Vodacom vs RIM on BlackBerry overbilling problems: who is to blame?

[BGE]

One more point, I guess it's technologically impossible to re-route traffic on the internet apn if the user is a bis subscriber... or is it just convenient to leave it that way? And by convenient I mean profitable.

[Beri]

Why was it possible for kids to download 300gig and not paying for it????

[Pada]

Also worth while to note: You can only have 1 APN active at once. Meaning that if an app changes you to 'billed' internet, all your other apps may also use this billed internet.

Shame, vodacom are taking a brand beating these days...

Are you sure about this?

We're setting the APN in our application (and not in the phone's settings), and it is only supposed to be for that application and not affect the rest of the applications. I can ask our developer to just double-check if this is true what you said.

[Pada]

One more point, I guess it's technologically impossible to re-route traffic on the internet apn if the user is a bis subscriber... or is it just convenient to leave it that way? And by convenient I mean profitable.

Not at all. This is why users are getting billed when they thought that all their traffic must pass through BIS.

[BGE]

Pada, from what Jannie said I'd have to assume it's true, cause he indicated that the next os version of BB will allow simultaneous connections on both APN's. So I'd assume that currently only one can run at a time. So what happens if you are running an app on the internet apn, and say a email sync runs? Does it revert to BIS and stop the internet apn conn(and dependent apps), or does the sync run over the available open conn? I'd assume the latter.

[Ockie]

I accept I'm wrong, I used a BB device for 2 months while my previous handset was being repaired, no matter what I did it wouldn't connect to anything other than the BIS services... and I'm no computer doffie!

I think VC needs to start preparing for damage control!

For the phone to work services like your email and BBM and appworld...you need the service books...and to get the service books, you need BIS. Once you have the service books, then it will connect to BIS. But if a app tells the phone to route its specific data via the internet APN instead of the blackberry.net apn...then the phone will do this and you will be charged for that app data.

[burn]

I had the same problem - my non-BIS charges cost me more than my BIS in the first place. Vodacom attributes this to "usage of applications such as Whatsapp". According to some guy at the Data call center, some releases of Whatsapp were faulty and did not use the correct ports for connectivity, or something to that effect.

What a lame excuse.

Except that it's 100% true.

Lame excuse indeed.

How do you know that the customer was even using a faulty version of the app? Do you just assume the customer is at fault and not your system/attitude?

Maybe you could at least warn customers which apps and which versions are faulty? Making any kind of effort to inform the customer would be better than taking the money and hiding behind these excuses.

Anyone experiencing these rogue apps on other network?

Not sure why I care so much, I left Vodacom. It was a good decision.

[Nerfherder]

I still find it ridiculous that users want to pay R59/m for uncapped data on cellphone in SA and then moan when they get charged like the rest of us.

Well that's what we signed up for, so if you find it ridiculous then so be it.

Oh and its not "uncapped data", its unlimited access to the the BIS apn.

[bwana]

Or maybe they do but they just deal with them better? Take 8ta for example who gives subscribers extra data specifically for youtube.

BTW I probably should acknowledge that while what I said [currently] true it's part of 8ta's blackberry promotion - if/when they yank it they'll most likely experience the same difficulties that vodacom is.

How do MTN and CellC deal with the problem?

[grim]

FFS are you kidding me? Then they should never have sold the f'ing product oh and what is so special about having dial up speeds of 14.4k?

Unlimited BROWSING != UNCAPPED INTERNET

[Jan]

Why, as the article points out, is it just a Vodacom thing? None of the other networks have this problem. And surely those BB users all use apps like Youtube; Whatsapp; etc and still continue to work perfectly?

The article quotes the new RIM Southern Africa MD as saying that. I have seen similar complaints from MTN and Cell C users, so this being a Vodacom-only problem isn't necessarily a fact.

8ta appears to get around the problem by giving subscribers 500MB a month for "YouTube usage". Perhaps this is being used by ill-behaved apps?

[jannievanzyl]

This Vodacom Rep doesn't seem to be addressing the glaring fact that it ONLY seems to be happening on Vodacom?

Nope, this rep fully understands how BIS works and what I described applies to all networks. It's the app developer that decides, not the network.

[BGE]

When these apps opt to connect via the internet APN, data charges will be incurred. The network has no control over this. This is therefore not a Vodacom issue and especially not a Vodacom billing issue but just the way BIS works.

Jannie this statement must be one of the worse from a Vodacom spokesperson I read in quite some time. Stating that the network has no control over it is a blatant lie. And then, on top of that, to then claim it's not a VC billing issue... it sure does lead to a Vodacom client billing issue... not so?

I've posted this article on FB, hopefully many of my friends and family using BIS will be educated and will pass it on!

[Mr.CookieMonster]

It seems we have another BlackBerry Fail.

[jannievanzyl]

Then why do the networks including Vodacom allow the provisioning of all other than "Blackberry.net APN" on these devices without a warning system to alert users if the device uses any other APN than the "Blackberry.net APN" ? Just one of many reasons not use a BB and rather add a data bundle to your SIM, end of billing disputes.

The 'warning system' is something the app developer can choose to implement or not. Many apps do. Many don't.

The networks (or RIM) don't write the apps.