3g/GPRS not charging

Gizmo Gomez

Gizmo Gomez

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:confused: hey all, i have a family topup acc with vodacom. for about three mnths now ive been downloading +/- 200 mb a month.

ive noticed that i dont get billed directly to my 135.00 airtime,neither do i get a seperate bill for data charges like my friends do (they're on proper contracts with my meg bundles).

as far as i know i've done evrything correctly as far as getting my gprs settings from vodacom etc. has anyone else experienced this?
 
by asking my apn i take it the number i dial to log on?
im currently using bluetooth dongle via my phone to access the net and the default dialling no is *99***1#. i dont need to enter a user name or password to log on, it just connects straight away. i am using the mms,gprs settings from vodacoms hybrid menu (*111#) and have a 3g phone Samsung zv10 Vodafone Live!
 
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Gizmo Gomez said:
by asking my apn i take it the number i dial to log on?
im currently using bluetooth dongle via my phone to access the net and the default dialling no is *99***1#. i dont need to enter a user name or password to log on, it just connects straight away. i am using the mms,gprs settings from vodacoms hybrid menu (*111#) and have a 3g phone Samsung zv10 Vodafone Live!
Click to expand...
Have a look for an APN setting on your phone's 1st connection profile...
 
all i can find is:

Set name = vodacom
access name=internet
Auth type=none
ptotocol=http
proxy address= 196.6. blah blah
port=8080

Hope this helps...cant seem to find much in the phone menu
 
Gizmo Gomez said:
...
access name=internet
...
Click to expand...
My guess is that that is the same as APN [Access Point Name]. Well it still doesn't make sense though as to how you're not being billed for your data usage...maybe someone else is being billed...v3g?
 
im using windows xp pro with ie 5 i think, and just intalled firefox which has made no difference.
i downloaded about 400mb thru my 3g lastnight and not a cent was billed.
i'm very confused as to why, because i dont get any extra part on my statement for data usage.
 
Thanx Gizmo for being honest dude, im sure something will be sorted out.
 
Prepaid 3G charges

I have a friend who works for Vodacom in Cape Town. His duty is to test prepaid 3G services. Basically, he gets a laptop and a 3G sim card which is loaded with prepaid airtime. He logs his internet usage and then checks whether he gets charged or not.

Lucky soul isn't he - has has 14GB to waste and he doesn't know what more to download.

The point is, he has mentioned to me that there are flaws in the Vodacom billing system and sometime it does not pick up your data usage, so you are not billed for it. Whilst they are trying to locate such bugs, it is their policy not to charge the customer for such "errors".
 
well obviously that is my main concern, i mean i dont want to recieve a bill in a few months suddenly telling me i owe a hundred grand for data charges!!!

i am very interested to know though as to how many other people on family topup have got this "problem" or at least have experienced this and what they have done as a solution.
Another thing is regardless of the method i am using to connect to the internet, whether it be usb cable, BT dongle, or built in phone browser i have never been charged.Surely there must be some way the isp can detect this data being sent and recieved?
 
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Don't get me wrong i'm enjoying the usage while it's lasting but i'm very worried about the lagality of this situation? :confused:
 
It wouldn't surprise me if Vodacom does this on purpose, that is randomly "disable" the billing system. Think of the word of mouth advertising. Some would sign up hoping to not get billed either. Once they are billed, they are already with VC and wouldn't switch so easily to another provider.
 
ajax said:
It wouldn't surprise me if Vodacom does this on purpose, that is randomly "disable" the billing system. Think of the word of mouth advertising. Some would sign up hoping to not get billed either. Once they are billed, they are already with VC and wouldn't switch so easily to another provider.
Click to expand...
LOL, I doubt it - IMO what's driving Vodacom's data customer-base growth, is simply Telkodemonopolies' inability to supply ADSL within a reasonable time period, and for low data usage, 3G|HSDPA does work out cheaper than ADSL - even at Vodacom's higher HSDPA tariff.
 
ajax said:
It wouldn't surprise me if Vodacom does this on purpose, that is randomly "disable" the billing system. Think of the word of mouth advertising. Some would sign up hoping to not get billed either. Once they are billed, they are already with VC and wouldn't switch so easily to another provider.
Click to expand...

Will pass your idea on to the marketing guys...:)
 
LOL! I doubt its a marketing stategy, its a link problem, as you know V/live browsing is free, so sometimes It doesnt recognise which portals being used.
As for you being billed later, thats incorrect, you wont you cant...

If you have a V/live handset, download something around 1MB every week at different times of the day, make sure your internet profile is on V/live make a note of it, then check your bill, it happens quite often ;)

One problem i Have Mr V3G, I have a data bundle, but when browsing V/live Kb get deducted from my bundle, its not a big problem, I hardly use that thing, but its still something to check out for
 
But that brings me to my next argument! How do Vodacom distinguish between whats actually been downloaded and what is just "browsing". I mean even when a person is just browsing he/she is technically sending and recieving data, just by double clicking the status icon in ur taskbar u can see this! When a page is viewed it is actually being downloaded! So what baffles me is how they can say "browsing" is free?
It counts as data usage and therefore is charged for is'nt it?
 
Gizmo Gomez said:
But that brings me to my next argument! How do Vodacom distinguish between whats actually been downloaded and what is just "browsing". I mean even when a person is just browsing he/she is technically sending and recieving data, just by double clicking the status icon in ur taskbar u can see this! When a page is viewed it is actually being downloaded! So what baffles me is how they can say "browsing" is free?
It counts as data usage and therefore is charged for is'nt it?
Click to expand...

Firewall is configured to only allow webtraffic, since other programs usually use different ports (almost always) its easily controlled
 
Reminds me of my good ol V800... had free 3G access till it short circuited... probly did quite a few gigs with it :)
 
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