MTN cuts off more numbers

[snobee]

Ok, so this doesn't have anything to do with ported numbers from Cell C to MTN?

 

[noxibox]

Agreed. Pity that consumers do not vote with feet. That said the operators know that their customers are locked into lengthy contracts and porting is a schlep.

Porting is trivial.

Options are limited.

That's the problem, where do I go?

I will be voting against MTN with my feet at my next upgrade. I am tired of poor internet services wherever I go. Now I have poor reception in my area for voice calls. Complaining has made no difference. Now this. Next upgrade bye-bye MTN

I've had exactly the same problems with Vodacom. I'll either go back to MTN or give 8ta a try.

 

[e.cachucho]

I will be voting against MTN with my feet at my next upgrade. I am tired of poor internet services wherever I go. Now I have poor reception in my area for voice calls. Complaining has made no difference. Now this. Next upgrade bye-bye MTN

amen to that

 

[Avenue]

Hi Ave. As I understand, it works like this: A caller from any phone (eg any cellphone) calls a cell C number (for example 084 196 6948 for the mxit international service) and gets a voice menu. From that voice menu, they type in an international number followed by # (for example 0012127773456# for New York - movie information). The Cell C number then puts the caller through to the international number.

The benefit is that the caller is only paying for a local (Cell C) call and not paying a premium for international, and in some cases could use bundled minutes.

If you call New York directly from an MTN phone you pay considerably more per minute, and cannot use bundled minutes, and if you are on contract you need to have international calling unbarred for it to work.

Currently, it seems that if you dial from an MTN cellphone to such a local service, your call is barred.

XConnect does not run such a service but we were providing international routes for many of the service providers who offer this, and there were a lot of MTN customers using the services, myself included.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, thats quite interesting. I agree with Akescpt, it would be nice if they told us about this stuff before they blocked it..... Not that there's anyone I plan to phone overseas... but still

 

[ZAFluffyBunny]

YAY I am so glad I left MTN and I convinced the wife to leave them as well. By leaving our combined bill has gone from over R1000 to R500, and most of all I get much better service... Cell C for the win

 

[The_Unbeliever]

YAY I am so glad I left MTN and I convinced the wife to leave them as well. By leaving our combined bill has gone from over R1000 to R500, and most of all I get much better service... Cell C for the win

 

[VQuest]

It is understood that MTN’s decision to cut off numbers from its network is based on these numbers being used to provide affordable international calling services.

Of course MTN doesn't want it's subscribers to be able to make affordable international calls - then they wouldn't be able to rip us off as much as before. Infuriates me!

 

[nexxus]

Thanks for the explanation, it still doesn't quite make sense. There's nothing untoward happening to MTN's network due to this, no loophole or contractual violation or exploit.

Is it just that they've taken their ball and gone home or do they have some sort of justification? It seems this is akin MS blocking Google on IE because it takes revenue from Bing?

 

[nexxus]

By their stony silence, I'm guessing it's just a tantrum and they have no real reason to block those numbers except that they're providing a competitive but legal alternative to international calling.

Of course, just because it's a tantrum does mean they can't do it. Can a provider choose not to connect to another?

 

[zamicro]

YAY I am so glad I left MTN and I convinced the wife to leave them as well. By leaving our combined bill has gone from over R1000 to R500, and most of all I get much better service... Cell C for the win

I did the same and my bill went from more than R1500 to just less than R500. I cannot believe that people still use MTN. Even VC is a lot cheaper. Do the MTN customers realise how much they are paying per minute for a call?

 

[zamicro]

Thanks for the explanation, it still doesn't quite make sense. There's nothing untoward happening to MTN's network due to this, no loophole or contractual violation or exploit.

Is it just that they've taken their ball and gone home or do they have some sort of justification? It seems this is akin MS blocking Google on IE because it takes revenue from Bing?

Yes, but you are not paying a monthly fee contracted for 24 months to use IE.