Cell C finally lower data tariffs

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biltonguy

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I've been into the whole irc'ing and msn'ing on my fone using gprs lately.
The problem was Cell C was still charging R25 per MB, although its still a lot cheaper than sms'ing! I've been checking thier site often in hopes they would lower data tarrifs, and looks like they have (http://www.cellc.co.za/gprs/smartdata/whatdoesitcost.asp) Thye've brought the cost down to R2 per MB, in-line with mtn and vodacom. Not sure when these prices came into effect though.

Unfortunately Cell C's gprs is pretty ****ty (slow and unrealiable), get on the ball guys! data services are the way of the future!

I want to see a price war in this area, R2 per MB is still way too high.
 
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Great news for Cell C customers. But it just goes to show you how badly we've all been ripped off. I'm sure they're still making a profit at R2 per MB, so I wonder how they can justify charging over 10 times more for the same thing.
 
Ja well, Telkom started the trend of shafting everyone as badly as possible with communication services and everyone follows suit
 
biltonguy said:
I've been into the whole irc'ing and msn'ing on my fone using gprs lately.
Click to expand...

What phone do you use? I would love to get everyone I know to switch from SMS (comparing 25+ cents with <4 cents!) but I am one of the few with a Series60 phone that can use more advance applications. Do you perhaps know of a Java application for the more standard Nokia's (Series 40)?

Oh, and anyone know if these CellC rates are already active?
 
...

Ye the www.agilemobile.com is a sweet app for series 60 fones, but dont support series 40 nokias unfor :(

still trying to find an msn + yahoo app for my nokia 6610i (series 40) fone... havnt looked too hard though so if anyones knows of an app plz let me know. Otherwise i found a good app for Irc called jmIrc - http://jmirc.sourceforge.net/

Have fun. Its so much cheaper than sms'ing, u'll struggle to use 100KB of data on IRC, which is like 20c :D .
 
Cell C is most certainly the most expensive of the 3 networks. The best option is to pay R60 per month and then you pay R1.55 per MByte!
No bundles, nothing. What a ripoff. And only available on contract!
 
I had to wait for my cap to die before searching for apps: IM+ (Instant Message Plus) looks good - Lots of phones supported (including S40). No idea if the S40 works, but the S60 version connects perfectly to my Yahoo account. Problem is: 30$ to buy... :(

Okay, now I only need to find out how much it costs to keep the thing alive (keep the connection to Yahoo) - if it cost more than a few SMS'es a day, then no-go...
 
Thats the thing...

The cool thing about gprs (or 3G) is that you're not charged for duration, only amount of data sent and recieved. So if you spend all day on your yahoo messenger (if you have no friends and no one messages you :D ) its gona cost you next to nothing - like a few cents maybe.
 
I send my 6600 for a software upgrade, now all my apps will be destroyed. I had a wireless irc program but it never worked. if any1 use mirc, yahoo or something like that on a series 60 phone, pls give details to set it up , thx.
 
First: I sent the guys from InstantMessage+ an email, this is their response:

" The best way to measure IM+ Traffic is just to check your connection traffic in protocol of connections in your phone after about an hour of using IM+.

We can provide only approximate values which depend on the fact if your provider counts the net traffic (without IP headers) or not:

10-35 kb to get the contact list upon the initial connection depending on the list size, about 2 kb/h for keep-alive messages (0.2 kb/h, if your provider counts net traffic); about 0,5 kb a for 150 character message (0.4 kb, if your provider counts net traffic); about 0,12 kb for each change of user status in your contact list (0.03 kb, if your provider counts net traffic) "

Second: I checked both AgileMessenger & IM+ myself, it results in around 20KB up and 20KB down per hour, with a few messages sent. Will do more tests. :)
 
hey ppl, well there is a south african site www.mxit.co.za, they have an app for series 60 and series 40 nokia phones, and some others like sony ericsson and samsung etc etc, its an instant messaging program , you can go from cell to cell ( real real cheap) , to msn messenger, and if your offline and get a message, they miss call you so you can go online, i've been using them for a few months now, very handy!

anyone know when cellc will support gprs on payasyougo?
my girlfriend is a cell c sucker, and i wanna get her on this thing too!
 
Cell C Cuts Data Tariffs

In line with the other mobile operators, Cell C has reduced its general packet radio services (GPRS) tariffs by up to 92%, making data services more affordable to its customers.

The price reductions, effective from the beginning of May, affect the company's Smartdata package and are aimed at driving up data traffic and increasing average revenue per user.

The new pricing structure will see the Smartdata Standard offering reduced from R25 to R2 per Megabyte (92% reduction), Smartdata Personal reduced from R17 to R1.75 per MB (90% reduction) and Smartdata Professional reduced from R12.50 to R1.55 per MB, or a reduction of 88%.

"The reduced rates are consistent with our company's brand values of simplicity, value and choice," says Cell C's director of marketing, Simon Camerer.

"Not only are we making data services more affordable, but we have also simplified the billing process by charging customers for GPRS usage per 1Kb."

Camerer says this is another in a line of innovative products - such as per second billing and country's cheapest prepaid voucher, Half Tiger - which Cell C has introduced to the market in the past three years.
 
Thanks bboy!

Man, this looks good. It uses way less KB than the other two apps I mentioned. I esp. like the miss-call feature! So how does a company like this make any money?

Thanks for the tip! :)
 
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ebendl said:
So how does a company like this make any money?
Click to expand...

I actually was handed a flyer advertising mxit.co.za a couple months back. They
were punting it saying "get really cheap sms's" or sumthing (when it is actually an Instant Messenger app for your fone) and charging R15pm for the service. But i see they've changed their game-plan a bit....It's now completely free (from what i read on thier site) and punt it as an IM for your fone - Nicely done Mxit.

The only revenue for Mxit that I can see is from adveritsing. I guess they realised they couldnt charge for the app/service as other companies are supplying the same for free (although hard to find and often don't work).

PS. I see ITWeb were a little slow on the trigger regarding new Cell C data tariffs... Think they saw this thread? :D
 
biltonguy said:
PS. I see ITWeb were a little slow on the trigger regarding new Cell C data tariffs... Think they saw this thread? :D
Click to expand...

He he. :D I use this message board pretty much for all my Internet/Broadband/Mobile-news.

What was pleasant from the ITWeb article (some interview with some guy), is the fact that CellC lowered their billing from 20KB minimum to 1KB. They should update their own website, though.

Oh, I also send the guys from Mxit an email (asked for option to change the message notification tone, as well as support for Samsung D500). Their reply:

"Hello Ebendl

Thank you for your email.

I'm glad to hear you're finding value in MXit. There are a host of add on services still under way, so keep an eye on the website.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
We are due to release an updated version of the app in the next few days. This version will address the issue with the tones.
The GPRS charge rates are now live on the site - thanks for the warning.
Wrt your phone support queries - The Samsung D500 is a phone we intend supporting. We've actually been testing it here at Clockspeed for a few weeks, but there seem to be a few bugs which we're trying to get ironed out. We'll post news on the site as soon as it's available.

Feel free to drop me a mail directly of you have any further queries or suggestions. The feedback is always appreciated.

Chat soon

Regards"
 
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