MTN Data Network?

[Mo0s]

Wanna change to MTN and take advantage of the free extra data promo but I'm a little unsure about the quality of their data network. Is it stable? Are speeds generally good?

 

[cavedog]

Best for me. I have 1 gripe with MTN though. They don't allow LTE on prepaid sims. Makes me angry because they have no reason but if you are going to use 3G only then its the best network to use for me.......

Well to be honest Vodacom and MTN has the best networks. Telkom Mobile has decent speed too but very limited coverage...

MTN prepaid Mahala sim gives free on net airtime when recharging and decent data promo's and decent data expiry of 60days or unlimited as long as you load a bundle every 60days then the data can last you forever....

Spend R6 get R60 free on net airtime to use the same day. 1c per second [60c per minute] price plan is the cheapest out there. So they have decent deals.

 

[Mo0s]

Best for me. I have 1 gripe with MTN though. They don't allow LTE on prepaid sims. Makes me angry because they have no reason but if you are going to use 3G only then its the best network to use for me.......

Well to be honest Vodacom and MTN has the best networks. Telkom Mobile has decent speed too but very limited coverage...

MTN prepaid Mahala sim gives free on net airtime when recharging and decent data promo's and decent data expiry of 60days or unlimited as long as you load a bundle every 60days then the data can last you forever....

Spend R6 get R60 free on net airtime to use the same day. 1c per second [60c per minute] price plan is the cheapest out there. So they have decent deals.

That s good to know. I've heard some horror stories like MTN is just as bad as Cell C

 

[gfmalan]

I'm with MTN from 1995, and no funny business. Have 5 contracts with 3 voice and 2 data. I have also 2 sims per data contract (ipad and nb on a contract).

A few years back we did a comparison, me and my friend (he is with Vodacom), on that stage Vodacom had more subscribers, but the ratio was more pre paid than contract. MTN had less, but more was contract people. This made me feel MTN is more serious about business. On that stage also Vodacom had allot of specials and funny features to get more prepaid users.

So this is my opinion.. MTN network is less clogged with users that waste time and bandwidth than say MTN.

I have simcards from most of the networks as i do signal tests acros SA, and all i can say, stay away from Cell C if you want to be on the move and keep your connection open. The handing over from tower to tower is the worst.

What complicates it is the other networks that use voda and mtn to piggy back.

So go for MTN or Vodacom!
Also MTN doesnt have the "Shark" to bite you!

 

[gfmalan]

I would also suggest to get someone with MTN to test the signal at your house or place you want to use it before signing.

 

[Mo0s]

I'm with MTN from 1995, and no funny business. Have 5 contracts with 3 voice and 2 data. I have also 2 sims per data contract (ipad and nb on a contract).

A few years back we did a comparison, me and my friend (he is with Vodacom), on that stage Vodacom had more subscribers, but the ratio was more pre paid than contract. MTN had less, but more was contract people. This made me feel MTN is more serious about business. On that stage also Vodacom had allot of specials and funny features to get more prepaid users.

So this is my opinion.. MTN network is less clogged with users that waste time and bandwidth than say MTN.

I have simcards from most of the networks as i do signal tests acros SA, and all i can say, stay away from Cell C if you want to be on the move and keep your connection open. The handing over from tower to tower is the worst.

What complicates it is the other networks that use voda and mtn to piggy back.

So go for MTN or Vodacom!
Also MTN doesnt have the "Shark" to bite you!

Thanks for the valuable perspective man. I'm definately gonna do some tests aswell

 

[Mo0s]

I would also suggest to get someone with MTN to test the signal at your house or place you want to use it before signing.

You're right on the money mate! I'll do that.

 

[cavedog]

I'm with MTN from 1995, and no funny business. Have 5 contracts with 3 voice and 2 data. I have also 2 sims per data contract (ipad and nb on a contract).

A few years back we did a comparison, me and my friend (he is with Vodacom), on that stage Vodacom had more subscribers, but the ratio was more pre paid than contract. MTN had less, but more was contract people. This made me feel MTN is more serious about business. On that stage also Vodacom had allot of specials and funny features to get more prepaid users.

So this is my opinion.. MTN network is less clogged with users that waste time and bandwidth than say MTN.

I have simcards from most of the networks as i do signal tests acros SA, and all i can say, stay away from Cell C if you want to be on the move and keep your connection open. The handing over from tower to tower is the worst.

What complicates it is the other networks that use voda and mtn to piggy back.

So go for MTN or Vodacom!
Also MTN doesnt have the "Shark" to bite you!

So true and very shocking from Cellc. I witnessed a accident where a pedestrian was knocked down on the N2 between Richards Bay and Empangeni. I called 082911 for a Netcare ambulance. While explaining to Netcare where to send the ambulance the call got cut. They phoned me back and it got cut again. So when they phoned back the 3rd time I pulled over to take the call because the signal seemed to be between 2 towers and the handover back and fourth between the 2 towers was not good and the call will get cut.

I carry my contract sim in a cheap R99 phone and use MTN now. I was able to make a call at home talk for 25min or so and reached work without the call cutting.

So yes when choosing a network for me its a no brainer. Its Yellow or Red

 

[Mo0s]

So true and very shocking from Cellc. I witnessed a accident where a pedestrian was knocked down on the N2 between Richards Bay and Empangeni. I called 082911 for a Netcare ambulance. While explaining to Netcare where to send the ambulance the call got cut. They phoned me back and it got cut again. So when they phoned back the 3rd time I pulled over to take the call because the signal seemed to be between 2 towers and the handover back and fourth between the 2 towers was not good and the call will get cut.

I carry my contract sim in a cheap R99 phone and use MTN now. I was able to make a call at home talk for 25min or so and reached work without the call cutting.

So yes when choosing a network for me its a no brainer. Its Yellow or Red

Wow, that's bad.... Really bad. I'm currently with Cell C right now and only struggling with data, hence why I'm considering MTN. Never struggled with voice.

 

[cavedog]

Wow, that's bad.... Really bad. I'm currently with Cell C right now and only struggling with data, hence why I'm considering MTN. Never struggled with voice.

Yeah its fine if the towers are close to each other or if you are connected to a single tower during a call. If the 2 towers are very far from each other for me it tends to drop the call. Not always but often

 

[mike6870]

MTN great. Go prepaid with Afrihost for the best experience.

 

[Mo0s]

How accurate is the Speedtest.net app in testing "real world" speeds? I want to do proper tests.

 

[gfmalan]

Hi,

It's not, you can do couple of tests just after each other and it would differ. The easiest and most accurate is to use a download manager that can open multiple threads, and download something big, like say a Linux distro.
(You don't need to download the whole thing, just wait for it to stabilize, then you have the idea)

This will give you true throughput and you can just make sure that the "other side" where the file reside has enough bandwidth (more than you) then the test is the closest to accurate.

I use FDM and depending what's the closest datacentre/area, I would download from a mirror server in that area.
I also do continuous pings to local and international IP's to get a latency idea.

 

[Mo0s]

Hi,

It's not, you can do couple of tests just after each other and it would differ. The easiest and most accurate is to use a download manager that can open multiple threads, and download something big, like say a Linux distro.
(You don't need to download the whole thing, just wait for it to stabilize, then you have the idea)

This will give you true throughput and you can just make sure that the "other side" where the file reside has enough bandwidth (more than you) then the test is the closest to accurate.

I use FDM and depending what's the closest datacentre/area, I would download from a mirror server in that area.
I also do continuous pings to local and international IP's to get a latency idea.

How's LoaderDroid? Used to use it before as a download manager

 

[Enzo Matrix]

If you want Edge everywhere, then by all means go to MTN.

 

[Mo0s]

If you want Edge everywhere, then by all means go to MTN.

Hahaha. Compared to Vodacom?

 

[Enzo Matrix]

Hahaha. Compared to Vodacom?

Vodacom has a better data network in my experience. I live in the West Rand and i promise you i have Edge more than half of the time in the area. They installed an antennae at my house so at least that helped. But i wont be renewing.

 

[cavedog]

Vodacom has a better data network in my experience. I live in the West Rand and i promise you i have Edge more than half of the time in the area. They installed an antennae at my house so at least that helped. But i wont be renewing.

Yes for me its other way around. I have LTE and 3G with MTN and Telkom Mobile and barely 3G with Cellc but ONLY edge with Vodacom. If I force my phone to 3G with Vodacom it says 'no service' that is how bad the coverage of Vodacom 3G is for me. So it will always differ for place to place. Some people actually find Cellc the best network but I think its might just be a few people

 

[Mo0s]

Yes for me its other way around. I have LTE and 3G with MTN and Telkom Mobile and barely 3G with Cellc but ONLY edge with Vodacom. If I force my phone to 3G with Vodacom it says 'no service' that is how bad the coverage of Vodacom 3G is for me. So it will always differ for place to place. Some people actually find Cellc the best network but I think its might just be a few people

Pretty much been my thoughts exactly. It's all relative. Hence why tests must be done.

 

[cavedog]

Pretty much been my thoughts exactly. It's all relative. Hence why tests must be done.

Yeah but that is what gets me angry because being a LTE junky MTN not allowing prepaid users to use their LTE network you might have max 2Mbps download speed on 3G because of congestion or something but have 35Mbps connection on LTE on the same tower.

That is what I noticed. Poor MTN 3G speeds at night here to the tower I'm connected to but my afrihost LTE sim is flying 35Mbps LTE connection.