How do you escalate Vodacom coverage issues?

Q

Quad Pipe

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My office is in Bryanston and I struggle to get even an edge signal never mind the quality of the voice calls. I have noticed that it is not only my office but the entire area.

Will Vodacom even listen if you contact them about this and who do you actually contact?

I mean I'm talking about Bryanston here, not somewhere out in the gammadoelas.

And don't even get me started about the shocking coverage in my residential area.
 
Yeah if you email customer services they do give you feedback as to what the issue is. Or just call 155 and alert them, but they're annoying because they waste time trying to diagnose some issue instead of just referring the ticket to the network department right away.
 
Issue in Bryanston is that no-one wants extra towers, but everyone wants coverage. In some places, operators have put in 'pregnant' light poles to help. I am also on Voda and just gotta know that your signal will drop when going through Bryanston. Very rarely will a call last (and not get dropped) through this suburb !!
 
Quad said:
My office is in Bryanston and I struggle to get even an edge signal never mind the quality of the voice calls. I have noticed that it is not only my office but the entire area.

Will Vodacom even listen if you contact them about this and who do you actually contact?

I mean I'm talking about Bryanston here, not somewhere out in the gammadoelas.

And don't even get me started about the shocking coverage in my residential area.
Click to expand...

Call the Call Centre on 111 to log a query to the Network guys
 
panayi said:
Issue in Bryanston is that no-one wants extra towers, but everyone wants coverage. In some places, operators have put in 'pregnant' light poles to help. I am also on Voda and just gotta know that your signal will drop when going through Bryanston. Very rarely will a call last (and not get dropped) through this suburb !!
Click to expand...

Spot on..

If you allow them to place a tower at your house, and then defend yourself from the pitch-fork wielding residents, your problem will be solved.
 
Quad said:
My office is in Bryanston and I struggle to get even an edge signal never mind the quality of the voice calls. I have noticed that it is not only my office but the entire area.

Will Vodacom even listen if you contact them about this and who do you actually contact?

I mean I'm talking about Bryanston here, not somewhere out in the gammadoelas.

And don't even get me started about the shocking coverage in my residential area.
Click to expand...

They wanted to put up another tower in my area (very very very hilly) since the current signal is crap, but people moaned about it being ugly so Vodacom scrapped the idea.... but I know what you feel like. Often I have zero bars at home.
 
panayi said:
Issue in Bryanston is that no-one wants extra towers, but everyone wants coverage. In some places, operators have put in 'pregnant' light poles to help. I am also on Voda and just gotta know that your signal will drop when going through Bryanston. Very rarely will a call last (and not get dropped) through this suburb !!
Click to expand...

EXACTLY the issue!!!! Especially in Bryanston! Everyone wants perfect coverage, but no one wants more towers to improve coverage. I mean how the hell are the operators supposed to get coverage into your suburb. I have even read that Bryanston residences want the operators to remove some of the existing towers cause it clashes with their pretty aesthetics. How the heck is that supposed to help with coverage? So soon Bryanston will be like you're in the "gammadoelas". No cellphone towers, no coverage. Sorry for you.
 
So, in essence, there is absolutely no point in escalating this to anyone as nothing will happen...!
 
Exactly
Tried emailing them ans was called back by 3 different individuals who basically said that they knew there was a problem but my area was not in their plans and they could do nothing
Great help to me!!!
 
Quad have you tried the gr8signal app to see which operator has the best signal in your location?
 
This is a huge problem that all the operators are facing. Everyone wants good coverage, but no one wants the towers near them.

Some people don't want them due to aesthetic reasons, but the operators are coming up with clever ways to hide the antenna, like on street lamps and existing buildings and even chimneys. Most people don't want the towers near them due to health concerns, which is actually nonsense. The less coverage you have, the more your cellphone that is against your head has to increase it's power output to try get better signal. The better the coverage in the area, then the less your cellphone has to power up = less radiation against your head. But try explain that to the average Joe. Some people think these cellphone towers are emitting these huge waves of radiation which is absolute bull. Standing underneath a cellphone mast on the ground level there is no radiation being transmitted. You need to be right up against the antennas on the mast to experience any kind of harmfully RF radiation. The power output on the towers is so low and within safety standards that it is not harmful at all. But you still get these crazy fanatics that think otherwise, that claim they have headaches, or their children are growing an extra toe, or their bum is itchy because a new cellphone mast got erected in their neighbourhood.

Low coverage = high power output on your phone = more RF radiation against your head.
Good coverage = no or little power output on your phone = less RF radiation against your head.
 
Vodacom can gladly come and put a tower right IN my back yard if it will assist in me getting better 3G coverage at home. I live not even 2km away from a tower (which is what they claim is their tower coverage) and I have horrid signal at home.

To the extent that they cam to do tests at my house and ended up installing 3G repeater in my living (which is also rubbish since it has a 5m radius inside) and the signal sort of improved slightly.

This past week had to call Vodacom again, due to the same thing happening: Dropped / Missed calls (goes to voicemail) and absolutely NO 3G even when standing right beneath the 3G repeater.

I have another tech support guy coming to do "tests" at the house this week, and I wonder what wonderful explanations he'll come up with to try and make send of this shoddy signal in my area. And I'm not alone sitting with a 3G repeater in my area.

And as soon as I leave my neighbourhood, I immediately pick a strong 3G signal.

Shocking.
 
LOL! Well then tell the tech that is visiting you, Vodacom can build a tower in your backyard. And if you can get a signed letter from all your surrounding neighbours that they are happy with you erecting a cellphone mast in your backyard, then I don't see a problem. But I bet one of your neighbours will say no and then any operator cannot continue perusing any longer. It just takes one moron...

Back in the day when the 3G network was new and there were not many users on the network, 3G coverage used to cover quite far distances (I remember). 2 or 3 km away from a tower and you used to pick up great 3G signal.

Nowadays the network is over flooded with so many 3G users, their phones, their modems, their tablets, their alarms & gate systems, their pets collars, etc. Due to cell breathing, the 3G footprint has now shrunk so badly, that you practically need to be sitting under the tower to get any 3G coverage. I think these days the average distance from a 3G tower to get a decent connection is something like 400 to 500 meters. So operators are trying to fill that gap and build sites 500 meters to 1km apart, but like I said above, they battling getting the property to build these towers.
 
Last edited:
nuyork said:
LOL! Well then tell the tech that is visiting you, Vodacom can build a tower in your backyard. And if you can get a signed letter from all your surrounding neighbours that they are happy with you erecting a cellphone mast in your backyard, then I don't see a problem. But I bet one of your neighbours will say no and then any operator cannot continue perusing any longer. It just takes one moron...

Back in the day when the 3G network was new and there were not many users on the network, 3G coverage used to cover quite far distances (I remember). 2 or 3 km away from a tower and you used to pick up great 3G signal.

Nowadays the network is over flooded with so many 3G users, their phones, their modems, their tables, their alarms & gate systems, their pets collars, etc. Due to cell breathing, the 3G footprint has now shrunk so badly, that you practically need to be sitting under the tower to get any 3G coverage. I think these days the average distance from a 3G tower to get a decent connection is something like 400 to 500 meters. So operators are trying to fill that gap and build sites 500 meters to 1km apart, but like I said above, they battling getting the property to build these towers.
Click to expand...

I can swing it in my favour so the neighbours don't notice. I have a tall tree in my front yard, which can surely act as a base for a tower transmitter... Vodacom should come now.

And as for that tech guy, STILL nowhere to be found. And I wait on. :(
 
So I have recently enabled LTE on my iP5 and I have a great LTE signal in my office. Let's see how long this lasts......
 
Bubhesi said:
How would he call that number if he has no cell reception? Please provide a number that can be called from a landline.
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You could send an email to customercare at vodacom do Co za but neither that nor 111 will likely help. They require that you canvass others around you to report the same network problem before they'll come out and check.
 
Bubhesi said:
How would he call that number if he has no cell reception? Please provide a number that can be called from a landline.
Click to expand...
It is a well known fact that you CAN call 111/155 or any network from your landline, but calling VC numbers from your mobile SIM is Toll Free and NOT so from your landline. Call from landline by inserting 082 in front of 111/155.

How to resolve your problem do it in this manner.
1) Call 082111 explaining your problem insisting on a SERVICE REFERENCE NUMBER.
2) Allow for 7 days to respond.
3) No response after 7 days, compile a properly constructed email to [email protected] with the SERVICE REFERENCE NUMBER is the FIRST word of your subject followed by short title of the problem.
4) Sit back and you will be contacted by a person from the office of the CEO to resolve your problem.

This is the most efficient way to resolve problems with Vodacom. Remember that Vodacom does not read these forums.
Forums in general supply advise that ranges from hot air by trolls to valued facts, you need to apply care in this regard.
 
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