[imagesource:mybroadband]

So, did you come here because you don’t know what iBurst is either?

They’re an Internet service provider (ISP), pal, or rather they were.

At midnight last week they pulled the plug after 13 years in the game, issuing this statement via their company website:

“The iBurst Wireless Network will officially shut down at midnight on the 31st August 2017. After that date iBurst customers who have not migrated to LTE-A are advised to contact our selection of channel partners,” a notice on the company’s website read.

The site is also offering customers a last chance to purchase LTE-A packages before midnight.

It’s quite a fall from grace for a company that was a game changer when it first hit the scene. MyBroadband below:

When iBurst unveiled its 1Mbps wireless broadband products in 2004, they were the fastest broadband services in South Africa.

The service used IEEE 802.20 or Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) technology, which was developed by ArrayComm and optimised the use of bandwidth with the help of smart antennas.

Kyocera was the manufacturer of iBurst devices, and supplied South Africa with iBurst desktop modems.

The technology never achieved large-scale mainstream adoption, however, and stopped being actively developed.

While South African iBurst users could receive speeds of up to 2Mbps, the technology fell behind HSPA, LTE, and LTE-A.

With Rain rolling out an LTE-A network, there was no reason to keep the legacy iBurst network active.

Existing iBurst subscribers were moved to the Rain LTE-A network or given the option of letting their contract terminate.

But what does it all mean, Basil?

I don’t know, we use RSAWEB, max out on that fibre and live like kings.

[sources:mybroadband&fin24]