got my card

[mc721221]

got my card a hour ago. just waiting for the SIM card to be activated :)

[rpm]

Hi MC721221

It will be great if you can let us know how the service performs. If you see your way clear to form part of the testing group it will be even better!

Regards,

RPM

[mc721221]

3G is good - GPRS is not bad either. I am only getting a 2/5 signal strength for 3G. GPRS is slower, but better signal strength.

I am in Elardus park Pretoria and here are a few pings:

C:\Documents and Settings\>ping afrihost.co.za

Pinging afrihost.co.za [196.35.64.184] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=352ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=321ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=349ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 196.35.64.184:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 321ms, Maximum = 352ms, Average = 338ms

C:\Documents and Settings\>ping webonline.co.za

Pinging webonline.co.za [196.7.217.137] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 196.7.217.137: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=244
Reply from 196.7.217.137: bytes=32 time=404ms TTL=244
Reply from 196.7.217.137: bytes=32 time=323ms TTL=244
Reply from 196.7.217.137: bytes=32 time=363ms TTL=244

Ping statistics for 196.7.217.137:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 323ms, Maximum = 404ms, Average = 355ms

C:\Documents and Settings\>ping hetzner.co.za

Pinging hetzner.co.za [196.7.147.101] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 196.7.147.101: bytes=32 time=360ms TTL=242
Reply from 196.7.147.101: bytes=32 time=359ms TTL=242
Reply from 196.7.147.101: bytes=32 time=358ms TTL=242
Reply from 196.7.147.101: bytes=32 time=468ms TTL=242

Ping statistics for 196.7.147.101:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 358ms, Maximum = 468ms, Average = 386ms

[mc721221]

One of the problems is that Vodacom can't tell me how much "pro-rata" bandwidth I have left this month. I only got the card today and don't know how much I have. At R10 per MB, I'm not feeling to brave ;)

They still don't know after 45 min on the phone. :(

[hArTh]

Jeez those pings look crap for an empty network.

Please ping:
news.bbc.co.uk
www.google.com

And do some download tests, local e.g. SAIX's test and internatinal e.g. DSL reports.

Any evidence of shaping? i.e. comapare http downloads to torrent speeds.

[mc721221]

The GPRS is even worse :(

Pinging afrihost.co.za [196.35.64.184] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=806ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=600ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=551ms TTL=56
Reply from 196.35.64.184: bytes=32 time=546ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 196.35.64.184:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 546ms, Maximum = 806ms, Average = 625ms

[Strobemeister]

geez, pinging local, and it sux, have a bash at international.

[mc721221]

GPRS 03:20

Pinging simtel.wip.digitalriver.com [209.87.181.103] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.87.181.103: bytes=32 time=1061ms TTL=236
Reply from 209.87.181.103: bytes=32 time=803ms TTL=236
Reply from 209.87.181.103: bytes=32 time=800ms TTL=236
Reply from 209.87.181.103: bytes=32 time=814ms TTL=236

Ping statistics for 209.87.181.103:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 800ms, Maximum = 1061ms, Average = 869ms



Sorry, but no 3G coverage at home. (I'm 20 KM east of Pretoria city centre.)

[Decotey]

wot made u go to vodacoms 3g? The mobility? I dont think this package is targetted at the average home internet user

[mc721221]

I needed a connection at home. Telscum has removed all of our copper cables and the only connections I had was satellite and 18kbps on Telscum's DECT phone system.

I only live 20 KM from Pretoria City centre and I don't have copper! Sentech and WBS are not interested in offering coverage in my area :(

To top it all - there is no 3G coverage here either. I signed up and they said they only approve applications that have 3G coverage - well they lied - I'm on GPRS :(

(I hear a lot of bitching on this forum about ADSL pricing - Those users don't have a clue how lucky they are to have a connection, let alone broadband for a mere R1000 per month)

[hArTh]

To top it all - there is no 3G coverage here either. I signed up and they said they only approve applications that have 3G coverage - well they lied - I'm on GPRS :(



wow ... owned.

I'snt GPRS much more expensive than 3G per mb? :eek:

[mc721221]

GPRS and 3G cost the same per MB on the 3G contract. The first GIG is included - whether it is 3G or GPRS.

[aborg]

ouch - this doesn't sound like competition for any of the other broadband offerings - like was said not aimed at average user.

[Chris]

That is so cheap, 1gig with GPRS is included in the cap, I have to say that I'm totally shocked at this, I mean I thought Telscum would be the worst, but this tops the icing on the cake.

[mc721221]

Vodacom sucks!

It's 6 emails and 3 days later and they can't tell me how much data I have left this month!

[mc721221]

The downside of WBS and Sentech is there very limited coverage. The upside of vodacom is that you have limited 3G coverage, but you are covered almost everywhere else in the country with GPRS. I must say that it is not an entirely unpleasant experience to use 3G in areas where there is coverage. I even managed to log onto the odd game server ;) I make a living off the net, so the 3G option currently makes the most sense for me.

I have noticed that WBS, Sentech and Vodacom are all covering the same areas in Pretoria. (WBS and Sentech are possible even sharing the same towers ;)) The problem is that they are covering areas where everybody has access to ADSL, ISDN and Analog connections.

The sad part of the whole story is that they don't cover the new East where most of the money in Pretoria is. These are the people that can afford their service and and actually want their service.(a recent survey said the most money in Gauteng is in Pretoria East.)

[rabbiddog]

I got 3G last week, went to Rustenburg for Christmas (on the edge of Rustenburg) and got 3G coverage. At home where my cell phone signal is bad, 3G runs great ( I thought I would get no signal). The help desk even answered my queries on Christmas day