Earlier, I had “blasted WorldCall’s internet service”:http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/pakistan/2003_09/worldcall_4_month_review.html from here to kingdom come in the hope that someone there might read it and do something about it. It was even “published”:http://spider.tm/dec2003/szone.html in Spider magazine, which I hear has a large subscription. WorldCall also advertises in that magazine, but chances are slim that someone there might have actually read that article. They have a very good track record of ignoring just about everything, from spotty internet connectivity to customer complaints to bad reviews to customer disconnections and who knows what else.
I had earlier complained about WorldCall’s DNS settings/servers or lack of – well this site changed servers earlier this month[1] and WorldCall took thrice as long as all the other ISP’s in Pakistan to reflect that. And even then it kept randomly switching back to the old one… so I couldn’t use the site.
Another WorldCall user had the same problems:
bq.. I think it was Worldcall related… it started working a lot more smoothly a while later.
*It takes talent to fuck up as consistently as they do…*
p. I had DNS problems when I bought this website… it took well over a week for WorldCall to resolve the name properly. They still haven’t caught up the even the 2 man running out of a cardbox box ISP’s… that takes real effort. They are improving though… a year afterwards they’re only two days behind the other local ISP’s.[2]
I’ve also been using WOL DSL… while hideously overpriced they at least know what they’re doing, though they also fall short of professionalism. The internet has generally been running fine… long as you don’t mind slowdowns every now and then, along with complete outages once in a while.
For those who might be wondering why I bash WorldCall so much: It’s the only game in town currently for Internet connectivity faster than dialup at an affordable price. Sadly, it’s failed to live up to its potential. The even sadder part is that according to some, WorldCall has a monopoly on laying fibre-optic cable in Karachi, so they’re likely to remain the only option for the time being.
Out of the 6 people I know in my neighbourhood who had WorldCall, there are only 2 remaining. The very last remaining WorldCall subscriber besides me is now contemplating cancelling their internet service. I’m still hanging on for now…
WorldCall also does things which are completely unforgivable, like loosing emails, cutting of internet connections for overuse, or because of ‘strange network activity’, or spyware infestations. Now thats all well and fine, and kudos to them for trying to deal with spyware/spam, but it is completely unforgiveable to cutoff internet connectivity *without informing the customer.* This happened to my someone I know, and only after many phone calls and a few days later did they finally say: _oh your internet isn’t working because we disconnected it._ Just one more glaring example of how they just don’t get it.
Email sent to WorldCall on September the 5th:
bq.. Dear WorldCall,
At my own house, I have been sufferring a horrible internet connection
since August the 3rd. I have made many complaints on the WC telephone
hotline 111111925, and so far nothing has come out of it. Today is
the 5th of September and the internet connection is still unusable. I
am sending you this email using Cybernet, as WC internet is unusably
slow at my house.
The connection times out, I cannot upload files – in short it is
highly unsatisfactorily. I understand it might be ok for people who
have all the time in the world to sit there pressing refresh a hundred
times over, but measuered against the shortest yardstick the internet
service falls short. To be specific, the problems I have with your
service:
1) Latency
2) No upload bandwidth – worldcall seems to have totally choked
uploads. I am talking about small files, a few kb in size. I ALWAYS
have to dialup to send them, or send them at the office (through DSL).
3) Intermittent service – often the internet conks out. In plain
english, IT JUST DOESN’T WORK!!
I am running Linux at home, and all windows pc’s are behind a HARDWARE AND also a software FIREWALL. The computers are perfectly fine and virus free. My primary pc is a laptop which at work I connect via a router to a DSL line, and at home I generally end up using some dialup isp or the other as WC is generally unusably slow. WorldCall is the only ISP which has given me so much trouble over the years. I understand this is a shared Internet connection, so I do not expect blazing Internet speeds. All I want is slightly faster than modem internet speeds, AND I AM NOT GETTING THOSE. After using WC, when I dialup a reliable ISP I breathe a sigh of relief for then I know I will be getting that 3-4K consistent speed. I don’t want or care if WorldCall sometimes works in bursts of upto 16kb, I just want reliable internet. Is that too much to ask for?
Also, I am sending this email to a number of WorldCall email addresses as so far I have not received any answer to my last 15 or so email messsages.
Yours,
[customer into removed]
p. Simple things like uploading pictures onto this site are impossible with WorldCall. After spending an eternity with some tech rep on the phone, I was finally informed that all WorldCall promises is a 12.8kbps connection, as a 128kbps package is shared between 10 people. So what if I live in a high usage area? Tough luck they said… nothing we can do. Dialup generally averages at least 30kbps… so in the worst case scenario (which is exactly the one WorldCall normally runs at) dialup is *three times faster* than WC. In my case, WC hardly even manages to reach the worst case scenario…
_Despite, quite a few emails to WorldCall sing June 2003, as of April 2005 I still haven’t received any replies from them._
p. *Comments on this entry are now closed. Please use the ‘forums’:http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/forums for any further discussion about WorldCall.*
fn1. The ‘picture gallery’:http://offroadpakistan.com/pictures was maxing the bandwidth on the current hosting package.
fn2. Fascom, Supernet, WOL DSL, Cybernet had all propogated the DNS well before WC.
I was not aware that WorldCall had a officially-sanctioned monopoly in Karachi. It was my impression that the magnitude of the project (around $250m by some estimates) was keeping others at bay. I have personally used Dancom’s DSL service – it costs a fortune, but the performance is fairly reliable.
The government should take action (through PTCL) to bring down DSL rates in the country, for the ‘larger interest for promoting information technology in the country.’ With some fearless execution by some private DSL operators, DSL (over PTCL’s existing last-mile connections) should give WorldCall a serious run for its money.
cyber and the rest of the fucking gang pay you guys well to spoil the name of worldcall they are still the only good solution in pakistan
damn wish cyber would at least give me free hours for all the time i have to use dialup while wc is not working….
and if you actually read the whole article, you might just see that I SAID that wc is the only feasible option in Pakistan AT THE MOMENT. Sadly enough, the primary reason for that is not that WC is good enough, but it’s the ONLY option.
You think worldcall in karachi is bad ? Think Again . WC in lahore is far worse . They have blocked all good p2p’s so that users cant consume the bandwith they pay for . They have blocked all torrents . The VAS have not been updated for 8 months and are down most of the time .
Gaming servers have high pings and are over crowded and they sieze every oppurtunity to block any thing that would give the users the liberty to use the bandwith they paid for . This has to stop . Unfotunately there is not alternative to WC .
visit the Worldcall Community Forums at : http://www.wccforums.com , which is well an anti-wc commusnity .
wccforums isnt exactly anti Worldcall, but they have created a little sensation in Lahore, their official claim is that its just a gathering place for “free speech”. i have been a member there for two months, its hangout for pc junkies from all over the country. overall its a real nice place, people are really friendly and all your questions get answered.
I recently saw promotional banners for WC BB services in PECHS area. Luckily, I have read the artile in Spider about their QOS and decided to Google for some more feedback before subscribing….good thing I did. Looks like I’ll stay with dialup access for some more time.
i am suprised that worldcall doesnt care about its customers. i guess they are not interested in taking care of their customers needs. they should remember that the bulk of their revenue comes from them. they wont be able to establish a brand name that way.
they charge around 1500 bucks for a 64 k broadband (yeah rite) connection. i can get a 1.5 mb connection for around the same price (singaporean dollars) in singapore.
wccforums isnt a anti worldcall forum
i was one of the first users of worldcall in lahore and was one of the first ten ppl to use the VAS services
at that time karachi and lahore were linked and pings were 100max on gaming servers if a khi person joined the lahore server, now its like 500+ping,
and the local pings reach 100 with massive packetloss at a lot of times, sundays the servers are down, and since worldcall lahore has shifted under go4b. the condition has worsened
theres no local FTP in lahore, but it exists in karachi, intra wc user speeds are sucky, no p2p, no torrents,
their site has not been updated for some thing like 8months, their FORUMS are finished
so thats why the lahore users set up their own forum
http://www.wccforums.com
its one of the best places to get information and the ppl are extrememly friendly. its not at all an ANTI – Worldcall forum but i do agree that ppl do flame towards wc, this is because they give a very pathetic service, ppl should join the wccforums to see wat its all about, its got tonnes of info and every body there is always ready to help u out
PEACE
You do of course realise that if you all dislike it so much, you don’t *have* to use it. I mean, the terms are pretty clear on the service agreement (in terms of bandwidth per person, etc., e.g. the 10 to 1 user contention rate). While I do sympathise with the desire for better, shinier, newer stuff, I have trouble with the self-pity that everyone seems to be indulging in; “Oh boo-hoo, I pay for WorldCALL and they’re so bad to me!!!”…then don’t use them, end of story! And if you *do* continue to use them, then suck it up…you know what you’re doing, and it’s not like you’re being forced into anything.
Also KO, they do have the legal right to cut connectivity. Check the ToS agreement; they reserve the right to cancel service at any point without providing notice, but as someone who’s interacted with them extensively now, I have to say that their service and helpfulness have skyrocketed (disconnections have come for a variety of reasons, but there are good reasons for them). I’m actually planning to write another article for SPIDER to counter some of my past statements about the company, if only to reflect the improvements in their service.
Comment posted by me to the WC forums in Sept 04:
bq.. Dear Qos, Over the last SIX MONTHS I’ve sent about 30 odd emails to this address. The emails have not bounced back, so I assume they have arrived. To be on the safe safe, I even resent a few of them using various email services. I have not yet received any reply from this or any other email address. (except for Mr. Waqas, who has replied once, but did not actually answer or solve any of the issues listed in the email).
Regardless, it is highly unprofessional and smacks of dowright incompetence to not reply to various emails over the last SIX MONTHS. I have a record of all emails sent to you which I can mail to you if your email service is so broken.
Even the worst govt. services manage to respond in a six month period… so while I have given up by now of expecting anything at all from this company, I am still curious as to what exactly is going on at your end.
I would also like to bring this issue to the notice of the higher mangement – for while I can understand slow internet speeds and high latency, and wait till things improve, this repeated ignoring of customer feedback is a far more serious issue which indicates something seriously wrong with the way the organization is being run.
p. Another:
bq.. after repeatedly advertising an email address as one to which one can email about service related issues, they seem to have routed it directly to the trash.
I have paid them 4-5 visits or so – don’t have the time to go more often. Throughout the business world, an email is enough. Whether they are understaffed and so on is really not my problem – at the least I expected a response. Even one saying “We’ll get back to you in a month when we have time” would be acceptable.
While service is getting better over time, I figure it is my particular connection or area which has some problem so I get a worser internet experience than most of the other users on the WC forums. I figure one fine day it’ll either get fixed or I’ll cancel it, whichever comes first, but this email business (and other issues) has really left a bad taste in my mouth, and firmly established WorldCall as the very worst ISP I’ve ever used in Pakistan.
The thing is, I’ve had more than a ‘few’ problems. My internet is still unusable for simple stuff like sending email with small attachments under 100kb using web based email services like gmail, which works just fine on dialup. International ftp connections don’t work either – I sometimes do website work and that requires uploading/downloading a number of small files. It just doesn’t work. Assumptions by the WC tech people that the fault must lie at my end has also gotten annoying after six months, expecially considering I have both a hardware and software firewall, and am running linux on one pc and winxp on the other. Linux systems aren’t prone to systematic failures or have any viruses yet, or require reboots – try explaining that to WC tech.
p. M. Siddiqui, where I live, currently there are no alternatives. I am getting a new phone line so I’ll be finished with WC sooner or later. However, a number of my relatives had also fallen for WC’s false advertising and gotten it, so on their behalf I’ve had to deal with WC a few times, and will have to do so again. Thankfully, most of them have cancelled their connections, and by the way things are going the others will also. (5 out of 8). While I agree with you that their service has improved, it’s still not consistent over different areas, so some get a better connection than others.
Self-pity? – I’ve just stated my opinion of WC’s service – If it worked better than I would have urged everyone I know to sign up for it. Anything is better than dialup, and considering WC is the first and only internet company offering narrowband at decent rates its going to get far more scrutiny than the others to follow. If there were choices, than I’d just have written a short note and then moved on. Some have assumed that I’ve bashed WC because I don’t like them, but I’ve actually been very pro WC from well before they started.
Corrections WCCF was never an “anti WC” forum. The intention of the owners of this forum was to bring the WC users together on an unbiased and completely open forum. WC LHR took almost four months to reinitialize their forums after a vB hacked forum completely collapsed and died on them due to lack of interest and commitment. The forums run by WC were not even publically available on the internet. It was the brain child of a few enterprising individuals who undertook the task of reviving the rather dying breed.
Sure the members of this community at times can be found dissing WC for their lack of service but isnt that their right as customers. People spend their hard earned money for a better internet service only to find that their beloved WC has so conveniently disconnected their connection citing their overuse of bandwidth as the main reason. As rightly pointed out the only reason people are sticking to WC is not their service (by a long way off) but the fact that it is the only choice available to us.
worldcall is very pathetic…
their service is very poor…
its not even proper true broadband… its like a 56k connection on steroids…
2ndly.. wccf is a good and nice place to hang out.. but the reason of its coming into existence was the anarchy in the official forums of worldcall…
the official forum software was said to be pirated and it got corrupt… and for more then 2 months.. wordcall dint do anything…. so wccf came into existence.. however now tht official forums have been restored.. wccf still continues but not as a anti-wc or a rivalry to the official forums.. but very much the post by dabinska…
currently the vas service is very poor… though they have imporved a lot
they have mirrored the lhr vas site with khi.. but the khi site is still capped … and lhr users cant access the servers of the khi vas….
the vdo/mp3 section is better then the old one… but it has loads of dead links and every week the database gets corrupt… the previous ones had not much material.. but the layout was much simple and it lacked a search feature….
and to get a official emaill address @magic.net.pk
u have to continously call them for a week to remind them to make it…
bottomline: wc.. a lot poorer then any other below average isp in terms of customer service… as well as internet services… the only thing tht keeps at least ME intact is that considering my usage… 1060 per month is very economical compard to dialup.. (its 1200permonth.. but i paid for 6 months to get a 10percent discount)
as Dabinska said… WCCF.COM is not anti-worldcall ….. we just wanted a reliable forum where we could speak our mind…
Cybernet has started ADSL service for home users. they check your existing telephone line and if appropriate install a DSL modem. the price is resonable. installation and modem costs 6500 Rs. then for 64K the monthly charge is 1575 Rs. i have not used the service but i hope it will be better then others.
i recently installed an ISDN internet on my friend house. nowadays ISDN line don’t cost much you can convert your telephone to ISDN for only 700 Rs. I got 30 hours for ISDN 64K from supernet. they have expiry of 60 days. internet was quick but not what i expected. may be because supernet was not giving full 64K. downloads were at 7-10K/sec. my dial up cybernet connection gives 5-6K/sec.
lets hope for the better
i’ve been a worldcall user for 4 months now. i have had no significant problems with their speeds.. and contrary to the opinion of some, the speed is quite consistent. using opera browser, i can simultaneously open around 30 webpages with no choking. i cannot shift back to dialup. simply the thought of dialing a connection everytime i reboot (or turn on my pc) is horrific.
VAS is pretty good.. saves me around 1000 quids that i used to spend monthly on renting latest movies. so there, a lone satisfied customer.. me 🙂
I have heard rumours of satisfied customers, so good to hear confirmation of this! I am still stuck with the same crappy service as noted above. I am now investigating into Cybernet’s DSL service, which looks quite tempting at the price noted above.
Guys.. most of you are talking about WC and QOS in karachi. Someone did mention something about WS QOS in Lahore which is exactly what I exprienced when I was there. The main issues I saw were Availablity and speed.But I will have to live with as WC seems to be only option. But now I am thinking.. Is It?
Does anyone know of any other ISP for high speed internet in Lahore (we really call it enhanced Speed dialup internet and not high speed)
I was wondering if WC lahore also blocks voip? or 5060?
Can anyone post there traceroute to yahoo.com?
what datarate usually u guys get?
Thanks.
oh wow – this is quite an interesting debate, and I am somewhat surprised by some of the comments here. Like most of the WC customers, I also think that WC totally SUCKS! I completely disagree with M. Siddiqui, who is under the impression that people should simply “suck it up”! Oh Please! They only way companies like WC can actually “learn” and improve their services is to listen to their customers and addressing their concers instead of ignoring them. And YES, our good-for-nothing government should make sure that companies like WC are in check and help promote competition without accepting any kick-backs (yea right).
I encourage everyone to share their thoughts and experiences instead of just sucking it up!
travler: I totally agree with you, except the government ensuring that companies like WC are in check – competition will make them improve or go bankrupt sooner or later, and it’ll be far more effective than regulatory action.
thanx u guys.. i was about to buy the WC connection but after reading these articles … m fairly happy with my dailup:)
WC Cable Net: If you consider performance and professionalism then WC is far behind the cable operators of areas like Lalu-Khet and Orangi Town. They even don’t know, how to prove their services. They are just making money and they should be ashamed of what they are doing. It seems that WC does not want to work in Pakistan in near future.
I’ve met three small cable operators, and all three were impressively clued up on computers and networking. One was running his own custom linux distro which was functioning as a load balancing firewall/router. A company like WC looking to take over the whole country should buy out a few of these small companies and use their expertise.
WorldCALL sucks, thats a fact, i was searching for some GO4B FONE, when i came across this page, and m quiet happy to see ppl discussing WC and its issues, nice attempt KO. I am a WC Lahore user for more than 2 yrs now, and I am not satisfied. Why i am using it? cuz i dont have to do that dialup thing, and my fone line remains free (but it doesnt saves me any fone bills, cuz then i use both the net and my fone for calls and stuff). In Lahore they are SIMPLY not giving any VAS, which previously did with much neat and simple interface, but that time, Updating was major issue, NOW, VAS availability is main issue for Lhr users. Their Gaming servers are most of the time DOWN, and their Customer service Helpline is pathetic, If u want to register your call after 12AM nite, forget it, cuz yr call simply wont b picked up, when asked, they say there’s only one guy at that time, he cant answer all calls. In daytime, u havto wait a long time, after which the AVR tells u to record a message or get lost, and yr calls goes waste (who’s gonna pay for all those calls to helpline?) Speed is not much of an issue here, it gives from 5-6K, which is a bit better then dialup (3-4K). Intresting thing is, that WorldCALL never even bothered to re-consider their pricing even after numrous times of slashing down bandwidth rates by the PTCL, they are continuosly charging us and sucking our blood just like they were 2-3yrs back… without any kind of hesitation. I was about to shift to PTCL’s DSL service (Rs 888/month with 1Gb limit) but that 1GB limit stopped me, which disturbs if you are fond of downloading a lot from net. I am still waitin for NEXLINX’s Home DSL service, for which they’ve been advertising for a lot of time now, even in mags like Spider, but everytime i call, they tell me that they’ve got issues to settle with PTCL, and stuff i never heard from anyone else against PTCL. 🙂 All i can say is that commenting here wont do WORLDCALL any harm or good, out of so many ppl, only 2 were satisfied.. is that a good ratio! its time for WorldCALL to re-plan everything from scratch..
Comments on this entry are now closed. Please use the ‘tech forums’:http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/forums for any further discussion regarding WorldCall.