Local Only 3G / HSDPA Access

P

Phaff

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V3G
Will Vodacom not also consider offering the Local Only service in future? (like DataPro)
We make use of a VPN solution for support staff and provide datacards with bundles for this purpose, it would be great if these data cards could be tied to a APN that only allows access to local sites or even better one single IP.
(so that we dont give a guy a bundle he ends up wasting in a weekend on downloads)( cant have that now can we)

I did call you corporate support about setting up a APN for this purpose, it was a major mission just trying to get them to understand what I wanted. They promised to call me back :(

Maybe Vodacom could revise their Data charges, local traffic could be billed a little "cheaper" :-) than International traffic??

Regards
P
 
Phaff said:
V3G
Will Vodacom not also consider offering the Local Only service in future? (like DataPro)
We make use of a VPN solution for support staff and provide datacards with bundles for this purpose, it would be great if these data cards could be tied to a APN that only allows access to local sites or even better one single IP.
(so that we dont give a guy a bundle he ends up wasting in a weekend on downloads)( cant have that now can we)

I did call you corporate support about setting up a APN for this purpose, it was a major mission just trying to get them to understand what I wanted. They promised to call me back :(

Maybe Vodacom could revise their Data charges, local traffic could be billed a little "cheaper" :-) than International traffic??

Regards
P
Click to expand...

The correct answer is a dedicated apn. I've conveyed your frustrations to the Corporate Sales guys and they'll sort you out.

I'm going to pm you an e-mail address to use.
 
What if VC could step in where Telkom abandoned the broadband arena and offer uncapped local after using up your 1 GB? If not uncapped, maybe then 10c per MB. Would add a lot of value to the offering I would think.
 
Hmm, fat chance of that happening :p
Vodacom still has to pay telkom for local bandwidth (connecting their towers) so unless telkom had a change of heart and gave Vodacom much lower prices to connect their towers, it aint gonna happen.
 
Deiphos said:
Hmm, fat chance of that happening :p
Vodacom still has to pay telkom for local bandwidth (connecting their towers) so unless telkom had a change of heart and gave Vodacom much lower prices to connect their towers, it aint gonna happen.
Click to expand...

True, but Vodacom should be paying less for interconnecting their towers than international I would think.
 
ajax said:
True, but Vodacom should be paying less for interconnecting their towers than international I would think.
Click to expand...

I agree, but this is Telkom we are talking about, you really think they will give Vodacom any sort of discount?

Even if Vodacom could get it right to connect their towers using their own means, they will still have to pay telkom somewhere along the line because to my knowledge there are no servers hosted on the Vodacom network. No matter which way you look at it, telkom will get money from everyone, whether it be directly or indirectly, they have a stranglehold on the country and government is not really interested in sorting it out (they have got about 37% shares in telkom too, so what is the rush?).

So it would be nice, but I could imagine it being very difficult for Vodacom to implement with telkom still in the loop.
 
Deiphos said:
Hmm, fat chance of that happening :p
Vodacom still has to pay telkom for local bandwidth (connecting their towers) so unless telkom had a change of heart and gave Vodacom much lower prices to connect their towers, it aint gonna happen.
Click to expand...

I have been under the impression that cell phone operators are now allowed to construct there own links between there towers since the intro of 3G. I remember a article somwhere about MTN requesting this - and that request being granted by ICASA. Can anyone shed some clarity on this ???
 
3gmac said:
I have been under the impression that cell phone operators are now allowed to construct there own links between there towers since the intro of 3G. I remember a article somwhere about MTN requesting this - and that request being granted by ICASA. Can anyone shed some clarity on this ???
Click to expand...
They can do this but none of them are doing it at the moment. Even if they only start with linking two towers the saving would enable them to link more. I'm also in favour of this local only option. Maybe a local apn that gets billed at cheaper rates.
 
Ok, I stand corrected :p
Dunno why they don't want to link their towers over their own backhaul, maybe they aren't really worried, I mean they are already making their money from us, their profits are good so why change a winning system?
 
Deiphos said:
Ok, I stand corrected :p
Dunno why they don't want to link their towers over their own backhaul, maybe they aren't really worried, I mean they are already making their money from us, their profits are good so why change a winning system?
Click to expand...

Transmission is one of the biggest operational expenses and is always under scrutiny for potential cost savings, from self-provided copper or fibre, to microwave or other wireless technologies.
 
vodacom3g said:
Transmission is one of the biggest operational expenses and is always under scrutiny for potential cost savings, from self-provided copper or fibre, to microwave or other wireless technologies.
Click to expand...

Ok, fibre is pretty much the most stable and fastest link you can have, copper will be a waste of time since a few years down the line your entire network will be limited to the speed of your copper infrastructure, and if you guys are still planning on implementing your 100mb/s wireless service (was mentioned in some article here on MyADSL) then I would suggest fibre. Wireless connections between towers might just turn out to be repeaters and as you know wireless connections aren't stable, they are susceptable to weather and did I mention unstable?

So as many other players in the world have done, go for fibre, it might not be the most cost effective, but in the long run having your network running on a backbone that is up to date and can handle all the stresses is priceless.

Debate over, Vodacom, start laying that fibre! ;) :D
 
Awesome, how long until Vodacom has the fibre complete?
 
MrG said:
Awesome, how long until Vodacom has the fibre complete?
Click to expand...

Don't get carried away! :)

Back to the thread topic, i.e. local versus international access.

How much of your data work is local vs. international? Probably measured in amount of data downloaded.
 
ic said:
Open source, and lots of it, to start with, much like ftp.is.co.za, but if Vodacom implemented a SourceForge.net mirror on its own network, then Vodacom would have implemented yet another first for SA, and since the traffic would stay within Vodacom's own network [albeit with Telkodemonopolies links inbetween] it would be very cost effective for Vodacom :).
Click to expand...

We actually did discuss a sourceforge mirror, the only problem being that if you mirror their content, you must allow international downloaders access to the contents of the mirror. So Vodacom would be serving heaps of international data (exporting it overseas) and then in the end the consumers would pay quite a premium for this service because Vodacom would have to pay telkom a huge amount of cash at the end of the month.
 
Proxies would also do. You can use your local data on a proxy like OpenBrowse.
 
Vodacom - Unlimited Local Bandwidth

So when is Vodacom going to let us surf local for free? I think Vodacoms' high prices should at least include the free local bandwidth. Come on Voda, dont tell us you have no means of splitting International and Local, thats a feeble excuse. Get off your behinds and get us free local bandwidth, we are paying you a fortune.:(
 
I dont think FREE bandwidth is expected just yet from the mobile operators, but reduced prices to access local streams etc would be nice. South Africans do tend to use way more than their overseas counteparts when it comes to having an Uncapped connection.

Mostly due to not having bandwidth probably.
 
jannievdberg said:
So when is Vodacom going to let us surf local for free? I think Vodacoms' high prices should at least include the free local bandwidth. Come on Voda, dont tell us you have no means of splitting International and Local, thats a feeble excuse. Get off your behinds and get us free local bandwidth, we are paying you a fortune.:(
Click to expand...

I guess the day when local bandwidth is free (i.e no cost to build and carry local traffic) we can make it free.

It's easy enough to split local and international traffic, but I'm battling to see how we can get to free local traffic as the costs are substantial to provide the service.

Who gave you this "feeble excuse", by the way?

At best there could be a reduced rate for local but it would imply separate billing and that will just add to the cost. Rather the current model is to balance local vs international costs in the pricing model, based on average split seen.

When the new infrastructure is in place we'll be able to build new models.
 
Extortion is Vodacom's business, no amount of resoning will get them to bring their prices down.
 
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