MTN Unilimited mobile broadband - does it add value?

Do you think MTN’s Unlimited service adds value to the mobile broadband market?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 17.5%

  • No

    Votes: 104 82.5%
  • Total voters
    126
My view is that this is a great initiative despite the fair use policy. It is a first step in changing the way mobile broadband has been sold up to now, and will force other operators to also come up with more innovative offerings.
 
so 128kbps is then the 'max' you will get, if you are right under the tower once again? so more around the 64kbps mark on a good day.... any person who downloads 80gb in 1 month over a 128kbps '3g' connection should be given an award or something for dedication.

I agree its a first step, but a really small step :P
 
I would agree with you however the price point it's launched at is absolutely ridiculous and cell networks don't exactly have a history of drastically cutting prices (really doing it, not "slashing" by R0.01) so it sets a bad precedent and shows there is no intention of providing a good offering for smartphone users who just want enough to not worry about what bandwidth their phone is using.
 
albert123 said:
so 128kbps is then the 'max' you will get, if you are right under the tower once again? so more around the 64kbps mark on a good day.... any person who downloads 80gb in 1 month over a 128kbps '3g' connection should be given an award or something for dedication.

I agree its a first step, but a really small step :P
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LOL ... should we start a competition???
 
rpm said:
The drawback on MTN’s Unlimited offerings is obviously performance, but considering that it is theoretically possible to upload and download around 80 GB per month on a symmetrical 128 Kbps connection the price per GB becomes attractive (around R10 per GB for the MTN Unlimited Lite service).
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not be an donkeyASS or something, but what the hell are you smoking????????? Attractive???????

This is attractive http://fhm.co.za/social/profile/LeandieBrandt/photos/#131

MTN new offer = http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o273/shraderd/FatChicks.jpg
 
Others pointed out that 128 Kbps is hardly broadband, but MTN said that their tests showed that this speed is adequate for basic Internet usage like email, general web surfing and social networks.
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Yeah but if you think about it, someone using more than 3GB per month won't really be interested in just email, general surfing & social networks. Can't even use Youtube with 128. Also those are not typical broadband uses, could have stuck with dial-up for those.
 
The only real drawback of the new MTN Unlimited services is therefore the low throttled speed after a user reaches the fair use limit, but at the current per-GB rates of around R200 any service which reduces this rate to an effective tens of Rands should be welcomed by subscribers which move a great deal of data over their mobile connections.
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The REAL REAL drawback is the 24 month contract. Why can't they offer it on a month-to-month basis?? When prices are dropping so drastically, why on Earth whould I sign a 24 month contract? I call it telecoms suicide.

Also, does anybody else here not see the irony in advertising 14.4mbps and 21mbps speeds, and then slapping on a 0.128mbps throttle??? They couldn't even make it past the 1.0mbps mark, yet they have the audacity to scream about 14.4 and 21mbps speeds. Idiots!

Vodacom, MTN, PLEASE STOP with all this crap of 14.4mbps, 21mbps, uncapped, in-bundle, out-of-bundle. Just give us simple capped data at a good price, exactly like Afrihost did. You could sell it at R100 a GB, and everyone will love you for it. Don't limit my speed, don't force me to buy 3GB or 5GB to get this rate, don't force me to buy uncapped to get
this rate. Just make it simple. R100 per GB. No rollover. Topup at R100 per GB when I want. Use it anytime. No contracts. No BS.

Is that too frikkin hard for you dimwits in upper management to understand?
 
I'm not such a succer to be pulled in by another 24 month contract ... Fool me once ...
 
Both of these new services will only be available on a 24 month contract, and include an HSPA modem or router.
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No! Surely this is not legal according to ICASA regulations? I don't need a modem or a router, I have two already!!!
 
I have used MTN's one-day unlimited service, and can say that the 128 kbps connection is typically quite stable - i.e., it actually gives 128kbps. Remember, you're still connecting to the tower at 7.2 / 14 / 21 / whatever, so 128kbps is nothing compared!

Granted, this was at night on a Friday, but I could at least get 128 kbps.

Guessing 'bandwidth-shaping' isn't the same as 'throttling down to almost zero'.

The 24 month contract is really disappointing. I am spending easily R700 so far a month on 3G while waiting for my ADSL, but there's no way I'm gonna sign up for this!
 
Those prices are forken expensive, especially considering the 128Kb throttling AND the 24-month contract, which gives a choice between a R800 3G device and a R1800 3G router.
ebendl said:
Granted, this was at night on a Friday, but I could at least get 128 kbps.
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Seems as dodgy as that R50 for 24-hours internet deal from MTN. For R50 "unlimited internet", I expect HSDPA speeds when I have an HSDPA connection, i.e. 120KB/s downloads speeds.
 
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ToxicWazte said:
The REAL REAL drawback is the 24 month contract. Why can't they offer it on a month-to-month basis?? When prices are dropping so drastically, why on Earth whould I sign a 24 month contract? I call it telecoms suicide.

Also, does anybody else here not see the irony in advertising 14.4mbps and 21mbps speeds, and then slapping on a 0.128mbps throttle??? They couldn't even make it past the 1.0mbps mark, yet they have the audacity to scream about 14.4 and 21mbps speeds. Idiots!

Vodacom, MTN, PLEASE STOP with all this crap of 14.4mbps, 21mbps, uncapped, in-bundle, out-of-bundle. Just give us simple capped data at a good price, exactly like Afrihost did. You could sell it at R100 a GB, and everyone will love you for it. Don't limit my speed, don't force me to buy 3GB or 5GB to get this rate, don't force me to buy uncapped to get
this rate. Just make it simple. R100 per GB. No rollover. Topup at R100 per GB when I want. Use it anytime. No contracts. No BS.

Is that too frikkin hard for you dimwits in upper management to understand?
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could not have said it better myself
 
1 small step for mobile broadband, 1 giant leap for customers to fixed line ADSL?

I was using on average 100Mb a month on Vodacom because I like to browse while sitting up in bed. Decided to sell my ethernet only ADSL router and buy a wireless ADSL router, hooked my laptop up to that, already broke even in cost the first month!!!
 
It is a LIE.

They are not doing anything to help the market, they are just trying to help their pockets.

*******s.
 
Looking at the bigger pic, 3G is a niche market and Vodacom commands the lions share of it... and with the decent MWEB type uncapped options out there... why oh why would I even consider this... no really, think about it, why? If MTN wants to gain market share they will have to do better... therefore this is a MTN EPIC FAIL!
 
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The drawback on MTN’s Unlimited offerings is obviously performance, but considering that it is theoretically possible to upload and download around 80 GB per month on a symmetrical 128 Kbps connection the price per GB becomes attractive (around R10 per GB for the MTN Unlimited Lite service).
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FAIL!
128kbps gives you about 12kb/s throughput on TCP/IP (taking into account overheads and parity).
Thus, if you take 12kb per second * 3600 seconds in hour * 24 hours in a day * 30 days in a month you get 33696000kilobytes, or 32906.25megabytes or : 32.13GB

While this is not broadband it is a step in the right direction - and if nothing else - this is a prompt for Vodacom to beat the offer from MTN. Lets see if they can.
 
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