since 2007. A My.T 256K (Rs 848) user since 2008. In 2009, when my 256K connection was doubled, old My.T users were given a choice - pay same price (Rs 848) for no new TV channels or pay Rs 999 for up to 15 channels (around 10 new channels). A 3-month trial was given for users to make up their minds. Most people were not interested in the new channels & they chose to keep the same price.

Back to present day, on the 1st December, like all Internet users, I was eagerly awaiting for my speed double. With the arrival of Eassy, I knew that a speed double was not far off & I was very excited to see my predictions come true.
By morning, when my speed still hadn't doubled, an idea cropped in my head - MT had mentioned nothing about 512K connections with no TV. "What if..." I shrugged it off thinking that maybe they'll take a few days to flick the double speed switch.
In the afternoon, as ominous rumours reached me, the dark side of Orange Mauritius started to reveal itself. & at night, checking previous comments on my blog, my gut disappeared as I discovered that the writing was already there since the day before, which I had chosen to completely ignore.
In disbelief, I realised that there would be no speed double for me. I have been screwed by Orange.

At first it was incomprehension, denial, followed by intense frustration, disgust, anger & finally a feeling hopelessness that still endures... Some may consider this as underhanded business practices, while for me that was daylight robbery.

Why did they do this?

Let's look again at the new price tier.
ADSL 512K - Rs 759
My.T 1M+TV - Rs 999
My.T 2M+TV - Rs 1699
My.T 4M+TV - Rs 2999

With Eassy, Mauritius Telecom now have excess bandwidth on their hands & they were looking at ways to cash on their investment. How to provide faster connections while keeping a huge profit margin?
The answer was devilishly simple enough – My.T. The latter being an Internet+TV+VOIP offer, MT can demand a much higher price for such a service (while knowing that 99% of users actually don’t want any TV channels). & how to get more users on My.T? Scrap all ADSL offers… resulting in what we’re currently witnessing as the mass exodus of ADSL users to My.T (conversion fees required mind you!). For ADSL 1M (already non-existent, cos only available to 512K users who had their speeds doubled last year), they practically forced everyone to My.T 1M by reducing the price from Rs 1549 to Rs 1353, while My.T 1M+TV is at Rs 999. Worthless by default.
Make no mistake, MT can provide 1Mbps & even 2Mbps ADSL, but they won’t do that because everyone will use cheaper ADSL then. If the 1M offer was still available, to fit in that price tier, it would be priced around Rs 850 (& the 2M at 1350) – making it extremely attractive to all users.
& how about My.T 512K (no TV). For a long time, these users have been a pain in the ass for MT – enjoying My.T (2Mbps local speed) while paying less & opting out of TV channels. & on the 1st of Dec, finally they’ve been able to axe these users. No speed double & neither a price decrease for them. What would the majority do? Yes, move to the very attractive 1M+TV offer, which is coincidentally much more expensive…

MT have no interest in making broadband available to most users. What they want is money. & they can go to any length - cheating & overselling their offers to be able to suck your blood.

What to do?

My.T 512K (no TV) users are long time Internet (broadband) subscribers & here’s how MT have decided to reward them. These users have 3 options:
- 1. Upgrade to My.T 1M+TV for Rs 999. As a promo, they’ll pay only Rs 848 for the first 3 months. For that they have to go to an MT shop & fill a modification form. Yes, in 2010, you have to go & fill a form. Why? Probably because of a revised contract with new terms & conditions…
- 2. Downgrade to ADSL Home 512K for Rs 759. For that, they’ll have to return their Livebox & they’ll get a Beetel modem with Wifi instead. No more 2Mbps local speed.
- 3. Keep the status quo. Keep your My.T 512K & still pay Rs 848. No price decrease, no speed double. Keep getting screwed.

There’s another category of subscribers to My.T 512K (no TV) – people who can’t receive the IPTV because they are so far away from their DSLAM that ADSL2 barely works. They can receive 2Mbps, but no more than that to sustain the IPTV which requires between 2-3Mbps (& here’s how we do know that ADSL 2Mbps is actually possible). One wonders why on earth such subscribers were deemed eligible for My.T when MT knew they couldn’t have TV… However, now MT won’t offer these deals because they can be sued for overselling.
For these subscribers (all of us actually), MT could have proposed 1Mbps/2Mbps ADSL offers, but unfortunately they are no charity organisation (they are a profitable business that reaps in Rs 1.5 billion in profits every year). Until these users have FTTC, they have two options – downgrade to ADSL 512K or keep paying the same price (Rs 848). Still getting screwed.

What will I do?

My line is eligible for all My.T offers. Do I want a 1Mbps connection? Yes. Do I really really need a 1Mbps connection? The answer is honestly… let’s find out.

My Internet usage can be divided into three categories:
- Browsing.
- Downloading.
- Streaming live matches.

Will 1Mbps offer me faster browsing speeds? Definitely. 512K may not be qualified as “broadband,” but the speed is fast enough for me. The wait time is acceptable. & with some content locally cached, I can get up to 2Mbps.
I download only 2 things – movies & Top Gear. Since I had 128K, downloading taught me one virtue – patience (downloading 100MB every 2 hours). With 512K, I can wait 8 hours to download a Top Gear episode. That’s not a problem for me.
MBC never show matches I want to watch, so my only option is to watch the online live streams. Even on my 512K, I can barely buffer 200Kbps streams. Only 175Kbps & 150Kbps crappy streams work. 1Mbps could solve this problem with slightly better streams (500Kbps?)… Still, I can live with text-only live updates, as I've been doing for the past 2 years.

So far, I don’t really need a 1Mbps connection.

Let’s see what’s being offered as value-added services. My.T 1M is an Internet+TV+VOIP offer.
Internet (My.T Surf) – 1Mbps will be fast & with Eassy, I’ve noticed that slowdowns are less frequent. The local infrastructure has slightly improved. & there’s no Fair Usage Policy. It wasn’t applied on the first place, so that's a moot point.
VOIP (My.T Talk) – I don’t use that.
TV (My.T Watch) – 18 channels, which the majority of subscribers choose to conveniently ignore.
News – CNN, CCTV F, NDTV Profit, Orange Sports Info.
Kids – Gulli, Boing, Boomerang.
Music – MCM Top, Hungama.
Films – France 2, TCM
Other – France O, France 5, Liberty TV, Fashion TV, Motors TV.
Already available on MBC DVB-T (redundant) - France 24, NDTV Good Times.

Is it worth an extra Rs 151? If that included the Bollywood bouquet (StarPlus, NDTV Imagine, StarOne, Imagine Showbiz, Headlines Today – priced at Rs 250), I could have considered it. But the channels really aren’t worth it, especially with no Sports channel. Plus the image quality is horrendous! As your local connection varies, the stream bandwidth decreases & it becomes pixelised. Fast-action scenes always have dropped frames.
Since I do not have any satellite TV subscription (they are way too expensive), I wouldn't know how the quality of the image compares. But I do know that their content is infinitely better than what's offered by My.T.
Video On Demand? Same thing. Horrible quality. I can download movies with much better quality (& not in French).

So, the value-added services for My.T are useless for me.

I bet at this point, someone will come along & say - "Dude, get a life. It's just Rs 151. Stop being so fussy!"

Well, it isn't. 2 years ago, I would agree, but not now.
For the past 3 years, I've been paying my Internet connection at around Rs 848, which means that total bill is usually below Rs 1000.
Should I upgrade to My.T, that would mean the bill would be a minimum of Rs 1100 per month. Unacceptable, given that the cost of living is increasing every day while our salaries is near stagnant. Price hike in vegetable oil, hike in plastic bags, hike in rice, increase in bus fares. With the 10% increase in electricity tariffs, that will cause a snowball effect increasing the price of every single commodity.
& now an increase in the price of Internet? That is the last straw.

So what I'm gonna do? Probably play the waiting game (for a further decrease?).
As I've mentioned before, there is to be a 16% to 24% decrease in the price of International Private Leased Circuit and Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network at the start of 2011 (could be anywhere between January 2011 & March 2011).
I do not know what this means, but most probably there will be a mandatory decrease in the price of Internet. & thus a decrease in the price of all Internet offers across all ISPs. However, will MT apply that decrease?

On the 1st of December 2010, with the speed double, that meant a 41% decrease for My.T 1M & 43% decrease for My.T 2M. But for ADSL 512K, it was only 10%. & 1Mbps ADSL was scrapped. See what they did there... A masterstroke.
With the forthcoming price decrease, MT would have been forced to lower the prices of all connections including ADSL 1M & My.T 512K (no TV). They moved fast & erased both of these offers, forcing all subscribers to My.T. & now if ever there’ll be a decrease, the only offer that is eligible is ADSL 512K.
My.T? “But we’ve already applied a massive 43% decrease, much more than the government mandated.”

Their evil scheme has succeeded. They’ve managed to keep their high profit margin. For me, MT’s strategy is clear – they will never decrease prices, only the speeds will double. & with ADSL out of the equation, subscribers are constrained to pay for services they never wanted on the first place.

One more thing

Another proof of the wickedness of Orange Mauritius.
The cat's out of the bag. As you all probably don't know, while most My.T logins are tethered to their DSLAM (they work in only one region), some logins work everywhere. & it's the login that defines the sync speed (international bandwidth) you get. Means you can use a 1Mbps login to get 1Mbps on a 512K connection. Except...

On Friday, I got this 1Mbps login. The only thing I did was test its speed. & then I logged out.

The next day, I tried it again.

As I thought it wouldn't get any worse, MT are now actively blacklisting 512K connections (or logins from being used on such connections). While some 2Mbps & 4Mbps logins keep working perfectly with 1Mbps users...

So?

I’ll keep my My.T 512k at Rs 848 & wait to see what happens in January. If there’s no decrease, I’’ll downgrade to much slower ADSL 512K… It’s not only a question of money. Upgrading to My.T 1M+TV would mean victory for MT, a success for their vile ploy.
Mauritius Telecom wants to make money. Hence, that’s why they are canvassing me to pay more to get a price decrease (yeah, where’s the logic in that?). While all I want is an affordable Internet-only broadband connection. How hard can it be?

Rant over.

Related posts from other Mauritian bloggers:

GeekScribes - The Deceit Of Orange Mauritius
Yashvin - Myt 512 – Upgrade / Downgrade / Forget double speed!
GeekScribes - Orange Mauritius Announces Price Cuts, Speed Boosts
Avinash - The infamous YouTube spinner
Island Crisis - New ADSL and MyT Internet Price in Mauritius 2010
http://orangemauritiusfail.info/

Update:

Hogwash.

More about → Cheated by Orange Mauritius

New Adsl prices: -Rs 100 & My.T: Speed DOUBLE!!!

Earlier this month, the ICT minister announced that Mauritius Telecom no longer have a monopoly over SAFE (Open Access Policy). & yesterday, the ICT minister unveiled the new prices that Mauritius Telecom have decided to apply (to counter the competition), taking effect as from the 1st December.

All prices are VAT inclusive.
ADSL Home 128K (available in Rodrigues only) & 256K 3GB - from Rs 499 to Rs 399.
ADSL Home 512K - from Rs 848 to Rs 759.
ADSL Home 1M (old subscribers only) - from Rs 1549 to Rs 1353.

A decrease of around Rs 100. Peanuts.
My.T users (without TV option) should have the same price decrease while those paying the full package will have to wait for Orange to reveal the new pricing (or new TV channels if they decide to 'upgrade' the offer).

ADSL Pro 256K 3GB – from Rs 920 to Rs 847.
ADSL Business 512K – from Rs 2875 to Rs 2745.
ADSL Business 1M – from Rs 5750 to Rs 5620.

That pretty much confirms that this year we'll have no speed double (as in March last year) nor new speed offers available, despite the connection of Eassy to Mauritius. Let's cheer to our "awesome" Internet speeds!
(That's a 512k connection speed above - as experienced by @tushal2)

As mentioned in the budget, there will be a 16% to 24% decrease at the start of 2011 in the International Private Leased Circuit and Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network. So expect further price decrease in 2011 (or as we all wish, a speed double!).

Speaking of fibre optic cables, this new Open Access Policy on SAFE meant more competitive prices as other ISPs can use SAFE bandwidth while paying only a small access fee. Great news? End of MT's Internet monopoly!?
Far from it. In fact, what MT did was end one monopoly & start another one on... Eassy. They are perfectly in their rights to maintain exclusive access to Eassy because they're the only one who invested in it. So the other ISPs are left to fight over SAFE, which is (coincidentally) nearing full capacity. Mauritius Telecom's stranglehold on Mauritian Internet is nowhere near its end...

Update:

Huge update as Orange have finally announced the new My.T prices... which remains unchanged. Instead, we have a speed double! :)

(VAT included)
No TV option (pre-March 2009 My.T users only) - NO SPEED DOUBLE & NO PRICE DECREASE! (see below)
My.T 512kbps -> My.T 1Mbps - Rs 848
My.T 1Mbps -> My.T 2Mbps - Rs 1549
My.T 2Mbps -> My.T 4Mbps - Rs (no idea!)

With My.T watch (new & current My.T users)
My.T 512kbps -> My.T 1Mbps - Rs 999
My.T 1Mbps -> My.T 2Mbps - Rs 1699
My.T 2Mbps -> My.T 4Mbps - Rs 2999
+ 3 new (useless) IPTV channels - Boing, MCM Top et Motor TV.

Happy, aren't you? :P

Sorry to ADSL users, but there'll be no speed double for you. That's because of a technological limitation - ADSL uses ADSL while My.T uses ADSL2/ADSL2+. ADSL provides slower speeds over a long distance while ADSL2 provides faster speeds over a short range.
If you want faster speeds, you'll have to upgrade to my.T - provided that you're eligible, i.e., the line attenuation between your home & the nearest exchange (DSLAM) is acceptable for ADSL2 to work.
With the exception of ADSL users, this speed double is the best deal for everyone. However, with no unlimited offer under Rs 500, this means decent broadband Internet still isn't accessible to everyone.

Now, as illogical as it may sound, I was pretty confident that we would have a speed double this year, just like I've been having for the past 3 years. :D
2007: 56Kbps -> 128Kbps
2008: 128Kbps -> 256Kbps
2009: 256Kbps -> 512Kbps
2010: 512Kbps -> 1Mbps
So next year, expect another speed double. 2Mbps. You heard it here first. ;)

The 4Mbps offer is a direct consequence of Eassy & an upgrading of the existing network. Back in September, I had tweeted that the bandwidth of My.T connections have been upgraded from 4Mbps to 5Mbps. That was when they were testing that 4Mbps. ;)

If you check your My.T ADSL stats, it'll probably look like the above. If you have G992_3_A, that's ADSL2. If you have G992_5_A, that's ADSL2+. & if you have a bandwidth greater than 8000 Kb/s, well, congratulations! You have fibre! :D

That's my speed right now on my 512K. Let's hope by Wednesday, this will double.

PS. Nomad user? Totally screwed. (Just give up with that zombie ISP...)

Update 2:

Good news. There's no FUP on any of the My.T offers. Not that it was being enforced on the first place...

From L'Express - Baisse de l’internet : Polémique autour des forfaits proposés par Mauritius Telecom

Yes, they are partly right that it's unfair there has been no reduction in prices for My.T & MT refuse to give an affordable offer that'll make broadband available to everyone (128K or 256K unlimited).
& I doubt such new offers will be made available in the future for a few reasons - the market in Mauritius is too small, no cut-throat competition between ISPs & MT have fixed their prices at a profitable margin (which they won't readily decrease).

Do people really want a price decrease instead of speed double? I just did a small poll on Twitter & FB, & the overwhelming majority want more speed. My suggestion to commenters on the article - please come back to reality. We do need faster broadband!

Update 3:

SNR margin? Atténuation? Here's the explanation, copied from here.
Terminaison locale - From DSLAM to Livebox (downstream)
Terminaison distante - From Livebox to DSLAM (upstream)

SNR
SNR means Signal to Noise Ratio. Simply put divide the Signal value by Noise Value and you get SNR. You need high SNR for a stable connection. In general, a higher signal to noise ratio will result in less errors.
6bB. or below = Bad and will experience no line synchronisation and frequent disconnections
7dB-10dB. = Fair but does not leave much room for variances in conditions.
11dB-20dB. = Good with little or no disconnection problems
20dB-28dB. = Excellent
29dB. or above = Outstanding
Note that most modems display value as SNR Margin and not pure SNR.

SNR Margin
You can think of SNR margin as the measure of quality of the service; it defines the ability of the service to work error free during noise bursts.

This is a measure of the difference between your current SNR and the SNR that is required to keep a reliable service at your connection speed. If your SNR is very close to the minimum required SNR, you are more likely to suffer intermittent connection faults, or slowdowns. You need a high margin to ensure that bursts of interference don't cause constant disconnections.

With traditional broadband, the higher the SNR Margin, the better. With MaxDSL the faster speeds are only available as a trade-off with what your line can reliably support. The Target SNR Margin is about 6dB. If your broadband is provided through an LLU (Local Loop Unbundled) network, this target SNR Margin may be as high as 12dB.

Line Attenuation
In gerneral, attenuation is the loss of signal over distance. Unfortunately, dB loss is not just dependent on distance. It also depends on cable type and gauge (which can differ over the length of the cable), the number and location other connection points on the cable.
20bB. and below = Outstanding
20dB-30dB. = Excellent
30dB-40dB. = Very Good
40dB-50dB. = Good
50dB-60dB. = Poor and may experience connectivity issues
60dB. and above = Bad and will experience connectivity issues

Line attenuation also affects your speed.
75 dB+: Out of range for broadband
60-75 dB: max speed up to 512kbps
43-60dB: max speed up to 1Mbps
0-42dB: speed up to 2Mbps+

If you want a more detailed explanation, check here. ;)

Update 4:

NO SPEED DOUBLE NOR PRICE DECREASE FOR MY.T USERS WITH NO TV OPTION!!!
My.T users with no TV option, that is, those paying My.T 512k for Rs 848 (Rs 750+VAT) with only free channels, will NOT get a speed double nor any decrease in price!

So I've been screwed by Orange Mauritius...
Is that even legal? I'm neither getting a price decrease nor a speed double (which is indirectly a price decrease). & you tell me to pay more for a faster connection so that I can benefit of a decrease?
What happens to people who have chosen My.T but can't receive any TV channels? Upgrade to a faster connection while paying for a non-existent service? That's a scam!

Update 5:

Emtel Prepaid Web Packages
Offers:

500MB = Rs 360
1GB = Rs 480

Speed - up to 3.6Mbps
Excess - Rs 3/MB.
Validity - 30 days. Balance accumulated.

Update 6:

I've blogged once again on this - Cheated by Orange Mauritius

Update 7:

Mr Sarat Lallah, CEO of Mauritius Telecom/Orange Mauritius on Radio Plus, Explik Ou Cas. Excerpt - "Nou ena My.T 1 mega. Nou ena My.T 2 mega. & nou ena My.T 3 mega."
Download here.

Related posts from other bloggers:

GeekScribes - Orange Mauritius Announces Price Cuts, Speed Boosts
Noulakaz - The infamous YouTube spinner
Island Crisis - New ADSL and MyT Internet Price in Mauritius 2010
GeekScribes - The Deceit Of Orange Mauritius

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Infotech 2010 - Intelligent Mauritius

It’s time again to visit our annual tech trade fair organised by the NCB – Infotech.

Orange Expo?

Before entering SVCC, one thing you’ll notice is this Great Wall being built.

Actually, it’s the Port Louis Ring Road.

At the entrance of the Conference Centre, there were two donation boxes to collect money for the Pakistan flood victims.

Going in, there’s the Career area on the right.

Avatar area on the left. :p

12 screens joined together at the reception.

Finally we enter the big bazaar. Here, the eShop stand & the huge Cash & Carry stand.

Cash & Carry

With every Infotech, Cash & Carry seizes the opportunity to offer discounts on a huge variety of gadgets, including laptops.

Taking a self-portrait. :)

More laptops & LCD monitors.

Nokia N97, X6, 5800… all class-B smartphones.

Nikon S8000, L21 & L22. No DSLRs. :D

Aha! 3D on a Samsung LED TV. After trying out the glasses (Rs 9k a pair), I’m still unconvinced. 3D lacks the depth of real-world objects. & when you focus on one point of the screen, the other areas lose the 3D effect. To conclude, it’s a marketing gimmick & a head-ache.

Coming to back to TVs, it seems Cash & Carry have pulled out all the stops to promote their HDTVs.

The public was definitely wooed.

Cash & Carry’s “iMax” lineup. :p

40” Samsung LED TV. These LED-backlit TVs provide better contrast, greater viewing angles & incredible thinness… at not-so-affordable price.

HM Rawat

At the Rawat stand, I saw this.

Magnification via a microscope of the internal circuit of a phone.

Galaxy

The Rs 80k Asus 3D laptop. Another gimmick.

The Rs 110k 46” Samsung LED TV. :)

eShop

More self-portraits… this time with a touchscreen MSI Wind Top.

Macbooks.

Magic Mouse, an ergonomic nightmare.

& the iPad, an over-sized iPod Touch. No hands-on, no demo. At least, it’s turned on, better than Courts’ Rs 40k "64MB" dead iPad.

….

Courts

The Super AMOLEDs Samsung Wave & Jet.

The Motorola ~~Droid~~ Milestone.

Canon EOS 450D, which has been succeeded by the 500D, which has been succeeded by the 550D. Oh well…

Nintendo Wii & XBOX 360. This reminds me that I’ve never played with a console… :|

MBC stand with Sam Amigan & co.

Radioplus stand with Guillaume.

Interactive Whiteboard

Basically, it’s a finger tracker which then allows interactivity with the OS – like a huge touchscreen.

Orange

This is the Tabbee, a crablet (short for crap tablet).

The Samsung Wave. The Super AMOLED screen is awesome, but Bada OS is a joke, a copycat.

Emtel

As always, Emtel have the most innovative stand. I wish their products were the same.

& the over-hyped Emtel girls…

To conclude, zero innovation, zero new technologies, gadgets that are 6 months (or years) old & very few product demos & hands-on. That said, if you are looking to buy something, Infotech might be the perfect place to get bargains (assuming that you haven’t already found it cheaper online). Otherwise, Infotech is just a place for window shopping. Duh!

Related:

Yashvin’s 15-min review of Infotech 2010 – Infotech 2010
Asheshr - Infotech 2010
L'Express - Infotech : L’édition 2010 du salon a attiré une foule record de quelque 80 000 visiteurs

More about → Infotech 2010 - Intelligent Mauritius