Catching the last 10MB in a Voda Data Bundle

[vodacom3g]

Exactly.

My guess is people are just lazy. They want to spoon fed. And when they get asked to take initiative and do things for them self for a change, they called it 'k@k service' and throw their toys out of the cot.

People are indeed lazy. But that's a good thing.

If we were not lazy we would not have invented all this cool technology to make our lives easier. I fully agree that stuff should just work, but (as always) we live in an imperfect world with imperfect systems.

@Steinie and others; I'm not quite sure why it's taking so long. Have asked again.

 

[stoke]

Which, even at out-of-bundle rates only costs R2. So what is the big deal I ask myself?

Colin62, it's like so:

1 - If we do not watch the account, it will chew the remaining balance on the sim card at a rate of R2 per MB, which on a 1MB/s connection is R2 per SECOND. Now, if you had placed the R400 in the account in preparation for purchasing the next bundle .. 400 seconds later, and you're broke, and disconnected.

2 - If we are allowed to turn off the per-second thing, then we cannot use the connection to purchase more bundles if we exceed the bundle throughput limit, which for people like me who are in remote areas, is a complete and utter nuisance.

Now, these 2 problems can be resolved quite easily by allowing us to purchase another bundle earlier. 10MB on a 1MB/s connection is 10 seconds, which can be a bit tight.

It's just uncomfortable, and downright dangerous, where it should instead be useful and comfortable to use.

Questions?

 

[Iam3G]

I'm sure if the Vodacom Programmers put their heads together, they could develop a dashboard specifically designed for Vodacom Data Users, with feature like when you reach exactly 10megs left of your bundle the application asks you wether you want to top up now, you say yes, and and it sends the mymeg 500 sms to 100 thus buying your bundle.

 

[TMoose]

10MB on a 1MB/s connection is 10 seconds, which can be a bit tight.

Actually I think you're confusing Megabytes with Megabits.

What you probably have is a 1.8Mbps HSDPA connection. This is a 1.8 (or 3.6) Megabit connection, not Megabyte.

If you were getting the full line speed on a 3.6Mbps connection (extremely unlikeley) you'd be downloading around 460KB/s which would only use up 10MB in about 22 seconds.

Since you normally only get about 80% of the full line speed anyway in good circumstances a 1Mbps line would download at around 102KB/s and so would take about 1 min 40 seconds to download 10MB.

A 1MB connection would be a 8Mbps connection. While HSDPA 7.2 comes close, it still hasn't been rolled out and will probably only provide half that speed most of the time.

Also, your connection won't be permanently operating at max speed unless you're constantly downloading. So you wouldn't be paying R2 a second anyway, even with a 8Mbps connection. Most servers won't even give you data at those speeds.

 

[Hosehead]

Really? Now why is it that it has never happened to me yet? You cant be completely oblivious to your Data Usage at the time of surfing?

Well I refuse to be made into a paranoid, sweating wreck obsessing over my data usage so yes, I am pretty oblivious to the EXACT usage. In fact I couldn't give a fig.
I check my usage now and then.

 

[Iam3G]

Well I refuse to be made into a paranoid, sweating wreck obsessing over my data usage so yes, I am pretty oblivious to the EXACT usage. In fact I couldn't give a fig.
I check my usage now and then.

So do i and still manage to stay in bundle? Why cant you?

Not even i know my EXACT usage, but i have a rough idea how much i use on average per day.

 

[Steinie]

@Steinie and others; I'm not quite sure why it's taking so long. Have asked again.

Thanks, v3g!

I purchased my new PPDB at 00:15 this morning! Only had 9mb left on the old.

 

[Zax]

People are indeed lazy. But that's a good thing.

If we were not lazy we would not have invented all this cool technology to make our lives easier. I fully agree that stuff should just work, but (as always) we live in an imperfect world with imperfect systems.

@Steinie and others; I'm not quite sure why it's taking so long. Have asked again.

Notwithstanding the disappearance of the 4me site yesterday, v3g you guys are doing a great job! We winge a bit now and then but if you have tried any of this on the MTN network (for instance) you will realise how seriously Vodacom takes the data business! I had the misfortune some months back to have to use an MTN data card - it is a major mission just to find out your balance let alone do anything more fancy!

Keep the pressure on v3g!

 

[Colin62]

Colin62, it's like so:

....

Questions?

Thanks, it makes sense now. I don't use the link to full speeds, and I avoid heavy usage when I'm near the end of my bundle.

I usually use either internet banking, or if the SIM has no airtime, use Standard Bank's pre-paid recharge number from my phone to charge the SIM before buying a bundle. I've also recharged using internet banking from my phone (which has a separate data bundle). In fact I've only ever bought airtime at a shop twice in my life and both those were for my maid, my three kids phones and my data SIM I do from my phone or the Internet, so I do the whole thing without leaving my desk.