Coverage Queries

Cell C have a coverage map. Check that out. (I somehow doubt Hermanus is covered)

In areas not covered, the speeds are pretty miserable.
 
Yip, Hermanus is not covered. I would have liked coverage in that area too. Hopefully within a few months.
 
Hi, I see Camps Bay, Cape Town is a darker red on the coverage map, but wondering if anyone has had any first hand experience using it there? Want to use the 5GB package for gaming and downloads, know the wind can get pretty hectic and it's known to be the 'wrong side of the mountain', but Vodacom has always been v stable and strong signal nontheless (just stupidly overpriced), so hoping Cell C can play ball too.
 
Hi Piesang,
I am in Brackenfell Morgenster as well (pretorius st) and have the 21mb bundle. Depending on where i place my dongle I get between 3 and 5mbps through put on speed test to jhb. On the network tab, the RSSI should reed less than -90Db, otherwise... forget it. The black modem seems VERY sensitive to placement and orientation.
 
Melkbosstrand Coverage for HSPA+

Coverage for Melkbosstrand for HSPA+?
The coverage map shows it is just out of range.

Anyone know if and when this area will have coverage?
 
I'm in Kibler Park and there is no signal to connect with cell c (not even edge). External antenna doesn't even help or changing usb ports. Although there is terrible reception for cell c in general.
 
Any one from DBN - Queensburgh have some first hand coverage experiance for me ?
 
My Experience with Cell C!!

Okay..

Hi people..

I just want to quickly tell you guys my experience thus far with Cell C! Anyways..

About a week ago I saw the Cell C offering of R300 for 5GB at 21Mbps and I thought wow this is amazing because I've been with Vodacom for 6 months with 1GB pm month-to-month for the same R300 via my phone! Since my bundle for Vodacom was depleted I thought It will be great to start the new year with a better internet connection.

Okay firstly, I'm a software engineer and an online gamer and have been using Vodacom succesfully since forever for everything I needed.

So I bought the Cell C dongle last week friday 24th December 2010 (after checking that I'm in the Dark Red Zone on the coverage map - Pretoria West - West Moot Area) but I got it on contract because I didn't have R3000 for a once-off payment and since I'm used to the R300 being deducted from my Vodacom acount I thought it didn't really matter too much, only difference is now Cell C will deduct it.

Anyways, I brought the dongle (E1820) back home put it in the front of my PC and only got a green light! I just knew that wasn't good! cause it should show blue! And as I expected the Cell C Dashboard Application keep telling me I've got EDGE speeds and the Manual Connection only picks up 2G in my Area!

So I found this mybroadband.co.za forums and read through some of the issues people have been having and I tried a few of them..

Okay what I've tried to get my dongle to pickup 3G/HSPA of whatever...

1) Placing the dongle in different USB ports - doesn't seem like it makes any difference
2) Using a extension cable.. or trying to place the dongle in different locations - not a long extension cable so really can't do alot with it and doesn't seem to pick it up
3) Went back to the Cell C store to check if the dongle isn't faulty and it works perfectly there.
4) Since I'm NOT WILLING to pay for an Antenna I tried a few diy antennas for the dongles on a few websites - It did help a bit.. But -93 dBm is just bad! It shows about 10 to 17% signal in the Cell C dashboard and can't even register on the 3G network.
5) When I remove my Vodacom sim card (with FULL HSDPA coverage) from my phone and replace it with my Cell C sim card I barely pick up any signal and also falls back to EDGE speeds... calls to customer care keep saying "connection error" and sometimes drops me in the middle of the call!
6) Since the 24th I've called Cell C for about 14 times I guess to get things sorted out and all they can say to me is that a network guy will come check my coverage and call me back... its now the 1st of January.. more than 7 days and my issue haven't been resolved..

So anyone reading this! Please stick to Vodacom atleast Vodacom doesnt advertise false information.

According to the Cell C guy at customer care each contract is handled case-by-case so hopefully in the following week.. if things are still the same I would be able to cancel this contract without any expenses from my side!

The funny thing is.. if you want to cancel the contract in the store they tell you you have to pay R1000 upfront for the cancelation but the customer care guy told me its not the case and since I haven't recieved the service they cannot charge me for that.. (to be honest.. It would be cheaper for ME to use legal actions against Cell C than paying R1000 since I don't pay for laywers.. they are free in my family ;-) )

Anyways.. I've just been rambling on and on... if you guys have any more suggestions for me it would be nice but at the moment the only answer I have for my current situation is to wait a week and check if things get better and whether or not Cell C can come and FIX THEY FREAKING TOWERS... else I'm taking it back and not paying a cent more.. infact... I want Cell C to give me money back for the once-off connection fee I had to pay for the freakin sim card.

Anyways.. good day to you all and Happy New Year ! :D
 
For every 1 customer with bad experience there are 1000 customers with good exoerience. Remember there are always dead spots within a coverage area. They'll get to covering your area properly, eventually.
 
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It is covered according to their online coverage map in the Dark Red Zone.. This is more and issue of giving people false information.
 
It would be damn near impossible to make a coverage map that is 100% accurate. I bought a prepaid Cell c sim first (only R1 or R2) to test coverage before buying...
/if anyone else wants to test coverage make sure your device is 900 MHz UTMS capable.

Very happy with cell c.
 
Best thing to do is get hold of a dongle, to test at home - some ppl are lucky while others are not - that's unfortunately just the way it goes :/
 
Uhm, okay...

I just placed the Cell C sim card in my Nokia E71 and got the best speeds thus far! The E1820 sucks!

Anyways.. to Jhb

Nokia E71 with Vodacom : 3.18 Mbps down, 0.36 Mbps up, 82ms latency
Nokia E71 with Cell C: 1.2 Mbps down, 0.35 Mbps up, 75ms latency

E1820 with Cell C (Not getting 3G signal at all): 0.21Mbps down, 0.09 up, 392ms latency.

Such a poor poor signal here :(
 
Yea - it really depends ... and it seems like (apart from yesterday and today), the majority of the people are happy.

I've had the worst service from Vodacom in the past 12 months and (apart from yesterday and today) been receiving between 3-4mbps downlink with Cell C.
 
Hi

I also had issues with the 1820. Returned the modem for the 1752 and now I have a consistent 3G signal.
See if you can borrow a friend's 1752 and test at your place.
I have a hunch you'll see a huge difference.

Good luck!
 
I have an idea... It's not a solution, but could possibly lead to one.

How about taking a laptop with the dongle outside, maybe even around the block, and trying it there?

It's a shame that it doesn't work for you though! Would be cool if they had a "test" dongle, that people could simply take home to test if they had coverage in their area, prior to purchase!
 
Lol

I don't have a laptop, my brother has one and the screen doesn't function :( so the only thing i can use is the little green/blue light as an indication that's all.

Anyways.. Even if I do find some connection somewhere outside it would not help me. If I knew I would have to buy an antenna I would not even have considered this product because then it ain't so "cost effective" as it should be! and it should clearly be said on the Cell C website that an antenna would be required even if you are in a RED ZONE.
 
peanutpakkie said:
Uhm, okay...

I just placed the Cell C sim card in my Nokia E71 and got the best speeds thus far! The E1820 sucks!

Anyways.. to Jhb

Nokia E71 with Vodacom : 3.18 Mbps down, 0.36 Mbps up, 82ms latency
Nokia E71 with Cell C: 1.2 Mbps down, 0.35 Mbps up, 75ms latency

E1820 with Cell C (Not getting 3G signal at all): 0.21Mbps down, 0.09 up, 392ms latency.

Such a poor poor signal here :(
Click to expand...

Seems the E1820 really sucks.. Like Mr M suggested, try and can get hold of a E1752 to test with. I'm sure you will have better luck.
 
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