New MTN EDGE Pricing

MTN Representative

Hi. I'm Christopher Geerdts, working on the broadband data strategy at MTN. I will be able to respond to queries about our dual-bearer (EDGE/3G) broadband strategy and new tariffs as the information becomes finalised and available for the public domain and I look forward to interacting.

The tariffs were circulated to the Service Providers almost two weeks back. We always have to give notice of pending changes and the launch of the new tariffs is therefore imminent. This notification is the PDF which is referred to and the problem with it is that it contains a whole lot of billing and operational info which we would rather not be sent out. I am working on getting a stripped down version which I will make available.

Since our strategy is a combined-bearer one the tariffs for GPRS, EDGE and 3G will be essentially the same.

Christopher
 
kaspaas said:
Bad timing...

April fool or real? :-)
Click to expand...

Almost certainly genuine...the PDF does have some juicy info that I imagine MTN wouldn't want circulated. I expect MTN to reward me handsomely for my discretion! ;)

(In case you all wondered, yes, I am an MTN subscriber)
 
Welcome Christopher...

I hope you enjoy interacting on the forum, you'll find that there are lots of enquiring minds to keep you busy.

What I would like to know from you is, when you do roll out 3G, will the package include the use of EDGE and GPRS. Is that even possible, are there data cards that support all 3 technologies? Also, if so, what is the coverage area provided by EDGE?
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that EDGE would be a better "fallback" connection than GPRS and would thus add more value to customers who want high speed internet access with a usable alternative for areas where 3G would not be available.
 
Excellent... so the technology is there.

Question is whether MTN are going to source/supply and allow it's customers to use their network in this way.

When is MTN planning on rolling out 3G?
 
johandutoit2000, you have left out some detail:
This is the final price list for MTN Data:
(Effective: 11th April)

10 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 9.99
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R 2.00
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 0.99

100 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 99.99
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R1.50
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 0.99

1025 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 499.99
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R 1.25
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 0.49

For those who wish to compare here is the Vodacom pricing:

10 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 20.00
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R 2.00
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 2.00

100 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 160.00
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R2.00
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 1.47

1025 MEG
PRICE PER MONTH : R 599.99
PRICE PER MG - OUT OF BUNDLE : R 2.00
PRICE PER MG - IN BUNDLE : R 0.60
 
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quik said:
Is there a performance comparison between 3G and EDGE?
Click to expand...

Both technologies have advantages. We feel that a combined strategy best suits South African conditions, which differ from some of the high-density areas which have launched 3G only. Our dual strategy is similar to that followed by operators in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary and increasingly pursued by operators who originally rushed into one or the other technology.

EDGE has a nominal radio-link speed of 236.8 kbps downlink and 118.4 kpbs uplink if the handset or device supports the full speeds. For example the Nokia 6230 supports the full speeds as does the Sony Ericsson GC 85 and Sierra Wireless EDGE card.

3G has a nominal radio-link speed of 384 kbps downlink. The present uplink standard ratified only supports 64 kbps !

What few people realise is that GPRS has two data speeds. Most networks support maximum speeds of 48 kbps downlink and 24 kbps uplink. MTN is rolling out an upgrade called GPRS+ which will support 80 kbps downlink and 40 kbps uplink. These also depend on the handsets but this is a big bonus for customers who already have handsets and now get the extra speed automatically.

I believe this upgrade is exclusive to MTN. It is rather like buying a car with four gears but then only being allowed to use two!

Radio nominal speeds are important but not the only feature. The user experience is determined by the network quality, uptime and stability, the internet back-end etc.

EDGE has the main advantage of coverage. Our coverage is around 200 000 km2 (20% of the network) which is literally one hundred times that of a typical 3G footprint! In PE for example we already have EDGE coverage which is twice our planned 3G coverage.

There is also coverage in towns outside the main metro areas. Again EDGE has an advantage with handset numbers - there are over 300 000 EDGE-enabled handsets active on MTN's network and over 2 million GPRS handsets. Worldwide there are over 120 EDGE-enabled operators in 60 countries (twice that of 3G).

EDGE provides better in-building coverage because it uses lower radio frequences (900 Mhz) which penetrate buildings better.

The coverage is the reason why corporates favour our combined dual-bearer strategy - since many have branches outside the metro areas (eg banks, retailers, mines, sales consultants, regional managers, government offices)

EDGE and GPRS+ are useful because they automatically kick in without extra settings or changes to configuration. The only config change is that EDGE sometimes fills the incoming buffers on computers and a bigger buffer may need to be set.

The Nokia 6630 is the first commercially available handset which can handle GPRS/EDGE/3G. Changeovers canl be seamless as the handset will seek the fastest service which can offer a robust connection. There are no combo devices yet but will be soon. These will offer the best broadband experience for mobile users or commuters

As indicated in the press, our 3G launch is planned for June.

I hope that gives some idea of the benefits of our combined strategy and what can be expected.

Christopher
 
Welcome MTNbroadband!, the offers sound VERY promising:D. Will pay as u go users have access to EDGE, if so from when???
 
Hopefully this will do something for competition. My guess, they will come to a mutual agreement so they can both rip-off the poor end-user
 
brooko said:
Welcome MTNbroadband!, the offers sound VERY promising:D. Will pay as u go users have access to EDGE, if so from when???
Click to expand...

Absolutely, I really would like to know too. The Vodacom dude on Vodacom3g forum says Vodacom is working on prepaid data vouchers or something. Surely, MTN would have to do the same then?

I am hesitant to sing any contracts yet. What I would like to do is try out Vodacom and MTN 3G/EGDE/GPRS on prepaid over a few months and see which offering works best for me. Then I can make an informed choice and avoid regrets 2 months into a contract.

But I must emphasize that customer service is important. If you read the Vodacom3g forum you will see that questions on that forum gets answered quickly and people with problems are sorted and in quick time too.
So, MTNBroadband, I hope that you are up to it.
 
oh, and can anyone here tell me how to connect using EDGE.. I have a Nokia 6230 on contract, and i would like to give EDGE a try...looks much better than GPRS. what settings do u need... i'll be dialing through a blootooth laptop??? thanks
 
brooko said:
oh, and can anyone here tell me how to connect using EDGE.. I have a Nokia 6230 on contract, and i would like to give EDGE a try...looks much better than GPRS. what settings do u need... i'll be dialing through a blootooth laptop??? thanks
Click to expand...

Hi all

GPRS is enabled on all prepaid and postpaid contracts with one or two exceptions (individual cases). For prepaid users, GPRS is restricted to WAP usage and MMS. I will get detail on possible changes on 11 April.

EDGE and GPRS+ have been set to kick in automatically as an extension to GPRS so there are no additional settings. You simply need to be in coverage. You can even start a connection on GPRS and when you move into an EDGE site it ramps up.

To see if you have coverage you need to put on Cell Broadcast. Occassionally we send out a signal saying "Y'ello Broadband" which indicates you are in an EDGE enabled cell.

Hope that helps

Christopher
 
Hi MTNBroadband/Christopher,

Welcome to MyADSL. It's good to see some representation from MTN.

I have one question though: When will your call centre be able to answer questions relating to EDGE, 3G? At present the level of knowledge seems very poor.
 
MTNBroadband do you have GPRS+/EDGE coverage maps available anywhere online? I'm not currently an MTN subscriber so how do I find out if I can get EDGE coverage?
 
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MTNBroadband -

ta for the info so far.

Will all towers be upgraded to GPRS+? If so, is there a completion date available?

Will all towers be upgraded to EDGE? If so, is there a completion date available?
 
mc721221 said:
MTNBroadband -

ta for the info so far.

Will all towers be upgraded to GPRS+? If so, is there a completion date available?

Will all towers be upgraded to EDGE? If so, is there a completion date available?
Click to expand...

In October last year we upgraded the final few sites to give full GPRS coverage (one of our competitive advantages).

We then started activating EDGE and because we had been planning this for about two years we completed the first 20% of the 1.1 million sq km coverage as fast as we could put in the backhaul links.

I am afraid we will only be revealing the national coverage strategy as part of strategic communication. I can announced when places come online: this week Kimberley was almost completed and Grahamstown was activated. I can also address specific location requests

In principle we would like to cover the whole country with EDGE but whereas GPRS was mainly a hardware swapout, EDGE also requires that we lease substantial additional backhaul links (for increased bandwidth) which means that usage and demand will determine the pace of rollout in marginal areas.

GPRS+ coverage is in the same areas as EDGE coverage.

Christopher
 
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