PC and GPRS and All that

[Pico_Train]

Hi there,

I'm new here so excuse the probably already answered questions.

I live on a farm and am tired of the 28.8 kpbs connection I get with Telkom. I'm thinking my GPRS will be quicker and probably cost roughly the same.

I've just bought a bluetooth dongle and installed it on my computer to act as a modem with my Cellphone.

These are my specs:

Location: Western Cape Farm with basestation saying HSPDA - 3G - GPRS Enabled
Phone: Nokia 6230i
Dongle: X-Micro USB Dongle 2

I manage to connect no problem. My little 2 pcs inthe system tray are saying that my connection is at 115.2 kbps

Now is this actually true or is it the connection between my dongle and my phone?

How can I measure what my actual speed is?

I'm also considering getting a bundled package and am unsure as to what I should get. SHould I get a GPRS one, 3G or HSPDA? Is my phone enabled for all of these??

Thanks a whole bunch!

Pico_Train

Thanks

 

[nicovdw]

That speed is theoretical. Max gprs is 80kbps or thereabouts. Get the gprs/3g bolt on bundle. Start with 150 megs or so (unless you need more or less), and keep a CLOSE eye on your usage with www.vodacom4me.co.za.

 

[nicovdw]

Oh, and for the speedtest

http://www.mybroadband.co.za/myadsl/speedtest.php

 

[vodacom3g]

In addition, if your tower is 3G enabled, check the coverage on the vodacom.co.zaoverage map.

If you do have 3G coverage, you obviously want to use that, it's the same price as GPRS, but around 8 to 10 times faster.

Either go for a 3G data card on something like a 500Mb contract or else use a 3G phone with a bolt-on.

 

[Pico_Train]

Thanks Vodacom3g.

I've got Nokia 6230i with the little red circle thingy on the back so I believe this is a 3G phone already. Do I need anything else to go with this puppy for 3G? I am using a desktop... What do you mean by bolt-on?

I did the test last night and I got 145.3 KPBS as a connection and a download speed of 17.8 Kbps which is pretty darn good.

I think I will go for 500mb bundle as I do a lot of web work maintaining several websites. I have no idea how much data I do on average during the course of a month but I will take a look and adjust accordingly.

Thanks for your help Vodacom3G, I look forward to your reply and have a nice day.

 

[Waansin]

The Nokia 6230i is not a 3G phone. It is one of Nokia's better Edge enabled phones though. The little red circle thingy is probably just the Vodafone branding to show that it is capable of the VLive service.

Nokia 6230i global product page: http://europe.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,69499,00.html

 

[Pico_Train]

Yes, that VLive thing did cross my mind. Thanks

 

[Bl@nk]

Back to the question what you mean by bolt on? how does it work and how you go about getting it?

 

[ajax]

Back to the question what you mean by bolt on? how does it work and how you go about getting it?

Bolt on means you don't go and buy a data card or take out any new contracts, you only contact your service provider and ask them to add a data bundle to your normal voice contract.

I did the test last night and I got 145.3 KPBS as a connection and a download speed of 17.8 Kbps which is pretty darn good.

Sounds like you are getting good EDGE speeds there. [I assume you mean 17.8 kB/sec as in Bytes]
If you are looking to use 500 MB per month your phone is going to run flat quite regularly. So you will need to have it on the charger regularly. A 3G card may be a better idea.

Before you get a bundle, maybe first use your phone out-of-bundle, record the bytes sent and received before disconnecting and then make an estimate for the month's usage after a typical session.

 

[vodacom3g]

Before you get a bundle, maybe first use your phone out-of-bundle, record the bytes sent and received before disconnecting and then make an estimate for the month's usage after a typical session.

Or start with a small bundle and up it month by month, till you're comfortable.

Thanks to everyone for the responses, saves me lotsa typing!

Pico_Train, without being biased, I believe a 3G data card might work better for you, but it's a function of how much data you're going to use.

With a 3G card, you can change your ID to Mega_Express

 

[Pico_Train]

ok, 3g card, but can I actually incorporate that into a desktop pc?? I don't use a laptop, so I would probably need some external drive or whatever for that.

Recommendations to investigate?

Nevermind refer to this post - http://www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/index.php/t-17705.html

AJAX - I am gonna plug into the charger everytime I Mega_Express Surf.

It is official, I am now a nerd...

Thanks

 

[nicovdw]

Remember, you can only buy one bundle per month, so make sure you go for the right one. Else it is no data or no money left in your account.

Also I notice that I use more data every month.

 

[vodacom3g]

Remember, you can only buy one bundle per month, so make sure you go for the right one. Else it is no data or no money left in your account.

Also I notice that I use more data every month.

Can't you add an ad-hoc bundle if your 'normal bundle runs out?

 

[3GisDaMan]

Good question?

 

[vodacom3g]

I'm pretty sure you can.

 

[Pico_Train]

Is the Account Balances Page on the Vodacom4me site accurate??

I bought a 500mb bundle and have used at least 20mb by now. It says that I have only used 67 KB.

I also bought the GPRS/3G bundle but in the account balances page, it calls it the GPRS 500 bundle? Is this a problem or will Vodacom interpret these as different and bill me extra?

Thanks Vodacom for the wireless access, it's very cool.

Thanks