Overpriced 3g dongle

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Visserman

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Hi All

Wanted to know if anyone has any experience with this.

I live in the uk and am trying to get my parents broadband. Had a look at their options and vodacom's 3g month-month hits the spot for their meagre needs.

Problem is, vodacom told my mom the usb dongle is R2000. That is outrageous.

I can get a vodafone 3g dongle on prepaid, uncontracked for £39 and this includes £15 of airtime. Since vodacom use the same dongles in ZA, why do they think it's alright to rip ppl off like this?

So to get to my real question, anybody know if a vodafone dongle bought in the uk would work on vodacom's network (I assume I would have to know what the ap settings are in ZA, though)?
 
Visserman said:
I can get a vodafone 3g dongle on prepaid, uncontracked for £39 and this includes £15 of airtime. Since vodacom use the same dongles in ZA, why do they think it's alright to rip ppl off like this?
Click to expand...
The Vodafone UK one is subsidized and network-locked.
 
i would assume a UK modem would work here, with local sim, if our vodacom and MTN issued modems can work there, with local sim and roaming, or with local UK prepaid sim :confused:
if I'm not mistaken, we've had guys from our europe offices come here with Vodafone & Orange issued modems that work fine.
Guess the best option to check if it works is to send the uk modem here and try it.... u coming to visit anytime soon?
edit... provided its not network locked :)
 
Locked dongle

Yes it is locked. Was thinking vodafone use the very same one for vodacom, so it being locked might be irrelevant.

I am considering just buying one and sending it over. If it doesn't work, they can just send it back and I can use it if I need to on the odd occasion.

To ginggs - > Why are there then no subsidised options on pre-paid/month to month options? Don't they realise that R2000 is a major obstacle to up-take? I don't mind a locked dongle if it's a third of the price. BTW, the vodacom one's are vodafone branded, doesn't that mean they're locked as well?
 
Yup. You gotta slap a few hundred extra onto the price here. . . Wouldnt want these things to be too affordable. . .
 
The cheapest 3G usb modem now available via Vodacom would be the K3565. You are looking at R1099.00

As far as I know, the South African networks are no longer alllowed to lock devices to their network as this was seen as anti competitive and therefore equipment can no longer be subsidized that way in South Africa.

I have had a lot of clients that bought handsets etc from Vodafone in the UK, and 99% of them were locked to that network and can not be used here.
 
If you (they) take out a data contract for 24 months they can get it for free. My mom did it this week and is paying R150 per month for 250Mb of data..she only goes onto the net 2 or 3 times a week for mail, so that's fine for her.
 
Prepaid still rocks.

Buy airtime online with Internet banking (send credit to your sim inside your 3G card)

Convert airtime to bundle on Vodacom4Me.

Process above took me about 30 seconds last night to top up....
 
walterl said:
If you (they) take out a data contract for 24 months they can get it for free. My mom did it this week and is paying R150 per month for 250Mb of data..she only goes onto the net 2 or 3 times a week for mail, so that's fine for her.
Click to expand...

It's not free, its bundled. Free is where you get one for Christmas, but you don't know who gave it to you - so there is no obligation to feel grateful. Any obligation = not free.
 
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