#DataMustFall mobile price comparisons misleading

The table in the article is not that flattering of the local service providers, as it is - why did MyBroadband even bother publishing it - running interference for their advertisers - poorly. Eish!!
 
imranpanji said:
Maybe here : http://www.mtc.com.na/packages/pre-paid/aweh-gig

R30/per week with 100 free minutes.

So That's 400 minutes a month , 4gb , 400sms and 2gb social media all for R120. Bloody hell, we are getting screwed here
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Check their coverage map:

http://www.mtc.com.na/coverage

It is a joke! Tiny little cells in only major population sites. No wonder they can offer such cheap data (they are only building a handful of cell towers = cheap).

Now look at SA, we have 90%+ geographic coverage. Literally tens of thousands of base stations.

This entire debate is not comparing like for like. You can't just cherry pick from around the world and say we are equal.
 
Gaz{M} said:
Check their coverage map:

http://www.mtc.com.na/coverage

It is a joke! Tiny little cells in only major population sites. No wonder they can offer such cheap data (they are only building a handful of cell towers = cheap).

Now look at SA, we have 90%+ geographic coverage. Literally tens of thousands of base stations.

This entire debate is not comparing like for like. You can't just cherry pick from around the world and say we are equal.
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Agreed.

But isn't that literally where the entire Namibian population reside?

What a crappy non-interactive map, that explains the cheap data
 
Gaz{M} said:
Check their coverage map:

http://www.mtc.com.na/coverage

It is a joke! Tiny little cells in only major population sites. No wonder they can offer such cheap data (they are only building a handful of cell towers = cheap).

Now look at SA, we have 90%+ geographic coverage. Literally tens of thousands of base stations.

This entire debate is not comparing like for like. You can't just cherry pick from around the world and say we are equal.
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And your point is? In SA they are able to earn revenue from those base stations, as people live there.

But the article is about misleading data pricing in different countries. And the article itself is misleading in where it's cherry picked the pricing from. That goes for both SA networks and international
 
The cheapest OOB in India:

*But it doesn't stop there. Once you've consumed the data limit of the plan Airtel and Vodafone will charge you 4p/10kb, or Rs 4 per MB of data consumption. On the other hand, Reliance Jio will charge 5p/MB above data limit, which means only Rs 50 per GB of data!
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That's R10.21 /GB
 
In Nigeria 1GB is not a common amount offered on a monthly plan, but 2GB is. The price is 1000 naira, which is R43

So for Glo if you calculate the cost per gig for the 2gb plan, the price is 21.50/GB

As the #datamustfall guys have said
 
So that covers the 3 countries in question.

Conclusion: You cannot compare like for like in different countries as each country does things a different way. But the word "mislead" is inaccurate. The rates they have claimed can be achieved in one way or another in the different countries involved. And even Mybb agrees, we are getting shafted when it comes to data pricing. And if you dig deeper, you will realise that with voice, we are getting screwed too
 
Gekco said:
This does not even factor in OOB usage. I got nailed to the tune of R4,000 plus in a single month by Vodacom at R2,000 a Gig.
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Why would you go on a public forum and basically say: "I'm an idiot" ?
For that money you could have multiple contracts, bundles, devices and prepaid on every mobile network in SA.
 
Gaz{M} said:
Check their coverage map:

http://www.mtc.com.na/coverage

It is a joke! Tiny little cells in only major population sites. No wonder they can offer such cheap data (they are only building a handful of cell towers = cheap).

Now look at SA, we have 90%+ geographic coverage. Literally tens of thousands of base stations.

This entire debate is not comparing like for like. You can't just cherry pick from around the world and say we are equal.
Click to expand...

Those few towers, are generating more income per tower, therefore their operation is more efficient, thus they can earn more revenue, thus offer a price of 1/3 per gigabyte than the local inefficient operations. That is how I interpret you response.
 
K3NS31 said:
Why would you go on a public forum and basically say: "I'm an idiot" ?
For that money you could have multiple contracts, bundles, devices and prepaid on every mobile network in SA.
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No need to get snotty.
I am highlighting how consumers can get ripped off by the networks.
 
Gekco said:
No need to get snotty.
I am highlighting how consumers can get ripped off by the networks.
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Sorry, that might have come accross a bit strong, but why on earth would you spend that much money when you can buy a data bundle on any network (probably even vodacom) and save thousands? In fact, you could buy a bundle, a mobile router a second phone, a third phone another data bundle or 3 and still be saving.
 
Gaz{M} said:
Check their coverage map:

http://www.mtc.com.na/coverage

It is a joke! Tiny little cells in only major population sites. No wonder they can offer such cheap data (they are only building a handful of cell towers = cheap).

Now look at SA, we have 90%+ geographic coverage. Literally tens of thousands of base stations.

This entire debate is not comparing like for like. You can't just cherry pick from around the world and say we are equal.
Click to expand...

Maybe you missed that the 2G coverage is the light grey? 3G/4G are the blue colours.
I drove from Windhoek to Ondangwa and across to Rundu without having any signal issues on MTC.

Its very similar to the cell networks here, you dont get 3G/LTE out in the sticks but you do get coverage.
 
K3NS31 said:
Sorry, that might have come accross a bit strong, but why on earth would you spend that much money when you can buy a data bundle on any network (probably even vodacom) and save thousands? In fact, you could buy a bundle, a mobile router a second phone, a third phone another data bundle or 3 and still be saving.
Click to expand...

You are connected Windows 10 updates, you are screwed. Putting it on metered connection just delays the update - does not stop it updating ...

You use data, your wife uses data, your child uses data - very difficult to track how much used, never mind who used how much. Also, unless you specifically ask for a hard limited data contract, they deliberately put you on an open ended data deal - very easy for OOB Sharky to bite ...
 
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The_Librarian said:
Discussed SIM's and pricing for the kids.

told the wife we'll be getting prepaid SIM's for them, as I don't want any funky OOB stuff.

Better be safe than sorry.
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Best option I am aware of is Afihost, have a few SIM's with them. When the data is finished it is finished. If I can be convinced to Top Up, their app makes it very easy to do, otherwise the kids go without data. They have learn't to budget their data usage reasonably well.
 
elf_lord_ZC5 said:
You are connected Windows 10 updates, you are screwed. Putting it on metered connection just delays the update - does not stop it updating ...

You use data, your wife uses data, your child uses data - very difficult to track how much used, never mind who used how much. Also, unless you specifically ask for a hard limited data contract, they deliberately put you on an open ended data deal - very easy for OOB Sharky to bite ...
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No ways. After one month of paying 4 THOUSAND Rand you need to wake up and realise you need an alternative. So you can't port to another network for some reason, spend some of that 4 thousand from next month on a mobile broadband wifi router that you carry around (plenty of those available) and a contract / prepaid sim on a data bundle from any provider you care to mention, even Vodacom can be cheap on the right bundle. Then connect your phone to that and save 4000 per month for the rest of the year.
 
K3NS31 said:
No ways. After one month of paying 4 THOUSAND Rand you need to wake up and realise you need an alternative. So you can't port to another network for some reason, spend some of that 4 thousand from next month on a mobile broadband wifi router that you carry around (plenty of those available) and a contract / prepaid sim on a data bundle from any provider you care to mention, even Vodacom can be cheap on the right bundle. Then connect your phone to that and save 4000 per month for the rest of the year.
Click to expand...

How many people realise that, before the OOB Sharky bites them?

The sales droids sure as hell, are not going to tell them.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Maybe you missed that the 2G coverage is the light grey? 3G/4G are the blue colours.
I drove from Windhoek to Ondangwa and across to Rundu without having any signal issues on MTC.

Its very similar to the cell networks here, you dont get 3G/LTE out in the sticks but you do get coverage.
Click to expand...

No, we are talking about "data". 2G is all but useless for data. Go look at a 3G/4G map for Voda and MTN. It isn't little dots, but huge areas covered even outside the cities. See here and click 3G: http://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/coverage-map

I'm not defending high data prices or the mobile networks. I'm simple trying to point out to people flouting Namibia that you are not taking all factors into account.

If 100 towers cover 90% of your users, then you can charge R30 a GB. But in SA we expect 3G speeds almost everywhere.
 
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