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kvi

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that nearly 6 months of having 3g on my laptop.... and I am still extremely happy. the service has not deterioated such as my sentech did after they signed up 1000 extra people... yesterday i had to download a very important 250meg app for my business from the states, it came in at a constant 45k and was like done in an hour or so. wow.

last week i was in the bushveld, no electricity. but with laptop on batt was able to be on the net... wow

how many posts do you see here of complaining customers? not many, and when there are vodacom sorts them out chop chop. this has to be one of the quietest forums i know. coz everyone is happy.

WELL DONE VODACOM
 
Agreed, another aspect, is perhaps that the P2P kiddies tend to go for a service with a higher cap, which IMO means that most of the forumites using Vodacom's 3G will tend to be professional business type people, also the mobility aspect of Vodacom's 3G is an essential for professional people on the move...:)
 
agreed.... (so what are we saying? keep the cap? :))
 
kvi said:
agreed.... (so what are we saying? keep the cap? :))
Click to expand...
Nope, I don't think so, just saying that this forum is populated with professional people who are successfully using Vodacom's 3G...:)

When HSDPA hits the market in December, there will be a need for a higher cap to benefit from the higher speed and stuff like video conferencing, TV on demand, etc...

There will be a lot more "Power Users" looking at HSDPA in December, and I would not be surprised if there are loads of iBurst cancellations as well...
 
Much of the success of this service is owed to mainly two things (in my opinion):
1. Vodacom's stance towards their 3G curstomers: They seem to be more customer focused than both WBS and Sentech. I could be wrong, but that is the impression I get.
2. Their previous experience with large customer bases: It seems as though both WBS and Sentech screwed up when it came to tower contention ratios. It's like they never anticipated that a large number of their clients may use a tower simultaneously. Once again this is my personal opinion but I think Vodacom have paid their dues and understand this market better.
 
HSDPA
Watch everyone jump onto the next bandwagon.
 
ic said:
Agreed, another aspect, is perhaps that the P2P kiddies tend to go for a service with a higher cap, which IMO means that most of the forumites using Vodacom's 3G will tend to be professional business type people, also the mobility aspect of Vodacom's 3G is an essential for professional people on the move...:)
Click to expand...

I think you are spot on IC... The irony of course is that P2P works best on Voda and MTN 3G because neither of the services are shaped (yet)...
 
martin said:
1. Vodacom's stance towards their 3G curstomers: They seem to be more customer focused than both WBS and Sentech. I could be wrong, but that is the impression I get.
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Your impression is correct! At least in as much as, for example, do you see any Sentech representatives with anything to say on that forum?

[sound of wind whistling through the tumbling tumbleweeds]

I have both Sentech and 3G. Sentech's fine at home for 24/7 connectivity. No cap either. I initially thought I was going to take Sentech around with me. Very funny - it's not exactly mobile. The battery lasts a couple hours and the signal's impossible to find most of the time. Besides, how geeky do you want to look when you take out your laptop and your stupid silver box with blinking LEDs and put it on the table in the coffee shop?

3G works, and with a 3G cellphone and bluetooth, you can use either your laptop or your PDA on the 3G network, and you don't even have to take the modem (phone) out of your pocket!

Was in a business meeting the other day - went online to check some emails, and didn't realise I had Net Transport (a download accelerator) running. Within 45 minutes it had completed the last 50MB of a Playboy Centrefolds zip file I'd started at home. And this was while I was doing email, web, etc. during that boring meeting. Blazing saddles!

3G is too expensive for P2P and extensive video downloads, etc. But for most peoples' Internet needs, it's the fastest mobile thing since KITT. In South Africa. And cheap (by world standards).
 
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ScrnScrm said:
I think you are spot on IC... The irony of course is that P2P works best on Voda and MTN 3G because neither of the services are shaped (yet)...
Click to expand...

That's 100% true. But at the much higher 3G prices that you'll pay for that P2P party in your pocket, is there really any reason for them to shape it? I sure hope not. You're paying per Meg, at a premium (although cheaper than the rest of the world), and it shouldn't matter what's in that Meg.

I wouldn't do extensive P2Ping at that price, but it's kinda nice to spoil yourself once in a while!
 
if vodacom up their cap to 3gb, i would most probly move over to them
 
Another major issue is that their tower contention generally would not be a major one....

They already have an extensive network and 3G is simply an additional offering ....IMO THAT is what makes the difference here....

If the likes of WBS / Sentech had the money/time to roll out 60-90 towers in JHB we'd ALL more than likely be happy.. This is of course supposing they actually first rolled out a limited service and made sure EVERYTHING worked before offering high speed access ... much like Vodacom's progression: voice-->gprs-->3g ... controlled and managed growth !
 
briantw said:
..., do you see any Sentech representatives with anything to say on that forum?
...
Click to expand...
AFAIK ProAsm has been unofficially helping Sentech MyWireless customers for a long time, however I am not apprised of the facts, but have heard via the grapevine that it was Sentech that did not want ProAsm to be doing this in an official capacity...:(

Anyways I think it's brilliant that v3g is here and a major reason for this forum's success, as well as yourselves the forumites - very professional people IMO in your conduct, and a forum that hardly ever needs to be moderated as a result :).
 
Mornin

Just a quick fact do u guy`s know that vodacom has tested and is testing a 2 MB line with apparently great succecss?

Just to add i recently tested the 3G with my E1000 downloaded a 3mb file and got a constant 40KB`s now thats fast considering using a cellphone as a modem had to stop surfing cause the sites i would acces all international would pop like am on a 1mb line..

Great service too :D

yeah soory did`nt c that but lol there a guy apprently using the 2mb line for testing purposes will probably be deploying in high density area`s..
 
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SFW007 said:
Mornin

Just a quick fact do u guy`s know that vodacom has tested and is testing a 2 MB line with apparently great succecss?
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Do you mean HSDPA? - if so have a look at the "news for this forum" announcement - there are links to info on HSDPA on MyADSL :).
 
ic said:
Anyways I think it's brilliant that v3g is here and a major reason for this forum's success, as well as yourselves the forumites - very professional people IMO in your conduct, and a forum that hardly ever needs to be moderated as a result :).
Click to expand...

Why thank you IC :D
 
In the beginning of the month I was running around like a crazy person to organize my Australian visa. I actually drove around with my laptop to different locations while chatting to my contacts via MSN. I recently moved and needed a fax line. I rocked up at this one location and was spotted by a guy who was looking for something like 3G. While chatting I also browsed web sites and downloaded email (GPRS). So I think the bug bit him and he wanted wireless as well.

Saw him a few days ago. For some reason he went for iBurst. He came over to show me his new toy. The software reported 80% signal strength, but basically no comms at all. We played for about 10 minutes. He got fed up and left.

My wife's uncle passed away last week and we all left for Bethlehem (Free state). After arriving I switched on my laptop and was up and running just after booting up. Got my email, sent some more and chatted to a friend in Texas. I attracted some attention and surfed a few web pages for the family.

So yes, apart from all my bitching and moaning, I must admit that this 3G wireless solution is quite portable and reliable (compared to what I have seen from other vendors). Currently the 1GB cap is not bothering me. Even when I had ADSL ( 4 people in office ) we could not easily use up the 3GB. For some 1GB is just too small. If you need something uncapped then get something uncapped. Rollover would be nice though.

If you do the math then 3G/GPRS is actually quite cheap (being portable). From I have seen is that there has been a constant improvement since Feb 2005. I am using it for business and as such it gives me a clean R600 cost for the month. If you want to surf porn then you would be better off ordering a DVD.

Thumbs up for Vodacom so far.....

VMS
 
Ive also been on 3G for about 5 months now, i'm quite pleased with it up to now. I had issues with my contract setup [probably still] but in the end it is Vodacom that shoots themselves in the foot with it, so i can live with it [i.e. being on a low p month voice contract with bundles vs. 'n full data high rate per month contract. In the end im not bound to Vodacom for my data, especially if MTN offers similar services].

All in all the data connection itself has been great. Even on GPRS in the middle of farm country i could browse and get emails just fine. As for costs, i also agree if you do the math it can work you out cheaper than having a landline with a modem in your house. I know quite a few that dropped their landline in favour for 100MB and 250MB packages on their cellphone contract [using EDGE/GPRS] which has alot more use in general [can actually use it 24-7 unlike the whole "callmore-time" effect]
 
damn, this brown nose thread of mine has really taken off..... hey v3g, i think i deserve a nice little freebie ... i think a v800 will do :) if you need the address where to send, just pm me...
 
I have just received my second 3G data card for the desktop at home. I'm impressed...the card was loaded with V14 firmware and the CD was V5.00.0017...Well I guess the fact that I have invested in a second data card (upgrade time on my normal voice contract) says it all. Still no antenna though...i'll go do the necessary ;-)

and I have had 3G coverage since the beginning of the Month..Thanks Vodacom and the team!
 
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