Dear MyBroadband…

Ronald Langeveld
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

I've been an avid reader and forum user of MyBroadband.co.za (previously MyADSL) since Telkom announced that ADSL would become available in my area back in 2006. I still signed up on MyADSL using nothing but good old Dialup internet, it was much slower, but we could get on it.

MyBroadband was the best website for a 'broadband' newbie to ask questions regarding the connection, ISP's and most importantly reading INTERNET related news. It was great. If it wasn't for Mybroadband, I wouldn't have gotten the memo that our lines are getting upgraded to faster speeds or our caps increased — heck that day when they announced that Mweb launched the first affordable uncapped service in SA was quite magical. And the forums! The Mybroadband community is overly helpful. Despite the odd troll or overly pessimists, whenever I needed to get advice with my ADSL, Phone or even computer errors — or just get someone to hear me out with a tech idea or suggestion, I wouldn't hesitate asking on the MyBroadband forum — and still today.

But a lot changed over the last year or so. It feels like the MyBroadband news section certainly isn't what it used to be anymore. In fact, it isn't what it used to be anymore. The biggest question being, why is there articles on these days that's NOT broadband related on a broadband specialised website? Broadband referring to our internet service providers, whether ADSL, Fibre, 3G, 4G, Wireless, Dialup if you desperate , or anything related to us within the South African borders connecting to the World Wide Web.

Instead, whenever I go onto Mybroadband, I see news regarding the Gupta's, Zuma, the weak ZAR, our fucked up education system and heck I honestly didn't come to Mybroadband just to find out that SAA was bailed out again. Bloomberg, News24, Rapport, Beeld or whatever exists for that very reason. I could honestly go to those websites should I wanted to read about that.

Mybroadband for me was a site focused on the South African Internet related stuff with the goal of getting the word out there and to challenge ISP's and Telecoms to get them to improve their infrastructure. Instead, today when there's actually semi-relevant broadband related news on MyBroadband, you are being paid by those corporate dicks to write stuff even you know is absolute bullshit. I mean, look at this article sponsored by Telkom a few days ago namely "4 cool things you can do with the 40GB". I don't want to be rude, but I can tell you "8 even cooler things you definitely cannot do with just 40gb". And you even disabled the comment box on that article, because you know exactly that everyone with an IQ higher than 10 will probably have the same comment. 40GB today is nothing to brag about, yet you write about it as if it's fucking life changing instead of challenging them to make it 180GB, because how else will you get ISP's not to do what THEY want?

Anyway guys. I'm still an avid reader of Mybroadband on the days where there are actually something semi-interesting or some original content for a change (I'm not gonna go there, but make a note), however I'm definitely spending a lot less time on there because it is definitely becoming less relevant to what it used to be.

The original idea behind the Mybroadband that I got to know 10 years ago for me is nothing but a mere distant memory today.

Kind Regards

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Expressing my ideas in code 👨🏼‍💻 to fulfil my dreamline of sunshine ☀️ good waves 🌊 & pure stoke! 😁

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