[LINK] Carrier pigeon delivers data faster than Telkom

[grove at zeta.org.au]

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009, Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:

> <brd>
> From the "it couldn't happen here?" file
> </brd>


They had to wait 4 hours and 11 minutes to copy all the data off the very slow USB thumb drive though ;)


rachel



>
> Carrier pigeon delivers data faster than Telkom
> From correspondents in Johannesburg, South Africa
> Reuters
> September 10, 2009 08:06am
> http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26052683-23109,00.html
>
> A SOUTH African information technology company has proved it was faster
> for them to transmit data with a carrier pigeon than to send it using
> Telkom , the country's leading internet service provider.
>
> Internet speed and connectivity in Africa's largest economy are poor
> because of a bandwidth shortage. It is also expensive.
>
> Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took
> one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80km from Unlimited IT's offices
> near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was
> strapped to his leg.
>
> Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57
> seconds - the time it took for only four per cent of the data to be
> transferred using a Telkom line.
>
> SAPA said Unlimited IT performed the stunt after becoming frustrated
> with slow internet transmission times.
>
> The company has 11 call-centres around the country and regularly sends
> data to its other branches.
>
> Telkom could not immediately be reached for comment.
>
> Internet speed is expected to improve once a new 17,000km underwater
> fibre-optic cable linking southern and East Africa to other networks
> becomes operational before South Africa hosts the soccer World Cup next
> year.
>
> Local service providers are currently negotiating deals for more bandwidth.
>
>

-- 
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia
grove at zeta.org.au                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
    "The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum." - Finagle's Law