Mobile data options compared
Hilton Tarrant looks at alternatives for users who aren’t mobile all that often…
Hilton Tarrant looks at alternatives for users who aren’t mobile all that often…
-
Join the MyBroadband community
South Africa’s biggest forum. Discuss, discover, and connect with thousands of members.
-
Question of the Day: What's the most interesting small town you've visited in South Africa?
Mobile data options compared
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
I have a 20 Mb bolt-on with my contract... and I hardly even use all of that! 
who.is.michael
Expert Member
Crazy fees charged! WiFi should be free...
grok
Honorary Master
Vodacom 3G, MyMeg 500 = R 189.00 (R 0.38 / MB)
Vodacom 3G, MyGig One = R 289.00 (R 0.28 / MB)
Vodacom 3G, MyGig Two = R 389.00 (R 0.19 / MB)
There is NOTHING cost-effective about the offerings in the article!
ya, but then you have to sign a contract with vodacom and if your usage is infrequent, that's not worthwhile at all.
I simply bought R100 bandwidth from G-Connect as a prepaid option, and now I don't need to worry until I eventually use it up, when I'll just add another 100. It all depends on your usage, I'll probaby total R300 - R400 for the year.
How would I do that with Vodacom? Without a contract I'd be paying R2 per meg!!!
grok
Honorary Master
The prices I quoted were taken from their 'Prepaid, Top Up, Month-to-Month and Once-off bundle options' - contract prices are slightly less.
See for yourself http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/vodacom_broadband/cost.jsp
Make no mistake I believe the mobile operators (Vodacom, MTN etc.) are ridiculously overpriced, but the presumption of the article was wrong. The options listed are not cost-effective at all.
See for yourself http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/vodacom_broadband/cost.jsp
Make no mistake I believe the mobile operators (Vodacom, MTN etc.) are ridiculously overpriced, but the presumption of the article was wrong. The options listed are not cost-effective at all.
Last edited:
You don't need a 3G modem. Almost any decent phone can be used as a modem for your laptop. Connect via bluetooth or cable. That's the cheapest option for a casual user. Wifi is useless unless you sit at the airport or coffee shops all day.
No, u missing the point. For those options you still have to pay a monthly rate, according to the website you linked. I have ADSL at home, I don't need to pay a monthly rate for mobile internet. I just want connectivity on the odd occasion I'm away. For that I don't wanna pay R189 / month. I wanna pay 100 every 2-3 months or whenever I need to.
grok
Honorary Master
You don't have to pay anything monthly - all you need is a Voda simcard for a couple of bucks & your 3G phone. Or MTN.
Use whatever suits you - my point is the original article's heading was Forget 3G-HSDPA: mobile data options compared & the 1st paragraph says For infrequent travellers, 3G connectivity does not make that much sense, especially if you're looking for cost-effective mobile broadband.
That is bull****!
Reads more like a paid-for review.
Use whatever suits you - my point is the original article's heading was Forget 3G-HSDPA: mobile data options compared & the 1st paragraph says For infrequent travellers, 3G connectivity does not make that much sense, especially if you're looking for cost-effective mobile broadband.
That is bull****!
Reads more like a paid-for review.
Ah, you're right. (And yes, the article's first sentence was sensationalism)
Still, I'd need to buy at least a R140 bundle to beat Gconnect's pricing and it would expire after 2 months. And I wouldn't have wifi access at airports, malls etc.
AND I'd be paying those so-and-so's at Vodacom even more money and they've had enough of my money over the years as it is.
(Oh, and coming soon, access on planes. Very cool, but am worried that it'll be exclusive. Gconnect's not bad at the moment, but monopoly never a good thing.)
I use Telkom 3g go 10gb. Out of bundle R0.30
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/w-cdma/do_move/cost.html
I did get max download at vodacom 810KBytes/s (6.64Mbits/s) (6553Kbits/s) with telkom I get 1200KBytes/s (9.83Mbit/s) (9830Kbits/s)
in Europe average price for 3g is $35 a month with no cap limit!!
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/w-cdma/do_move/cost.html
I did get max download at vodacom 810KBytes/s (6.64Mbits/s) (6553Kbits/s) with telkom I get 1200KBytes/s (9.83Mbit/s) (9830Kbits/s)
in Europe average price for 3g is $35 a month with no cap limit!!
Speedster
Honorary Master
When you buy a Vodacom data bundle, it expires on the last day of the next month. Also remember data per MB gets cheaper as you buy more data. If you use, for example, 100MB per month rather buy 200MB at the start of every second month. This way you'll save a couple of bucks a month.
I use roughly 100MB per month with on device browsing.
I use roughly 100MB per month with on device browsing.