MTN 3G....

|tera|

|tera|

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Hi guys ;)

Hope someone can answer this question.

I have a friend who has an MTN contract phone, he's currently using a Nokia 6110 Navigator to connect to the internet on his laptop.

The problem is, he only gets GPRS speeds. Now, I'm not sure if you have to subscribe to MTN 3G first, or is it automatic like Vodacom?

It could very well be that the MTN Tower near him does not support 3G, since he lives about half way between nowhere really. His MTN signal is full however, no matter where he goes in that area.

Do you have to subscribe to MTN, and if he chooses to, how much does it cost?

Thanks
tera
 
No you don't need to do anything except enable the sim which he must have already done to be getting GPRS.
with a 272 modem i get
+/- 1000-2000 kbps download
+/- 1000 kbps upload
without activating or paying for anything extra

That Nokia is HSDPA capable ??
 
Thanks Tun@, then I gather it's the tower that doesn't support 3G yet, although the guy said MTN guys upgraded it a while back and spent 2 days working on it.

That Nokia is HSDPA capable yes ;)
 
Ok.....I don't know nokia's since 3310's
Theres no settings in the ph or the connection options to try force 3g only or band selection would be my only other thought?
 
I'll have to see when I'm in that area again. Would have been much easier if MTN had a list of 3G capable towers.

Thanks for the help ;)
 
Tun@ said:
No answers here?

http://www.mtn.co.za/?pid=11789
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, searched the town name in the street map search and it doesn't seem as if 3G is supported :( sucks, but that's rural areas for you ;)

Edit: it seems the street search is a bit stuffed, searched for my town and it shows as no coverage, but I know we've got 3G ;)
 
Hmmm 1st time i had a look myself - is correct for me.
Needed to leave suburb + city blank and just enter street name for it to show the correct choice of where i was tho.

Good luck with it
 
Ahh, I only entered the town name and selected a few areas. Thanks for the replies again ;) Have a cool weekend.
 
Hi
Also make sure that the handset is on dual mode, in this way it will log onto 3G if it ever becomes available.

Menu
Settings
Phone
Network
GSM : will only allow the handset to log onto 2G even if 3G is available.
Dual : Will log onto the best available network i.e. if 3G is available it will stay on 3G, if only 2G is available it will automatically fallback onto 2G.
UMTS : Will only look and logon to 3G, If there is no 3G currently available, then it wont log onto any network.

Hope this helps.

Regards
 
Also, you can answer all your questions but looking at your phone and it should say 3G under the bars that show signal strength and just a normal attenna if you are in a GPRS area. Then if its EDGE, it should show an 'E' but I am not sure but if you connect to the internet ON your phone, then it should says G, E, 3G or 3.5G - thats the easiest way to tell :)
 
I am having the exact same problem using my fone as a modem. i have a Sony Ericsson W910i, i get the 3G logo saying i have 3G signal but it only connects at gprs speeds. any ideas?
 
Nokia 6110 Navigator having the same problem with cell tower capabilities.

Step 1: Check coverage
http://www.mtn.co.za/MTNServices/broadband/Pages/CoverageMap.aspx
and the other link for coverage posted here don't seem to give any map.

Update 1:
Most likely IE 64Bit and flash, point being Cell Phones probably can't get that info either.
A table of MTN cell tower capabilities would be quicker and cheaper instead of schlep with maps.

Update 2:
As for speed, I've see Vodacom 3G downloading at 34kB/s. MTN Edge downloading at low 25kB/s.
 
Last edited:
so far it seems as though Vodacom has a LOT bigger HSDPA coverage than MTN .... I have a vodacom data contract, and a Nokia 6110 Navigator and Nokia E71 .... and it is very few times that I can connect on 3G with MTN .... was starting to wonder about my MTN SIM, but with my Vodacom SIM in these phones, I can connect to HSDPA a lot more
 
set your phones to 3g only, in your network settings.. On each device it is termed differently.. Then it can't connect on gprs no matter how hard it tries.. Of course you have to be in 3g reception area for this to take effect..
 
Dr_Data said:
Hi
Also make sure that the handset is on dual mode, in this way it will log onto 3G if it ever becomes available.

Menu
Settings
Phone
Network
GSM : will only allow the handset to log onto 2G even if 3G is available.
Dual : Will log onto the best available network i.e. if 3G is available it will stay on 3G, if only 2G is available it will automatically fallback onto 2G.
UMTS : Will only look and logon to 3G, If there is no 3G currently available, then it wont log onto any network.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Click to expand...

Yip, this is the one! Make sure it is set to Dual.

As an aside to other comments on this thread, I have a Nokia N82 S60V3 on MTN and often get 3.5G speeds (well at least the icon in the upper left shows 3.5G!:))
 
Last edited:
LancelotSA said:
Yip, this is the one! Make sure it is set to Dual.

As an aside to other comments on this thread, I have a Nokia N82 S60V3 on MTN and often get 3.5G speeds (well at least the icon in the upper left shows 3.5G!:))
Click to expand...

LancelotSA

Just a question, in my area lately I'm getting MAX 20 - 30 kbps download :eek: I am aware they are upgrading towers in my area, I'm just keen to know what Downloads you get
 
Pitbull said:
LancelotSA

Just a question, in my area lately I'm getting MAX 20 - 30 kbps download :eek: I am aware they are upgrading towers in my area, I'm just keen to know what Downloads you get
Click to expand...

I only use my cellphone connection on my actual phone Pitbull and hardly ever use it to connect to my laptop, as I use my ADSL on there, so have never really checked the actual speeds. I am only able to base my comments on the fact that the display shows E, 3G or 3.5G at times.

I suppose I could do a speed test on my cellphone... but at R2/meg I am a tight wad! :) ha ha

EDIT : Anyone know of a speedtest you can use on your cellphone? I tried speedtest.net on the Nokia browser (did not work at all) and Opera (required flash v7.0 download)
 
Last edited:
LancelotSA said:
I only use my cellphone connection on my actual phone Pitbull and hardly ever use it to connect to my laptop, as I use my ADSL on there, so have never really checked the actual speeds. I am only able to base my comments on the fact that the display shows E, 3G or 3.5G at times.

I suppose I could do a speed test on my cellphone... but at R2/meg I am a tight wad! :) ha ha

EDIT : Anyone know of a speedtest you can use on your cellphone? I tried speedtest.net on the Nokia browser (did not work at all) and Opera (required flash v7.0 download)
Click to expand...

I assume as much from your post, thought I might be lucky and you downloaded something to your laptop via your cellphone :o. I'm trying to see what kind of speed I;m getting cos 20-30 kbs is little more than dial-up and that is at 3.5G :eek:

Just temp. but still damn annoying :p
 
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