Frequently Asked Questions

This is the charge for all the telephone calls you made during the month. To get a report of these calls see “How can I monitor my data usage?” under Internet usage.

Yes. It is our preferred method of payment.

Month end is at 23:59:59 on the last day of the month. We generally process the Invoices on the 1st or 2nd of the following month, and debit orders are processed to go off on the 7th of the month the invoice is made in. We do not process debit orders on other dates than the 7th. If the 7th falls on a Sunday or public holiday it will be processed on the 8th.

We require a calendar month written notice (email) on account cancellations.

Our bank account details are on the invoices and your account number as listed on the invoice should be used as reference.

It is best to consult the documentation of the specific email software or device you want to set the account up on. Most email software packages have reasonably automated setup procedures, so the following information should be sufficient:
Account name: your complete email address - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Password: the password provided.
POP3 or Incoming mail settings: mail.true.co.za 
SMTP or outgoing mail settings: mail.true.co.za

Authentication is only required when getting mail, or when trying to send mail through an SMTP from an external IP. In other words if you connect to our network you would not be required to authenticate for sending mail through our mail server. If you are using another ISP however and you want to send email with our mail server you are connecting from an external IP address and will therefore be required to authenticate before sending. So if your PC is always at home authentication is not needed (not bad either), but if you travel and you do not want to switch between SMTP accounts, then authentication is needed. 

This is also only relevant for email domains that we host. If you have a different email address (ie …@gmail or …@absa.co.za) with another provider you cannot use our SMTP server from outside our network, and if you use it from inside our network you have to switch authentication off. Since the email address is not hosted on our server we are not able to authenticate your credentials.

Yes. We have a Webmail function. Wherever you can find an Internet connection, go to the Internet browser and in the address bar type in mail.true.co.za. The username is your complete email address, and password is the password provided. From here you can access your mails, send mails, change account settings, etc.

Yes. We can register a unique domain for you and host your emails. Contact us for more information in this regard.

We have developed our own Management System called TrueWISP and TrueWISPServer that record every packet of data leaving and or entering our network. Each client within our network has a unique public IP on our network, so every packet of data is booked to the relating IP address as recorded on their account. The system cannot “invent” data; it simply records every packet going in and out. Our data recordings have been verified several times, so if your usage is higher than expected it points to an issue behind the CPE.

By default our system is set to email you every day once you have reached 80% of your chosen data package. It can also be set to email you daily regardless of your usage. You can also send an email to our server requesting a monthly, daily or hourly report - even for historical months. To get instructions on how to do this, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (North West Province) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Eastern Cape) and in the Subject line type: help. 

This will email you instructions on the different options. You have to ensure that the email address you are sending from has been loaded on our Management system - else no report will be sent.

We have 2 options - hardcap “on” or “off”. “Hardcap off” means that even if you reach your cap, you will not be stopped and the system will automatically charge you per additional GB. The price per GB will depend on the package you are on. “Hardcap on” means that your Internet usage will be stopped once you reach your data bundle cap. You can then request additional data to be loaded on your account to help you out until month end.

No, the data does not carry over. That is why it is important to choose the correct package for your requirements. You are able to migrate between packages from month to month, and to a limited extent within a month as well. If you need any help with choosing the correct package or assistance in this regard, contact our call centre and we will assist you.

We do not keep any records of the data packets that we count leaving or entering our network, nor of their destination or origin. So if you would like to see what your kids did yesterday or even half an hour ago we cannot help you. In assisting with problem solving and such we can do live monitoring as you work, to identify the Internet IP addresses you visit - but again there is no recording of this, it’s only a live view. There are software packages available on the Internet that can do that, however we are not able to assist with the finding or installation of such software. 

We do have a smaller version of TrueWISPServer that can be used on site for individual PC usage monitoring. This software can record the traffic used by each individual address on the network - but does not keep any information on which sites were visited.

To answer this question accurately we have to distinguish between:

1. Connection to the Internet backbone:
   The Internet backbone operates on the principle of uncapped data usage, but space on this backbone is purchased according to “pipe” size. In other words I would typically buy a 20Mbs connection onto the backbone and pay a fixed fee for that connection. These connections are becoming less and less expensive. Currently I should be able to buy space for around R1500 - R2000 per Mbs. The problem is that this connection at this price is at a major Data Centre and does not include the cost of getting the connection onto your premises.
2. Last mile connection:
   The biggest problem we have in SA regarding Internet access is getting large size data connections to final users, typically known as the last mile connection. The last mile options available to users are commonly ADSL, Diginet or Metro Ethernet from Telkom (if you’re in a populated area with a decent exchange), 3G or other high speed GSM connections, or Wireless ISP’s like us. The Telkom products are the most popular as Internet services can be provided over these last mile connections by a variety of ISP’s creating competition and a large range of products. 
   
   You would typically pay more than R4000 per Mbs dedicated Internet bandwidth, if it is at all available on these options.

To make commercial sense behind a pipe on the backbone it would be sold as either capped (per data usage), or uncapped (unlimited data usage). Because we make money off every packet of data you use as a capped user, we will always endeavour to give you that data as quickly as we possibly can. So data sold as capped will always have higher priority than data sold as uncapped.

As an uncapped user we can either sell you dedicated bandwidth at around R4000/Mbs, which almost no one will be able to afford, or we can sell you uncapped from around R400, with speed limitations, shaping, fair usage policies, but most importantly, contention. Contention meaning that we sell 1Mbs of bandwidth to 10 different 1Mbs users - i.e. contention of 1:10.

Yes it can. The equipment we use is all low current and voltage electronic equipment, and as such it can be damaged by electric surges. Such damage can infiltrate the system primarily in two ways:
Surges can come from the electrical supply and damage the equipment. Surge protection can be installed to combat this. Please make sure you are fully aware of the guarantees on such equipment - if any.

Secondly surges can come from induced current into the Ethernet cables during an electrical storm. This type of damage is difficult to quantify and predict. To minimize the possibility of this we use predominantly shielded CAT5 cables with shielded RJ45 plugs that should relay such surges to earth. The earth is obtained at the connection to the power supply on the premise - which should, according to regulations, be sufficient. A violent lightning strike could however still cause damage and we recommend that during such lightning storms all equipment be disconnected from the electrical circuitry. We have however had equipment damage in extreme conditions that were disconnected. If your premises has a history of lightning damage please consult with an electrical surge specialist for protection.

Because of firewalls and NAT routers logging into a PC remotely requires some extensive special routing and knowledge about the remote network architecture. Team viewer is a software application that eliminates this by creating a session into the Team Viewer servers, so allowing another Team Viewer user to log into the remote PC. Team Viewer gives each PC that registers to it a unique ID. With a default installation of Team Viewer the password will automatically change randomly with each time you start it which is great for security as you have to supply the other party with the unique password every time they want to log into your PC. For Team Viewer to work you have to have an active Internet connection. If the connection is down we won’t be able to assist in this way.

Check under different installation options to find the one that fits you best. The first thing to do is to check if the POE has power, and if it has to switch it off for 15 sec and then on again. That should get the CPE up and running if there is no damage. Secondly check that none of the cables has been pulled out or damaged. Most of the devices we install have lights corresponding with the different ports where cables can plug in, so make sure all those lights are on - indicating a connection.

You can phone TT but depending on the problem you have and the area you are in, we might not be able to support you. We will however be able to provide you with additional information on who could help.

Line of sight is a term used to indicate that there is a direct open path between the client CPE and the Network Access Point (AP). With lower frequencies such as used for 2 way radio, analogue TV, FM/AM radio and GSM, line of sight is not necessary as the frequency penetrates beyond obstacles such as trees, walls and sometimes even hills. With higher frequencies such as Wi-Fi and other bands used by WISP’s there has to be a un obscured path between AP and station. It is possible to still connect with some obstruction, but it has very negative consequences for connection quality and long term reliability.

For Windows XP click start, RUN and in the search space type CMD. 
For Windows 7 click start and in the search space type CMD.
This will open a black text or DOS box. Type ipconfig and press enter. If you are connected with an Ethernet cable see Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection - or Wireless LAN adapter if you connect with Wi-Fi. 

It reflects your IP address, subnet mask (indicating how big the IP range is of the network you are connecting to), and the IP of the Default Gateway or CPE. If no IP is given as a Gateway then you are not connected to the CPE. If an IP is given type ping a space and the IP adress: ping 192.168.0.1 and press enter. You should get a reply if you are connected to the CPE, or no reply if you are not connected.

An International number needs to be dialed with a country code first, and then the number. Before the country code is the code identifier with is usually a + sign. Dialing from a fixed line network the + will normally be replaced by 00. So to phone the number 059 556 8888 in Namibia you would dial 00 26 59 556 8888:
00 - I'm dialing International
26 - I want to dial a number in Namibia
59 556 888 - the specific number I am dialing.

You pay a connection fee per concurrent call you want to make. On analogue phones it does not matter because you can only make one call per line, but on IP phones you are able to make multiple concurrent calls on a single number. If you only have 1 registered concurrent call and you try to make another this message is presented.

See under “How can I monitor my data usage?”

Yes. Contact support for assistance.

Yes. Contact support for assistance.

Wi-Fi is a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network, including high-speed Internet connections. The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any "wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards". However, since most modern WLANs are based on these standards, the term "Wi-Fi" is used in general English as a synonym for "WLAN". Most moderns devices are equipped with WiFi capability based on the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n standards, like Laptops, Smart phones, Tablets, and even gaming consoles like Xbox, Wii, Playstation and TV’s operate with WiFi.

Yes. If I am in reach of the AP (access point) of a Wi-Fi router I can connect to it and use the connection. Because of the 802.11 standard all devices conforming to the standard can connect to one another. Mostly Wi-Fi is designed to give access within a close range environment, but you might be able to pick up the Wi-Fi AP of your nextdoor neighbour. Security protocol like WEP, WPA & WPA2 can be used to secure these connections with pre shared keys. Please remember that security is your own responsibility and that you need to ensure that everything is as secure as you would need it to be.

Yes. Especially the newer generation of smartphones like iPhones etc. use a lot of Internet data for upgrades and the like. If you are connecting these devices make sure that you are aware of what their settings should be. Also, since these devices are fully Internet capable they can use a lot of data if they are in the wrong hands.