- Thread starter Robert
- Start date
OneMax - WiMAX - 1st Test!
Cool technology, but...
they have awful upstream service. That's why I have not switched.
I need at least 512 kbps upstream speed. I use Codetel 768 / 512 and pay ~$2000.00 tax included.
Closest OneMax service would be
ONEPRO 1
512 kbps /512 kbps
RD$ 3,990.00 monthly fee
RD$ 1,990.00 device
they have awful upstream service. That's why I have not switched.
I need at least 512 kbps upstream speed. I use Codetel 768 / 512 and pay ~$2000.00 tax included.
Closest OneMax service would be
ONEPRO 1
512 kbps /512 kbps
RD$ 3,990.00 monthly fee
RD$ 1,990.00 device
OneMax is still reliant on Codetel bandwidth right now.
Early next year they will switch to their own dedicated
Sprint fibre, maybe we will see a change in plans/speeds etc.
You are probably spot on there. If by then they have a substantial userbase and manage to lower their operating costs - passing the lower costs onto the existing users would be a magnitude 7 quake in DR business culture.
I might have to try this out. I'm wondering if it's worth it since I pay around ~~ 2100 pesos for a Codetel Unlimited local calls + dialup... I have been living in the middle of la Zona Oriental and Codetel, Tricom, nor Aster have been able to offer me broadband internet for over 4 years!
*the annoying part about this is that the surrounding poorer barrios do have access to broadband... lots of call centers there, and even 3 buildings diagnal to my block (Manzana) they can get DSL!
*the annoying part about this is that the surrounding poorer barrios do have access to broadband... lots of call centers there, and even 3 buildings diagnal to my block (Manzana) they can get DSL!
Robert, I'm worried too about upload speeds, my main concern is if 128 is enough to use MSN Messenger videoconference. Did you use it for videoconf?
RaInterview with Raoul Fontanez, the President of ONEMAX.
Interview with Raoul Fontanez, President of ONEMAX:
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]How was everything put together? What’s the history behind the idea?[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]First of all, ONEMAX is the first company to launch mobile WiMAX in the 3.5 frequency range in the world, which is the most advanced network. You might think this is funny or surprising, that this is occurring in the Dominican Republic. And it is happening here because the government’s regulator supported this project, since they view the development of Internet as a key necessity for the future of the country. I’ve been working in the Caribbean for 14 years. Originally I built and developed the GSM networks in the French West Indies, and then founded Orange Dominicana. Then I left Orange France T?l?com, and later on I realized that I loved the country. So I came back with some Dominican partners and decided this would be the place to do WiMAX. I started a strategic partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, built a team of quality people, got investors and started working. The goal was to launch a WiMAX network in the RD, it just happened that we became the first; I guess because we moved at a certain speed. I believe that my prior work had helped to democratize the mobile phone industry here; it contributed a great deal to develop mobile phones in the country. And now it’s the same thing, but with Internet, so it’s fun.
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]How does the WiMAX technology work? And why does ONEMAX use it? ...
[/FONT] Interview with Raoul Fontanez, the President of ONEMAX.
Interview with Raoul Fontanez, President of ONEMAX:
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]How was everything put together? What’s the history behind the idea?[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]First of all, ONEMAX is the first company to launch mobile WiMAX in the 3.5 frequency range in the world, which is the most advanced network. You might think this is funny or surprising, that this is occurring in the Dominican Republic. And it is happening here because the government’s regulator supported this project, since they view the development of Internet as a key necessity for the future of the country. I’ve been working in the Caribbean for 14 years. Originally I built and developed the GSM networks in the French West Indies, and then founded Orange Dominicana. Then I left Orange France T?l?com, and later on I realized that I loved the country. So I came back with some Dominican partners and decided this would be the place to do WiMAX. I started a strategic partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, built a team of quality people, got investors and started working. The goal was to launch a WiMAX network in the RD, it just happened that we became the first; I guess because we moved at a certain speed. I believe that my prior work had helped to democratize the mobile phone industry here; it contributed a great deal to develop mobile phones in the country. And now it’s the same thing, but with Internet, so it’s fun.
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]How does the WiMAX technology work? And why does ONEMAX use it? ...
[/FONT] Interview with Raoul Fontanez, the President of ONEMAX.
Anyone wanting info on my experience with OneMax, just ask. My email is josedandrade [at] hotmail [dot] com
Please use Subject: How was your OneMax experience?
I had it for one full month. I tried an outdoor antenna. Awful experience.
I have a copy of the contract in case you want to read it.
Right now, I am only waiting a refund. Imagine my experience.
Please use Subject: How was your OneMax experience?
I had it for one full month. I tried an outdoor antenna. Awful experience.
I have a copy of the contract in case you want to read it.
Right now, I am only waiting a refund. Imagine my experience.
Experience
I went to sign up at Acropolis. Being a lawyer myself I noticed first problem:
-they make you sign contract digitally, and then you get to read it, after the salesperson convinces you of all the goodness of their service.
-if you ask for a contract, they simply say not available or something else.
I did not care to pay a penalty (if you cancel contract before agreed period, normally 18 months) so I signed up for a 768kbps down / 128 kbps up (Plan 2)
I went to Las Praderas, where my girlfriend lives...somewhat close to their main antenna. Second problem:
-speed was ~350 downstream / 75 upstream
After arriving home, I tested again. My place is in Arroyo Hondo, close to body shop. Problem again:
-speed was below 300 downstream / 75 upstream
It was the end of year, so I did not test again after jan 2nd, 2008. Speed was the same. I tried to put a ticket, on their site, online: System error which ws never fixed so I had to call and talk to tech support.
Having read the contract (the same day I signed) I remembered they give you 10 days to cancel without penalties. It was day 8 and it was a saturday (on monday it would be day 10). I called and told I wanted to cancel. They persuaded me to try and then buy an outdoor antenna for ~2000.00 pesos and that they would lend me one for a day. I said "OK, but put a note on your system I will do so provided you allow me to cancel contract and will not penalize me". They agreed, I made them sign on the very contract. Even so, I went to Acropolis on day 10, tried to cancel...the system was locked and I had to go to main office. I went there and picked up the outdoor antenna.
I tested signal, and speed, with the borrowed antenna: same results. The problem was not signal strenght.
I asked for a tech support guy to visit my place. They agreed, he never showed up. However, they had no problem sending someone to pick up the outdoor antenna and had them sign another paper.
On day 29th, they called me asking if I was going to cancel and on day 30th I went to Acropolis gave them an agreement for contract cancellation and money refund.
You won't believe what happened....they asked me to surrender my copy of original contract...I said no way, it is part of my files. The guy wanted to argue with me and he said "that is the way we operate, we require the contract". Then, he pulled a few tricks:
-He asked me for the contract and told me he would copy it and asked me to go to see some stores (but I had nothing else to do, just to cancel a contract).
-He said there was no copier machine around and that he could not close the account because he had no internet signal. I said "well, call them".
-He tried to convince me my device was damaged, and I told him I used it right before visiting him.
-He said he could not scan the contract, then after about 2 hours the scanner fixed itself miraculously.
He signed agreement, received device and told me to pick up money after 10 days. That would be, I think, tomorrow.
I went to sign up at Acropolis. Being a lawyer myself I noticed first problem:
-they make you sign contract digitally, and then you get to read it, after the salesperson convinces you of all the goodness of their service.
-if you ask for a contract, they simply say not available or something else.
I did not care to pay a penalty (if you cancel contract before agreed period, normally 18 months) so I signed up for a 768kbps down / 128 kbps up (Plan 2)
I went to Las Praderas, where my girlfriend lives...somewhat close to their main antenna. Second problem:
-speed was ~350 downstream / 75 upstream
After arriving home, I tested again. My place is in Arroyo Hondo, close to body shop. Problem again:
-speed was below 300 downstream / 75 upstream
It was the end of year, so I did not test again after jan 2nd, 2008. Speed was the same. I tried to put a ticket, on their site, online: System error which ws never fixed so I had to call and talk to tech support.
Having read the contract (the same day I signed) I remembered they give you 10 days to cancel without penalties. It was day 8 and it was a saturday (on monday it would be day 10). I called and told I wanted to cancel. They persuaded me to try and then buy an outdoor antenna for ~2000.00 pesos and that they would lend me one for a day. I said "OK, but put a note on your system I will do so provided you allow me to cancel contract and will not penalize me". They agreed, I made them sign on the very contract. Even so, I went to Acropolis on day 10, tried to cancel...the system was locked and I had to go to main office. I went there and picked up the outdoor antenna.
I tested signal, and speed, with the borrowed antenna: same results. The problem was not signal strenght.
I asked for a tech support guy to visit my place. They agreed, he never showed up. However, they had no problem sending someone to pick up the outdoor antenna and had them sign another paper.
On day 29th, they called me asking if I was going to cancel and on day 30th I went to Acropolis gave them an agreement for contract cancellation and money refund.
You won't believe what happened....they asked me to surrender my copy of original contract...I said no way, it is part of my files. The guy wanted to argue with me and he said "that is the way we operate, we require the contract". Then, he pulled a few tricks:
-He asked me for the contract and told me he would copy it and asked me to go to see some stores (but I had nothing else to do, just to cancel a contract).
-He said there was no copier machine around and that he could not close the account because he had no internet signal. I said "well, call them".
-He tried to convince me my device was damaged, and I told him I used it right before visiting him.
-He said he could not scan the contract, then after about 2 hours the scanner fixed itself miraculously.
He signed agreement, received device and told me to pick up money after 10 days. That would be, I think, tomorrow.
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That's too bad. I hope these are just startup woes and they get it resolved. Remember this is a very brand new technology and this is the first company (in the world) to attempt to offer it commercially. I'm really pulling for them, because this the future of internet, not just in The DR but everywhere else. A Wimax antenna can cover up to a 30 miles radius. This means one antenna could cover pretty much the whole town of Cotui (for instance).
After reading the article above posted by Aegap it seems like if anyone can pull this off is this Raoul guy.
After reading the article above posted by Aegap it seems like if anyone can pull this off is this Raoul guy.
Sophisticated Technology + Culture
m'frog
It could be the best technology in the universe, once certain people get their hands on it, it's a mess. Call it 'culture' if you will.
m'frog
one future, not the future
The problem is not in the technology, but in the way to do business in the DR. I know there is something to WiMax (Google is bidding to acquire permission to transmit using that frequency).
Perhaps OneMax should do this:
-tell the people the truth about speed and inconveniences.
-since it is a commercial experiment, a fair fee.
-double or triple amount of antennas. Someone in the government told me OneMax is relying on Codetel antennas.
On the other hand. Raoul could have the best intentions...but this is not a one man show. Company should pay close attention to managers, salespeople, etc
In technology, one mistake can be disastrous. Remember Betamax vs. VHS?
BTW, Codetel and Tricom offer WiMax too. And, there is one interesting service from Centennial called Interjet.
All in all, none of these services offer good upload speed. If you want better speed, you have to pay a lot of money. My opinion: no one wants to kill POTS (telefonicas). The VoIP factor.
I like WiMax...I'll try again next year.
The problem is not in the technology, but in the way to do business in the DR. I know there is something to WiMax (Google is bidding to acquire permission to transmit using that frequency).
Perhaps OneMax should do this:
-tell the people the truth about speed and inconveniences.
-since it is a commercial experiment, a fair fee.
-double or triple amount of antennas. Someone in the government told me OneMax is relying on Codetel antennas.
On the other hand. Raoul could have the best intentions...but this is not a one man show. Company should pay close attention to managers, salespeople, etc
In technology, one mistake can be disastrous. Remember Betamax vs. VHS?
BTW, Codetel and Tricom offer WiMax too. And, there is one interesting service from Centennial called Interjet.
All in all, none of these services offer good upload speed. If you want better speed, you have to pay a lot of money. My opinion: no one wants to kill POTS (telefonicas). The VoIP factor.
I like WiMax...I'll try again next year.
Are you sure Codetel and Tricom offer Wimax? I think you may be confusing 3g/4g technology which most phone companies use, but it's not really broadband like Wimax. Wimax is supposed to have wi-fi like speeds, but at a lot longer range (up to 30 mile radius). In theory you're supposed to be able to achieve up to 70 mbps with Wimax, even though in practice...well you know better than me...
Codetel and Tricom are talking about offering WiMax, they don't actually offer service right now. Only OneMax offer WiMax 802.16e.
As far as I'm aware, OneMax are still using Codetel managed infrastructure into the DR, but I hear that will change soon when they get their own OC3 connection into Punta Cana. OneMax use their own antennas and sites here in Santo Domingo, I think they have 4-5 antennas right now.
Google is bidding for the 700mhz range. People feel they are only doing this so they can eventually trade it with Sprint for 2.5-GHz WiMAX licenses that are far better suited for data than 700mhz which sucks. Maybe this is the reason Sprint isn't bidding?
As far as I'm aware, OneMax are still using Codetel managed infrastructure into the DR, but I hear that will change soon when they get their own OC3 connection into Punta Cana. OneMax use their own antennas and sites here in Santo Domingo, I think they have 4-5 antennas right now.
Google is bidding for the 700mhz range. People feel they are only doing this so they can eventually trade it with Sprint for 2.5-GHz WiMAX licenses that are far better suited for data than 700mhz which sucks. Maybe this is the reason Sprint isn't bidding?