Clarity on not so cheap Virgin packages!

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Uli

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I am currently looking at MNP and new contracts and have come to the conclusion that Virgin Mobile might even cost you more than other Mobile operators as well as not even getting a new mobile phone! If you spend R150 monthly on Virgin (Exclude a new Mobile) you will get only approx 86min on V0 plan and approx 91min on V100 plan. The only up side to it all is that you wont have a contract and have the chance to move to other networks when ever you want.This shows us that for the same amount of money you are able to get a mobile worth round about +- R3500 to R4500 and you will receive say 120 off peak minutes or 85 off-peak and 15 peak or even R170 to use as you like for R150. I think Virgin need to have a good look at what they are really offering us all. Now the thing is that if you amount a phone of +- R3000 to virgins plan you will end up paying an extra R125 per month for 24 months. That means that you'd be paying a whopping R225 per month on V100 and R150 on V0 plans (on both V0 and V100 plan we are excluding the amount of airtime to be spent witch is R150 and calculated on munimum payment needed.) So adding the R150 to both plans for the use of airtime we end up paying R275 on V100 and V0 per month for a period of 24 months. The up side again , YOU DON'T HAVE A A CONTRACT. But you still end up paying more that the other providers. That means now you have the choice of either going for a package of R150 or to compare Virgin to the other providers you now have R275 per month to spend. That means that you now can go get your self a high end contract with a great phone for the same amount of money, compared to Virgin's R3000 Phone and less airtime. So it all boils down to is if you want a 24month contract or not, both come at a price the contract you still end up getting more for your money but you cant leave the operator until the end of your term and virgin's you end up getting less for your money but you are able to leave when you want to. Lets see what everybody else Thinks.
 
Of course. That is the entire point. A cellphone operator will obviously give you many benefits to signing your life away to them for 2 years. Now at least we have the option not to
 
You always had the option. In Pre paid. The argument is that virgin is trying to compete with the others but they still not close enough. They are under!
 
I still preffer my vodacom contract... dos not mean i HAVE to use it... paying R135, getting a good phone and 120 free minutes is all worth it to me
 
Uli said:
I am currently looking at MNP and new contracts and have come to the conclusion that Virgin Mobile might even cost you more than other Mobile operators as well as not even getting a new mobile phone! If you spend R150 monthly on Virgin (Exclude a new Mobile) you will get only approx 86min on V0 plan and approx 91min on V100 plan. The only up side to it all is that you wont have a contract and have the chance to move to other networks when ever you want.This shows us that for the same amount of money you are able to get a mobile worth round about +- R3500 to R4500 and you will receive say 120 off peak minutes or 85 off-peak and 15 peak or even R170 to use as you like for R150. I think Virgin need to have a good look at what they are really offering us all. Now the thing is that if you amount a phone of +- R3000 to virgins plan you will end up paying an extra R125 per month for 24 months. That means that you'd be paying a whopping R225 per month on V100 and R150 on V0 plans (on both V0 and V100 plan we are excluding the amount of airtime to be spent witch is R150 and calculated on munimum payment needed.) So adding the R150 to both plans for the use of airtime we end up paying R275 on V100 and V0 per month for a period of 24 months. The up side again , YOU DON'T HAVE A A CONTRACT. But you still end up paying more that the other providers. That means now you have the choice of either going for a package of R150 or to compare Virgin to the other providers you now have R275 per month to spend. That means that you now can go get your self a high end contract with a great phone for the same amount of money, compared to Virgin's R3000 Phone and less airtime. So it all boils down to is if you want a 24month contract or not, both come at a price the contract you still end up getting more for your money but you cant leave the operator until the end of your term and virgin's you end up getting less for your money but you are able to leave when you want to. Lets see what everybody else Thinks.
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One thing to bear in mind with VM, is that it is per second billing from the 1st second. So if you make 100 30sec calls you will be only charged for 50 minutes, whereas on the MTN or other contracts you will have used 100 of your 'Free' minutes.
 
stvfry said:
One thing to bear in mind with VM, is that it is per second billing from the 1st second. So if you make 100 30sec calls you will be only charged for 50 minutes, whereas on the MTN or other contracts you will have used 100 of your 'Free' minutes.
Click to expand...

Not true as these "Free" minutes are also billed "per second".....
 
I did a very thorough analysis and except for a few specials, VM beats all on cost basis. I took my itemised bills and ran them though the model - you can't go more accurate. I used V100plan as a basis. Consider buying a phone cash (eg CaCell.co.za) and using VM, funding the phone from savings on call cost. Only at R600+ per month usage does the equation change somewhat.
 
I am sorry but I don't believe that.
What does my story tell you?
 
Anyway CACELL not that much cheaper. Some are actually more expensive than virgin plus some are demo's. Sorry but try again!
 
brad said:
Not true as these "Free" minutes are also billed "per second".....
Click to expand...

On MTN Procall 120 you get 120 anytime minutes. Billed for the first minute fully, then in 30sec increments. I'm sorry, but VM beats this hands down.
VM data costs 50c/mb.
Any amount you dont use, get's carried over to the next month.
VM has one rate no matter what network you call, and they have step-down rates after 5 minutes.
Given I already have a phone, VM was the absolute best deal I could find.
Moving from MTN I've cut my cellphone bill from avg R450 to R75.

Your mileage may vary :)
 
stvfry said:
One thing to bear in mind with VM, is that it is per second billing from the 1st second. So if you make 100 30sec calls you will be only charged for 50 minutes, whereas on the MTN or other contracts you will have used 100 of your 'Free' minutes.
Click to expand...

It starts for the first second lol!!
Voda anyway.

There goes your stand on VM!:D
 
If you have to have a r3000 phone over 24 months and know you're going to spend r150 per month on calls then dont use virgin. Different operators cater to different needs and that's a good thing, right? :)
 
stvfry said:
Rubbish, per second only starts after the first minute - certainly is on my MTN and Cell C contracts
Click to expand...
I should have said that the "Free" minutes are billed per second from the first second on Vodacom - cannot comment on MTN and Cell-C.
 
Uli PM me your email; I will send my spreadsheet with the detailed model. I took into account the value of the "free" phone, and per minute/per second/ billing. In my case coming from a 120 minute contract I could easily save and buy the phone I want, which I could not get with a contract renewal.
 
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