MTN Handsets

Tahir Ally said:
Look like some one is the weakest link fror launching 3G late.
Click to expand...
MTN's strategy was from my understanding to focus in the short term on EDGE technology and not 3G.
Not a bad move considering some of the bad reports from Vodacom 3G users:
i.e. Frustration at service and lack of knowledge- http://www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=20385
Many were complaining that:
1. The coverage is very limited.... and
2. In many cases it's slower than dial-up.

In the Broadband ratings report (available on this site) Vodacom 3G came
in second to last, with only iBurst receiving a worse score. This is nothing to write home about :)

Whilst MTN's management may well be dysfunctional, at times just simply incompetent, any serious
Telco Industry insider will tell you, their fully integrated infrastructure is vastly superior.
 
dbnnet said:
MTN's strategy was from my understanding to focus in the short term on EDGE technology and not 3G.
Not a bad move considering some of the bad reports from Vodacom 3G users:
i.e. Frustration at service and lack of knowledge- http://www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=20385
Many were complaining that:
1. The coverage is very limited.... and
2. In many cases it's slower than dial-up.

In the Broadband ratings report (available on this site) Vodacom 3G came
in second to last, with only iBurst receiving a worse score. This is nothing to write home about :)

...(snip).. any serious Telco Industry insider will tell you, their fully integrated infrastructure is vastly superior.
Click to expand...

Thank you for (some of) the comments here. We did consider a number of leading 3G vendors in a rigorous process but having selected Ericsson and rolled out the network we believe there is a performance advantage in having an integrated single-supplier network. This helps a lot with GPRS/EDGE performance as well as 3G issues such as inter-network handovers which are a critical area in user experience.

Regarding our strategy, we have publically stated since our live demos of 3G/EDGE and GPRS in May last year that we our Broadband Strategy is to combine the benefits of all three technologies. GPRS has the benefit of 100% coverage of our network and a millions of capable handsets on the network. EDGE has the benefits of coverage, handset prices, high penetration, battery life and reliability and hundreds of thousands of capable handsets already on the network. At present it also supports almost twice the upload speed of 3G. In addition, EDGE is a stable technology.

3G is a modern radio technology best suited for higher density areas with high data speeds, video telephony and the future option of upgrading to far higher data rates.

We have been very careful not to launch 3G too early. We have seen the handsets improve over the last few months in a number of ways. Not only are they now smaller and more attractive, but performing better in our lab tests.

We will be launching on a 3G network as modern as any in the world with the latest stable hardware and software releases (which were only available in 2005) and already designed to accommodate the 3G upgrades recently finalised on the roadmap. Our team includes engineers who have rolled out 3G in a number of countries. We are glad to have waited out the pains of early deployments although it has still been a steep learning curve.

Our combined strategy does provide an element of complexity on the network side but we do hope it will provide a better user experience after we have launched 3G and continue to expand coverage.
 
iPAQ h6340 Cell Broadcast

Hi MTNHandsets,

I recently purchased an h6340 to make use of the Pocket PC interface with the GPRS connectivity for data transfer. While trying to familiarise myself with the device I tried to setup the Cell Broadcast (Channel 050 and 900) . It seems however that the cell broadcast doesn't work - at least I'm not getting any area info / tower info.

Do you have a solution for me RE this problem? I would like to see if I can use the Area info to tag the data that is captured and transferred to central location.
 
Hello, can anyone confirm if the Nokia 7710 is already available? This month my contract is due for an upgrade and was wondering if this phone is here as yet? I was first looking to acquire the 6630 but this phone has blown me away, although it doesn't have 3G capability ... :(
 
ScrnScrm said:
dude, think VERY carefully before buying a phone without 3G...
Click to expand...

I know MTN are going to launch 3G ( or so I've heard ... :D ) but at the moment I'm not too keen on it as I was looking into buying a smartphone and willing to try EDGE first ... I sincerely hope that Nokia releases a 3G enable version of this phone in due course ... but is it out yet?
 
MTN Strategy *****

MTNBroadband said:
Thank you for (some of) the comments here. We did consider a number of leading 3G vendors in a rigorous process but having selected Ericsson and rolled out the network we believe there is a performance advantage in having an integrated single-supplier network. This helps a lot with GPRS/EDGE performance as well as 3G issues such as inter-network handovers which are a critical area in user experience.

Regarding our strategy, we have publically stated since our live demos of 3G/EDGE and GPRS in May last year that we our Broadband Strategy is to combine the benefits of all three technologies. GPRS has the benefit of 100% coverage of our network and a millions of capable handsets on the network. EDGE has the benefits of coverage, handset prices, high penetration, battery life and reliability and hundreds of thousands of capable handsets already on the network. At present it also supports almost twice the upload speed of 3G. In addition, EDGE is a stable technology.

3G is a modern radio technology best suited for higher density areas with high data speeds, video telephony and the future option of upgrading to far higher data rates.

We have been very careful not to launch 3G too early. We have seen the handsets improve over the last few months in a number of ways. Not only are they now smaller and more attractive, but performing better in our lab tests.

We will be launching on a 3G network as modern as any in the world with the latest stable hardware and software releases (which were only available in 2005) and already designed to accommodate the 3G upgrades recently finalised on the roadmap. Our team includes engineers who have rolled out 3G in a number of countries. We are glad to have waited out the pains of early deployments although it has still been a steep learning curve.

Our combined strategy does provide an element of complexity on the network side but we do hope it will provide a better user experience after we have launched 3G and continue to expand coverage.
Click to expand...

Being involved in several 3G rollouts personally, can’t agree more with MTN’s Strategy *****
 
A1000

MTNHandsets said:
I agree with the points made by MTNBB. It is true that the A1000 is a fully featured product, however there are other products which were available at the same time, for example the Motorola A835, the Siemens U15, the Sony Ericsson Z1010 etc. These were literally the very first batch of 3G phones that were potentially available in our market area.

Strategically, it makes little sense to launch a 3G network and offer or promote, 6 month old products. In cellular product lifecycle terms, 6 months is a huge amount of time - many products have an entire lifecycle of less than 6 months. The risk would be that nobody would be interested in these older (and I need to add, dramatically more expensive - as is the case with cutting edge technologies) products should we offer them at our launch. Experience has shown this to often be the case...

MTN has always strived to make the widest choice of products available to our customers. Often, products that are not promoted specifically, are available on request.

Regarding your particular needs in terms of the A1000, I would very much like to assist in any way possible. I will send you a PM to discuss the possibilities in terms of this product or any potential alternatives.
Click to expand...

MTNH

Regarding your previous response to looking into the A1000, is there any advise you can give me? I am desperate to buy this phone, but want to be sure it will be compatible with the MTN network.

Please advise

Thanks
 
Nokia 6822

Hi MTNHandset

I connected with a Nokia 6822 (supposedly class 10 EDGE enabled), connected to PC with DKU-5 cable, had the GPRS settings send to me etc. It said Yello Broadband on the screen and I get download speeds of - a whopping 1kB/s. Dial-up in the order of 5kB/s download, so about 20% of dial-up speed.

I live in Oude Westhof, Bellville, Cape Town. Cell display changes between "Kenridge", "Welgedacht", "Stellenberg" and "Yello Broadband". Signal strength very good. Max port speed set at 115200. Nokia 6822, dialling *99# with no username or password. Running XP Home.

Under "Control Panel", "Nokia Modem Options" the data transfer speed was set at 9.6 kbits/s and I don't seem to eable to increase that - the driver I used I downloaded of the Nokia website - it shows up as a "standard 9600 bps modem", which doesn't seem right.

Why is the connection this slow? I know lot of other people has been complaining as well. Driver? MTN?
 
swp said:
Hi MTNHandset

I connected with a Nokia 6822 (supposedly class 10 EDGE enabled), connected to PC with DKU-5 cable, had the GPRS settings send to me etc. It said Yello Broadband on the screen and I get download speeds of - a whopping 1kB/s. Dial-up in the order of 5kB/s download, so about 20% of dial-up speed.

I live in Oude Westhof, Bellville, Cape Town. Cell display changes between "Kenridge", "Welgedacht", "Stellenberg" and "Yello Broadband". Signal strength very good. Max port speed set at 115200. Nokia 6822, dialling *99# with no username or password. Running XP Home.

Under "Control Panel", "Nokia Modem Options" the data transfer speed was set at 9.6 kbits/s and I don't seem to eable to increase that - the driver I used I downloaded of the Nokia website - it shows up as a "standard 9600 bps modem", which doesn't seem right.

Why is the connection this slow? I know lot of other people has been complaining as well. Driver? MTN?
Click to expand...


Are you sure the phone uses the DKU-5? The nokia website only lists the CA-42 cable as compatible...

If indeed the DKU-5 is supported you need to download the Nokia Connectivity Cable Driver for the DKU-5 from Nokia, and, although not essential, you might want to download Nokia One Touch Access
 
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Nokia 6810 x/i x x x x/n x x x x IrDA,Bluetooth DKU-5, CA-42
Nokia 6820 x x x x x/n x x x x IrDA,Bluetooth DKU-5, CA-42
Nokia 6822 x x x x x x x x x IrDA,Bluetooth DKU-5, CA-42
Nokia 7200 x x x x x/n x x x x IrDA DKU-5, CA-42
Nokia 7210 x x x x x x x x x IrDA DKU-5, CA-42

This is off the nokiausa website. I did manage to connect - it is just slow. That's why I am thinking driver. When I connect the connection states that I am connecting at 115.4 kbps - the MTN helpdesk seems to be happy with the driver and claim that EDGE can't be slower the 9.6 kbps - I may be making history here.
 
Is the DKU-5 cable a genuine Nokia cable?

The reason I ask is because you’re connection is reported as 115200, which is incorrect. It should be 460800. That is not the actual speed the phone will use, which with class 10 Edge is 236000b/s.

Change the speed setting to 460800. It might make a difference but you’re current setting of 115200 is not to blame for a transfer rate of 1KB/s. 1152000b/s should be close to 10KB/s.
 
Kompete said:
MTNH

Regarding your previous response to looking into the A1000, is there any advise you can give me? I am desperate to buy this phone, but want to be sure it will be compatible with the MTN network.

Please advise

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi,

Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about this product at this time. I have been informed by Motorola that they will not be launching it locally.
 
MTNHandsets said:
Hi,

Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about this product at this time. I have been informed by Motorola that they will not be launching it locally.
Click to expand...


I spoke to a motorola consultant a while ago and was told, when asking about the availablility of certain phones, that they (motorola and lipton griffon) ultimately are not the ones that decide whether a phone is launched in SA, but in fact the decision rests with the networkS.

I think that they were a bit inaccurate. Would anyone mind explaining how the networks and manufacturers work together when releasing a phone in SA?
 
Cube said:
I spoke to a motorola consultant a while ago and was told, when asking about the availablility of certain phones, that they (motorola and lipton griffon) ultimately are not the ones that decide whether a phone is launched in SA, but in fact the decision rests with the networkS.

I think that they were a bit inaccurate. Would anyone mind explaining how the networks and manufacturers work together when releasing a phone in SA?
Click to expand...

Hi
The manufacturers supply the test phones to the networks for compatability testing. The networks then test the units on their networks and make sure that they work properly. Often, they pick up problems and have firmware updates issued for the phone or PCCard before they are certified. (Case in point is the Novatel cards - the much publicised fix for the U630 was actually actioned by MTN, and it benefited all networks in SA and elsewhere. There was also a fix recently for the Nokia 6680 that MTN actioned). After the device is certified by the network, the manufacturer decides whether to release it or not in the local market. Sometimes, one of the 3 networks don't certify the phone, and at this point, the manufacturer can decide not to release it because of lower volumes (kickbacks from their respective factories are based on volumes). The market moves very very quickly, so sometimes if the phone is problematic, it may not be certified before its "sell by" date in which case we wont even see it!

IMHO this is the best approach - I prefer any phone I buy to be properly certified on the network I use. I dont like the hit and miss approach adopted by a lot of European and US operators.

To answer your question then : Manufacturers ultimately decide if a phone will be released or not, pending network certification. The networks do not dictate launch dates, only compatability.

Cheers -
ScrnScrm
 
3g Pda

MTNH

According to a thread elsewhere, Vodacom will be launching a 3G PDA 'Universal'; a '3G i-mate' from HTC, later this year (It will be launched as the Vodafone VDA-IV)

It is a Windows CE device with a clam-shell swivel screen and a full qwerty keyboard.

http://www.htc.com.tw/news/index.html

Any chance this 'sweet' handset will become available on the MTN network? I have been waiting too long for a 3G PDA and if MTN does not provide a competitive offering...i'm jumping ship :)
 
Kompete said:
MTNH

According to a thread elsewhere, Vodacom will be launching a 3G PDA 'Universal'; a '3G i-mate' from HTC, later this year (It will be launched as the Vodafone VDA-IV)

It is a Windows CE device with a clam-shell swivel screen and a full qwerty keyboard.

http://www.htc.com.tw/news/index.html

Any chance this 'sweet' handset will become available on the MTN network? I have been waiting too long for a 3G PDA and if MTN does not provide a competitive offering...i'm jumping ship :)
Click to expand...



Yes we certainly will be launching with the Universal. However, we will be launching with this product under the iMate brand. HTC still manufacture this, but it has been re-branded for different market areas around the world, so it is the same product.
 
3g Pda

MTNH

Great news! I can't wait. Any guess on the launch date?

Thx
 
It's very difficult to respond due to competitive concers etc, but this product should be available soon. Sorry I am unable to give a more comprehensive answer
 
MTNH, how about PMing some of us when you know? My upgrade is coming up soon and I'd wait for it if it is worth waiting for...

<edit>Let me rephrase that: The handset is well worth waiting for. I need to know if I should hang on (my contract expires February 2006) or go ahead and upgrade to another phone.</edit>
 
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