Contract or prepaid?

[Mys]

I am currently on one of these old telkom contracts that got moved to a month to month last year some time. I get the following topped up every month:

1500 anytime minutes to all networks
3000 minutes to telkom mobile/landline numbers
20GB Data
and a whole bunch of other arbitrary useless addons

This is currently costing me R650 per month and since the contract has come to an end I am on a month to month.

I am not hung up on getting a new phone as the costs for new phones are preposterous. My Iphone 8 should do fine - just need to get the battery replaced.

My only issue is that the data coverage with Telkom is not great but with mainly working from home these days, it's a manageable issue.

I don't mind taking out another contract but I want to make ensure I can get this kind of value at a minimum.

Any suggestion on contracts or and clever prepaid options I could look at?

 

[Dean01]

That is still a very good price for those allocations. You probably wont get close to those at R650 elsewhere..

 

[BasBas]

I am currently on one of these old telkom contracts that got moved to a month to month last year some time. I get the following topped up every month:

1500 anytime minutes to all networks
3000 minutes to telkom mobile/landline numbers
20GB Data
and a whole bunch of other arbitrary useless addons

This is currently costing me R650 per month and since the contract has come to an end I am on a month to month.

I am not hung up on getting a new phone as the costs for new phones are preposterous. My Iphone 8 should do fine - just need to get the battery replaced.

My only issue is that the data coverage with Telkom is not great but with mainly working from home these days, it's a manageable issue.

I don't mind taking out another contract but I want to make ensure I can get this kind of value at a minimum.

Any suggestion on contracts or and clever prepaid options I could look at?

MTN seems to be doing the most on the Data side of things right now(though the way they bundle in all those different data allocations is sickening), but i regret to inform you that you probably wont get close to that anywhere else. I am hanging on to my old free me 2Gb plan as the new Telkom plans are terrible.

EmptyN Plans

Maybe This will suit your needs though?
(Data can be used on telkom and roaming network(currently Vodacom))

 

[jnvdh06]

Sim only contract (get better data and voice deals than prepaid) and buy phones cash.

 

[dunkyd]

Cut down on chit chat and pay half that.

 

[Not_original]

Got the vodacom contract for 20 gig data per month (in the day when I need it) and a cell c prepaid sim (which I believe has the best voice offerings)

Phons are cash

 

[argh]

I am currently on one of these old telkom contracts that got moved to a month to month last year some time. I get the following topped up every month:

1500 anytime minutes to all networks
3000 minutes to telkom mobile/landline numbers
20GB Data
and a whole bunch of other arbitrary useless addons

This is currently costing me R650 per month and since the contract has come to an end I am on a month to month.

I am not hung up on getting a new phone as the costs for new phones are preposterous. My Iphone 8 should do fine - just need to get the battery replaced.

My only issue is that the data coverage with Telkom is not great but with mainly working from home these days, it's a manageable issue.

I don't mind taking out another contract but I want to make ensure I can get this kind of value at a minimum.

Any suggestion on contracts or and clever prepaid options I could look at?

I have a prepaid Xiaomi Redmi smartphone bought for R1800 at Makro about 3 years ago. It has a mediocre camera, but is fine for all other purposes.

For phone calls and data, look at Cell C prepaid options. I use them for phone calls, my smartphone, and my computer internet.

1. Phone calls to any phone number in South Africa: 15 hours of calls, R200, valid 30 days (there are lower cost prepaid anynet call options as well).
2. Prepaid data, month to month option: Smartdata topup, 50 Gb anytime + 50Gb night data,, R369. Their SIM only data contracts, and fixed LTE data contracts, are even cheaper for data. Eg a 24-month data sim with 30 Gb anytime data + 20 Gb night data is R249 per month.
3. With Cell C you can also buy prepaid data valid for 6-12 months. Examples; 200Gb valid for a year, R2000 (R10/Gb). 100Gb anytime data + 100Gb night data, valid 6 months, R900 (R4.50/Gb if you include the night data, R9/Gb if you exclude the night data).

 

[BCR]

@Mys - you can do even better on Cell C prepaid right now :
Refer to this thread - https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/home-connecta-flexi.1130651/

Pricing over here :

Home Connecta Flexi | Prepaid LTE | Cell C

Discover flexible connectivity with Cell C's Home Connecta Flexi! Check out competitive prices and find the perfect LTE package to suit your needs.

www.cellc.co.za

.. for eg., I'm currently using a 50 + 50 GB valid for 60 days - cost R199
.. it's probably in the "sweet spot" right now, because 100 + 100 GB @ R389 is only R9 more per 100 GB, so I'd rather get less at a time.

You need to get a Cell C SIM, and then convert it to the Home Connecta Flexi ; do some initial testing on a (starter pack) 5 + 5 GB @ R59 ; that'll give a good indication if it's worth your while.

Been very stable service since the start of July (when I started using it mostly full-time, with intermittent testing over a month or two before that). Not nearly as fast as my Telkom LTE, but at the price, it's a very good deal.

The pricing should hold until Sept. ; after that who knows what they'll do ....

 

[Mys]

@Mys - you can do even better on Cell C prepaid right now :
Refer to this thread - https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/home-connecta-flexi.1130651/

Pricing over here :

Home Connecta Flexi | Prepaid LTE | Cell C

Discover flexible connectivity with Cell C's Home Connecta Flexi! Check out competitive prices and find the perfect LTE package to suit your needs.

www.cellc.co.za

.. for eg., I'm currently using a 50 + 50 GB valid for 60 days - cost R199
.. it's probably in the "sweet spot" right now, because 100 + 100 GB @ R389 is only R9 more per 100 GB, so I'd rather get less at a time.

You need to get a Cell C SIM, and then convert it to the Home Connecta Flexi ; do some initial testing on a (starter pack) 5 + 5 GB @ R59 ; that'll give a good indication if it's worth your while.

Been very stable service since the start of July (when I started using it mostly full-time, with intermittent testing over a month or two before that). Not nearly as fast as my Telkom LTE, but at the price, it's a very good deal.

The pricing should hold until Sept. ; after that who knows what they'll do ....

Could I combine voice with this as well? I am making a fair number of calls so I would need this to work in my phone for voice and data - means I will have to port my number from Telkom Mobile across to Cell C or is this going to need it's own device?

 

[BCR]

Could I combine voice with this as well? I am making a fair number of calls so I would need this to work in my phone for voice and data - means I will have to port my number from Telkom Mobile across to Cell C or is this going to need it's own device?

I don't think you can get voice working with it ; in fact, as the article (link below) from April states, it's meant to be used in a router only as Fixed LTE, but MyBB (and others) have tested it in a smartphone & it works.

However, they mention dual-SIM devices, implying you'd need a dedicated SIM for voice :

It provides a great alternative to traditional prepaid data products, especially for people with dual-SIM phones.

Cell C’s new prepaid fixed-LTE tested in a smartphone – with surprising results

MyBroadband put a Cell C prepaid fixed-LTE SIM in a high-end smartphone and did 177 speed tests around Gauteng. Here is what we discovered.

mybroadband.co.za

As @argh mentioned :

Wrt Cell C :

Phone calls to any phone number in South Africa: 15 hours of calls, R200, valid 30 days (there are lower cost prepaid anynet call options as well).

This requires a separate SIM ; I happen to use this service as well - have done so since leaving Telkom landline behind probably a year ago ; for R100 you get 240 mins. over 30 days.