Mobile data users losing out

chubster said:
Which APN allows open incoming ports?
And should a Pre-Paid customer also sign a form?
Are they only blocking public access incoming ports or are they blocking incoming from other Vodacom clients?
I'm asking this because on MTN, I used to get port 135/445 Microsoft Windows Network Client (I didn't bother to check if it is official MS client or a worm) requests to my PC/Phone, even though I run Linux.
Why doesn't the links work on the Vodacom FAQ, they just jump to the same Thread.
Click to expand...

- Unrestricted APN

- Everyone must sign the form

- All incoming ports, irrespective of originating IP.

- Which links don't work?
 
andres101 said:
stoke, you are correct. the solution is quite simple... if Vodacom is buying at a flat rate, they should also be selling at a flat rate (like the rest of world).
Click to expand...

Vodacom buys in bits/second but sells in bundles of bytes. Converting between the two creates the complications.

If we sold in bits/s it would make everything much easier and there would be no caps, roll-over, etc.

But no-one would be able to afford it.
 
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diabolus said:
I still don't believe "rollover" is the ultimate answer, it's just "patching" a silly system to begin with.

If i had my way, you'd pay a monthly fee for a lower per MB rate . Same as voice. I don't mind if you put a 10GB "excessive use" cap on everyone per month purely based on limitations of the network. But i am willing to pay say R300 a month to -NOT- have to buy a bundle of any kind and to NOT have to worry "am i going to lose some obscure pre-allocated amount" or "am i still in my bundle or not?" . If i use 100MB one month and 2GB the next, i do NOT want to feel "oh crap, i've just wasted money" .

For that R300 i'd instead pay 20c a MB and be done with it. The operator can even go as far and say if you are on these "bundle-less" contracts, then your "excessive use" cap is higher based on your contract.

In reality it would look like this:
i.e.
Data Contract @ R100 a month
Data Tariff @ 50c a MB .

--> if i use nothing, i only pay R100. If i use 1GB, i pay R100 + R500 = R600 . If i don't like 50c p/mb you go on a "bigger" priceplan

i.e.
Data Contract @ R300 a month
Data Tariff @ 20c a MB
Get 1GB free <---rollover on this is another story but it's essentially not a bundle it's like "free minutes".


**Cap set at 5GB/10GB or whatever.

And looking at it, operators might actually make more out of this, and people might even feel less ripped off. I mean look at your Voice Contracts, you might pay R300 a month on your "procall 120" or whatever package..you DON'T always use all the free minutes, and all you -really- get is a lower per minute tariff! (andf maybe a phone). I don't see people complain as much about that...
Click to expand...

Very much a valid way of looking at it. ;)
 
vodacom3g said:
- Unrestricted APN

- Everyone must sign the form

- All incoming ports, irrespective of originating IP.

- Which links don't work?
Click to expand...

3) The links FAQ links in your footnote.

So must I contact them via phone or have to go in to a Vodacom Care?
Or can I just e-mail them, will they only then supply you with the actual APN name then?
Can you have a mixed setup, where you only want a specific range to be opened up? e.g. TCP: 80,443, 1024-65535. ICMP: echo-request (type 8) Something similar?
 
chubster said:
3) The links FAQ links in your footnote.

So must I contact them via phone or have to go in to a Vodacom Care?
Or can I just e-mail them, will they only then supply you with the actual APN name then?
Can you have a mixed setup, where you only want a specific range to be opened up? e.g. TCP: 80,443, 1024-65535. ICMP: echo-request (type 8) Something similar?
Click to expand...

That's a forum-only FAQ. And probably very much out of date. Trying to find someone to update it for me. (I'll pay in beer)

The form is on vodacom.co.za somewhere.

It's a all open / all closed option at the moment. Don't think it's feasible to have it per port number as among the millions of end-users any port could be required to be open.
 
vodacom3g said:
That's a forum-only FAQ. And probably very much out of date. Trying to find someone to update it for me. (I'll pay in beer)

The form is on vodacom.co.za somewhere.

It's a all open / all closed option at the moment. Don't think it's feasible to have it per port number as among the millions of end-users any port could be required to be open.
Click to expand...

Well then Vodacom can have another option for the customer, because I'm only interested in not being billed for unwanted Sasser Worm/Microsoft Windows Client requests. So that would mean block TCP 135,445 and leave the rest open, would be a nice option for me. I'm not a Microsoft user.

On MTN I just have to be connected and I get unwanted incoming Data requests from Sasser type worms. Yes I know there are some port scans happening from some foreign IPs, but the frequency is a lot less than from those pesky Microsoft Network clients.
 
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chubster said:
Well then Vodacom can have another option for the customer, because I'm only interested in not being billed for unwanted Sasser Worm/Microsoft Windows Client requests. So that would mean block TCP 135,445 and leave the rest open, would be a nice option for me. I'm not a Microsoft user.

On MTN I just have to be connected and I get unwanted incoming Data requests from Sasser type worms. Yes I know there are some port scans happening from some foreign IPs, but the frequency is a lot less than from those pesky Microsoft Network clients.
Click to expand...

OK, we'll change the APN and cut off the few Microsoft users out there. :)

Reality is, once you start with 'custom' APN's where do you stop? Took me a year to get the unrestricted APN approved!
 
vodacom3g said:
OK, we'll change the APN and cut off the few Microsoft users out there. :)

Reality is, once you start with 'custom' APN's where do you stop? Took me a year to get the unrestricted APN approved!
Click to expand...

You have to consider there are MAC/FreeBSD/Linux/Symbian(cellphone) users out there. :D Otherwise I will have to switch over to an unlimited option on another provider *cough* where I'm controlling the firewall and blocking those nasty Microsoft/Worms. Just a suggestion...
 
vodacom3g said:
Vodacom buys in bits/second but sells in bundles of bytes. Converting between the two creates the complications.

If we sold in bits/s it would make everything much easier and there would be no caps, roll-over, etc.

But no-one would be able to afford it.
Click to expand...
The cost to users would be the average of the cost users are paying right now!


JK8 said:

Really? check again.

/ check next week if its not on today...;)
Click to expand...
Unused in-bundle data expires at month end.
<snip>
Unused data will be forfeited. Use bundled bytes within 30 days.
Click to expand...
 
chubster said:
Thanks, but the http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/unrestricted_apn/unrestricted_apn.jsp

Only mentions TCP/UDP, it doesn't mention anything about ICMP or any type of IP encapsulation. I'm asking because they didn't state clearly that it supports ANY type of IP protocol.
Click to expand...

MY understanding (and original request) is that it's open at IP level, i.e. you can run whatever you want over IP.

The issue with the various APN's is not that we don't acknowledge other OS's. For sure we do, I use all of them.

Rather it's an issue with creating various permutations of APN's and then maintaining them.
 
vodacom3g said:
Vodacom buys in bits/second but sells in bundles of bytes. Converting between the two creates the complications.

If we sold in bits/s it would make everything much easier and there would be no caps, roll-over, etc.

But no-one would be able to afford it.
Click to expand...

They would if you sold it in hours. So they'd have a x amount of time to use an xspeed service.

Problem would come in though when the client pays for xspeed but doesn't get xspeed.
 
OK then Wou da kom Free Gee. I like the whole river and water scenario - but you are making one fundamental flaw.

1) You are paying (per month) for access to "the river".
2) The size of your "river" is dependant on how much you pay per month.
3) You pay for access to "the river" regardless of wheter you use it or not.

So if you really want to make things as simple as 1,2,3 and pass that notion straight to the customer then....

1) Why not let us pay per month for access to a "pipe into the river" ?
2) The size of our "pipe" depends on how much we pay each month ?
3) We pay for access to the "pipe" no matter if we use it or not ?

Bringing in buckets only complicates the whole thing AND it is making the makers of these damn buckets pretty rich.

So then Wou da kom Free Gee - can you say "flatrate" ? :p
 
vodacom3g said:
Maybe explain more?

AFAIK, pre-paid and top-up (just another pre-paid option) is valid for 30 days, just like contract.
Click to expand...

No roll overs yet, just data bundles are now available to Top Up customers.
 
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