GPRS outside Potch.

[Deonlr]

Hi All,

I hope this is the correct forum; I'm an MTN customer, so here goes.
I will be spending some time in the ‘bundus’ outside Potchefstroom. I need to be able to access my email without having to drive into town every day. From the posts I gather that my only possible solution is GPRS (coverage). The signal is very week at the site; please advise what the best option is for a handset with an external antenna connection, and what the best external antenna is.

Thanks,
Deon.

[MTNBroadband]

I have asked an antenna company with gprs and 3g experience to advise (www.conigma.com)

[conigma]

Hi Deon

What handset/device are you using? what type of connector does it use?

[nicroets]

From the EDGE pricing thread :

In October last year we upgraded the final few sites to give full GPRS coverage

[ajax]

From previous posts on this forum, if you get even 1 bar of signal, you should get 8 kbps per timeslot, so 32 kbps on a handset that can do 4 timeslots, and 24kbps on a handset that can do 3 timslots. Most handsets do 3 or 4 timeslots.

In my experience, when you are out in the bundus, 1 bar performs a lot better than in the cities, at least on voice - probably less interference in the bundus.

[Deonlr]

Thanks for the replies guys. MTNBB I looked at the site and found antennas (thanks!), now I just need advice on a mobile phone with an external antenna connector or a PCMCIA GSM card that can handle an external antenna (preferably). The GSM signal is very weak, causing intermittent voice comms, the external antenna will be a requirement.

[MTNHandsets]

There are not too many new handsets that come out with external antenna connectors at the moment. The need for this in the past was generally for the external antenna installed with your car kit. The availability of cheaper Bluetooth car kits is removing the need for this, so your best bet is a data card. There are some new handsets that still support this, so let me know if you would like a list and I can get one for you.

In terms of data cards, the two we are currently distributing - the Sierra Wireless AirCard 775 and the Sony Ericsson GC85 - both will support an external antenna. These cards are both EDGE capable too...

[Deonlr]

Thanks MTNBB, a list of phones will be a great help. Can I get the cards from any MTN dealer? I need to upgrade my phone, so if the cost of the cards are too high I might stick with using the phone and Bluetooth.