Coverage

V

veethree

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
442
Reaction score
43
Location
PE
How accurate are the 3G coverage maps provided on the Vodacom website? They indicate that the area I live in (Randpark Ridge, Johannesburg) has excellent coverage but I don't know whether to believe this or not as I'm struggling to get any kind of decent GPRS coverage at my house. I think the technologies utilise different towers, but I would have thought that GPRS would have been sorted out before 3G was installed.

Unfortunately I don't know anyone with a 3G card or phone so it's going to be difficult for me to do a test run. Some of the packages Vodacom offers are an ideal e-mail/surfing dial-up replacement, though, so I'd like to make use of 3G.
 
3G works on a different system so a new network has to be rolled out.Just visit your nearest Vodashop and ask them if you are within coverage
 
veethree said:
...I'm struggling to get any kind of decent GPRS coverage at my house...
Click to expand...
Ok, what's your normal voice cellular signal like, what phone are you using?
 
Hi veethree

What is the GPRS connnection like? Is it slow or does it terminate the connection often?

You have to remember that GPRS uses the same GSM band as voice calls. During peak voice call periods i.e. Sunday evenings and weekdays after 20h00 the GPRS network will be slow due to high voice call traffic on the base station you're using at that moment. Data only gets the unused timeslot ;-) Correct me if I'm wrong on this v3g.

3G is on a different frequency and modulation scheme and is dedicated to data. You will see a slower data throughput at peak times(as more users make use of the BS bandwidth) but nothing as severe as the effect of high voice call traffic on the GPRS network speed.
 
ic said:
Ok, what's your normal voice cellular signal like, what phone are you using?
Click to expand...

I'm using an SE K700i and the voice signal is quite good. I've linked the phone to my iPaq 1940 and the connection seems to be properly established as I can use the combination effectively when at work (central Johannesburg). The signal varies a bit in the house, but there are several places where I can get five bars, so I was surprised at struggling to use the data services. If it weren't for the fact that I can use it at work I'd think the error was in the setup, but now I'm stumped.
 
I had a similar problem and sent a PM to V3G.

Sorted within a day.

Thanks V3G!

I have a feeling that this forum is uncovering small cans of worms Vodacom was not aware of. But I have to add: Vodacom responds in a way that sets an example to each and everybody when it gets to customer service.
 
Last edited:
grubsner said:
Hi veethree

What is the GPRS connnection like? Is it slow or does it terminate the connection often?

You have to remember that GPRS uses the same GSM band as voice calls. During peak voice call periods i.e. Sunday evenings and weekdays after 20h00 the GPRS network will be slow due to high voice call traffic on the base station you're using at that moment. Data only gets the unused timeslot ;-) Correct me if I'm wrong on this v3g.

3G is on a different frequency and modulation scheme and is dedicated to data. You will see a slower data throughput at peak times(as more users make use of the BS bandwidth) but nothing as severe as the effect of high voice call traffic on the GPRS network speed.
Click to expand...

I think it's more the speed than the connection terminating. Pages begin to load but then eventually give up after several minutes. Are you saying , though, that the fact that I may have GPRS issues does not mean that I would necessarily have any issues of the same sort with 3G? It's encouraging to know but I'm still concerned that, if 3G was unavailable I'd have to fall back onto GPRS and then I'd be stuck.
 
V3G is one of the main reasons I'm looking at Vodacom's 3G solution rather than the MTN offering. Though I've been a techno junkie all my 40 odd years and am used to trying to sort things out myself, it's great to know that real help is close at hand. Customer service like this is enough to make me overlook that 50% stake Telkom has....
 
A few points:

1) Don't trust the map 100%. A few different factors (such as network tuning) can have an impact on the accuracy. A new map is being prepared. I'll check up on it again.

2) Remember (082) 155. Call them with ANY data related issues, including potential coverage problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X