Forced to do the unthinkable

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Garronm

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Today I no longer had a choice, I was forced to apply for an ADSL line from Telkom. Having almost sworn on my mothers life that I would never use Telkom again I have been left with no choice.

I have been using 3G in the office for over a year now and having bought my small companies 3rd card less than a month ago, everything was going swimmingly. Three weeks ago I started disconnecting, dropping lines have dialup type connection speeds. I have had someone out to the premesis, called vodacom an additional 3 times, been promised call backs etc etc etc. Nothing. I'm still waiting for the engineer who came out last Monday to get back to me. I have had an external antenna since November last year, I receive a 4 bar signal constantly and although connected to 3G I receive nothing like the banwidth advertised.

It sometimes takes 4 attempts to download mails totalling less that 100KB.

So finally I was able to speak to a "Senior" consultant today. Little help that did. He mentioned that there were huge contention problems in Gauteng and Cape Town that they were aware of. He actually list two options that Vodacom had.

1) Stop selling the cards ( We both agreed that was not going to happen )
2) Add additional capacity ( Which is going to take time )

So this is just a warning to anyone rushing out to buy a card - DON'T. Its going to mean my connection is slower than it is currently and yours will be the same. Yes I'm being selfish but I'm also saving you the time and hassel.

I will be reducing my bundles on all cards to as low as I can tomorrow and hopefully will be able to survive with a dialup connection until ADSL is installed.

I find it amazing that I now have to have a backup broadband connection, just in case. I was really under the impression that Vodacom was different and had a workable solution, I guess I was wrong.

Highly disappointed and disgusted. :sick:
 
I share your pain. Will also be crawling back to Hellkom tomorrow, I can't go on like this...
 
Same, I have ordered my ADSL line. Will not be renewing my 3G contract and will not sell the card out of principle.

We post, we run tests, we phone 155, we email, we get tired ......., we move on.

I have reconnected 5 times, rebooted twice and still no joy.

I cannot even load the vodacom speed test page and had to reload this page twice.

Enough is enough
 
Same here - Vodacom HSDPA was working like a dream til recently, but I'm struggling just to post this reply.

Getting tired of paying for a service that's not happening, feels like iBurst.

Maybe it's time to dust-off my Samsung ADSL modem. :sick:

*What REALLY bugs me, is that Vodacom spends millions on advertising, why don't they rather use it to upgrade their network?
 
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Maybe someone would be able to shed some light on the inconsistencies of the following speed tests. I have always used Iburst until a “Senior” consultant advised me to use Vodacoms speed test. Was not sure it should make much of a difference but from the results, taken only seconds apart it, become apparent:

Vodacoms speed test – Download – 1264 Kbps
- Upload – 204Kbps

Iburst - Download – 96 Kbps
- Upload – 226 Kbps ( Upload has been faster than download for a few days now )

Sentech – Never used before – Download – 91Kbps
- Upload – ( Did not want to send them naked picture of Paris Hilton so skipped this test )

Looks to me like Iburst and Sentech are close enough to be correct. Vodacom is this just another lie!!!
 
I agree with you, Vodacom are up to sh*t lately and they promise you the world. Nothing ever get done about the problem.

They say they applying for more bandwidth, they say they getting the own international line. KUK, nothing ever gets done about it.

I have had a couple of people ask me about Vodacom and the broadband product. I tell them if they wanna waste money on a crappy product then they should get it, or rather take up smoking.

Vodacom Sux
 
I do not get 3G in my area but when I visit my parents I do get 3G. They live in PTA and the signal is not very strong (between 1-3 bars according to VMC7). But I do want to agree: Vodacom is not able to keep up their promises. I get GPRS speed in my area (which, according to Vodacom's coverage map, my wife's cellphone and E620Tool is a EDGE area).

I heard that Telkom does have ADSL in my area, so when my Vodacom contract (which I only got for internet) expires I will not be renewing. Rather I will cancel my contract and get Telkom (aarrgh - I also thought I would never do this again). At least I will have a connection that is 3 times faster than GPRS.

I do have my Datacard so I will simply use prepaid (Virgin since they only ask 50c per MB and do offer 3G) in my card when I visit my parents or go on holiday.

At least Vodacom3G is looking into my poor connection speed. Hopefully he can help me fix it. If not... I will get rid of my Vodacom contract as soon as possible
 
I also agree that Vodacom 3G/HSDPA is up to **** these days. I find it nearly impossible to connect. I get these constant 619 errors. It's almost like playing the lottery. One simply can not know when and if you'll get a connection. And, by some miracle if you're lucky, you'll stay connected for at least few hours. But these disconnections and connection problems are making me utter words that'll make my grandmother turn in her grave.

I also hate Telscum with my whole bottom, but what can us mere mortals do. Back to ADSL for me. At least per Meg they'll be cheaper if I use more than 3G.
 
Abe said:
Does anyone know if it is possible to use a VC Mobile card with MTN? E620 is the model number.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is. Vodacom were network locking these devices for a short time last year, if you are one of the unlucky few who got a locked device, follow the instructions in this to have it unlocked at no cost.
 
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Have been onto Vodacom again today to find out if there is anything new. Its amazing how everyone you speak to is oblivious of the fact that there is a problem in JHB. I think the vodacom call centre guys should ring into themselves once a day.

Its funny that the first thing you hear is that we are having problems on there 3G and GPRS networks, when you phone in, but as soon as you ask for an ETA on resolving the problem you get questions like, What problem? Was not aware of a problem? Let me speak to my Senior Consultant!!

Its been another time wasting, frustrating day. 14Mb file from my office in Dublin took 3h30 minutes to FTP down over a VPN. If you ping google or skype you get repsonse times of 1000ms+ and 75% lost packets.

On the bright side my 56k modem still works
 
Does anyone know if it is possible to use a VC Mobile card with MTN? E620 is the model number.
Click to expand...

It is also wise to choose your network manually. Have done it before, using MTN and Virgin sim cards on my datacard, but the auto function not always effective at choosing the correct network.
In VMC click Tools > Select Network > Manually > Search and choose your network (Virgin roam under Vodacom).

Also it is wise to setup a totally new Profile for MTN and Virgin. I cannot remember MTN's settings, but for Virgin you must change your APN to vdata. I think MTN is also internet.
 
Are we back to normal? Still no phone calls back

Well from the looks of things we are back to normal. I must have a least 5 logs and I'm still waiting for a call back from the engineer who came out to my house three weeks ago.

Phoned today with a billing query, as I am now suddenly being charged for a 3G Laptop, after 3 months with the 3G card. I wish I did have the 3G laptop because @ R42.00 per month it sounds like a bargin. Was told I'll get a phone call back within 24 hours. Was also told that a team leader would contact me within 5 - Still waiting for a team leader.

Following this and my concerns from last week, could a Vodacom representative please answer the following questions?

1) Why am I being ignored?
2) Do you care about your customers?
3) Why did it take esculation of a call to a team leader in order to get some information about the broadband issue last week?
4) Why does no one in first line of support know there is a problem?
5) Why are calls closed automatically without contacting the customer first to see if the problem is really resolved?
6) Is there a complaints line, other than maybe the media, carte blanche or ICASA?

On the upside I must congratulate the one and only shinning star in your organisation. Not only was he honest and due to his honesty I was able make alternative arrangements, ie go out and get an MTN connection, but he also helped with all the issues regarding the installation of my MTN card in my Linksys router and Vodafone 3G card.

Eventually I was forced to laugh at the whole situation, as that's what it is, a joke. I now have 2 additional backup options for broadband, MTN prepaid and ADSL. I've based my entire business infrustructure on 3G and have now been forced into spending additional capital in order to run my business successfully. The funny thing is that one of the largest organisations in the country left me with no choice.

I don't believe that anyone at Vodacom understands the impact. I'm tied into a 24 month contract, I have no rights or claim to compensation for the loss of revenue and I believe thats why they are not concerned about me as the customer. Worst of all they won't even admit it's their fault.

Its a disgrace.
 
Garronm said:
Well from the looks of things we are back to normal. I must have a least 5 logs and I'm still waiting for a call back from the engineer who came out to my house three weeks ago.

Phoned today with a billing query, as I am now suddenly being charged for a 3G Laptop, after 3 months with the 3G card. I wish I did have the 3G laptop because @ R42.00 per month it sounds like a bargin. Was told I'll get a phone call back within 24 hours. Was also told that a team leader would contact me within 5 - Still waiting for a team leader.

Following this and my concerns from last week, could a Vodacom representative please answer the following questions?

1) Why am I being ignored?
2) Do you care about your customers?
3) Why did it take esculation of a call to a team leader in order to get some information about the broadband issue last week?
4) Why does no one in first line of support know there is a problem?
5) Why are calls closed automatically without contacting the customer first to see if the problem is really resolved?
6) Is there a complaints line, other than maybe the media, carte blanche or ICASA?

On the upside I must congratulate the one and only shinning star in your organisation. Not only was he honest and due to his honesty I was able make alternative arrangements, ie go out and get an MTN connection, but he also helped with all the issues regarding the installation of my MTN card in my Linksys router and Vodafone 3G card.

Eventually I was forced to laugh at the whole situation, as that's what it is, a joke. I now have 2 additional backup options for broadband, MTN prepaid and ADSL. I've based my entire business infrustructure on 3G and have now been forced into spending additional capital in order to run my business successfully. The funny thing is that one of the largest organisations in the country left me with no choice.

I don't believe that anyone at Vodacom understands the impact. I'm tied into a 24 month contract, I have no rights or claim to compensation for the loss of revenue and I believe thats why they are not concerned about me as the customer. Worst of all they won't even admit it's their fault.

Its a disgrace.
Click to expand...

Difficult for me to answer these without the background. Won't you PM me me the call numbers?

One thing though, everyone understands the impact, trust me on this one.
 
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