Pre Paid Data Bundles [PPDBs]

[Mams]

So my 1gig is just about complete. vodacom4me states there is 8mb left.
I did not receive any of those sms notifications yet.
Whats my options with regards to getting more megs? Purchase a prepaid MTN sim or vodacom sim and load that seperately with mymeg bundles?
Or coast out the next couple of days on R2/mb and hope that prepaid bundles comes to light? My usuage should be fairly light over the next couple of days.
Are there any other options I'm overlooking here ?

tx

according to the newsletter we received with our accounts:
"Vodacom recently introduced data bundles that can be added to a cust. ac on an ad hoc basis. This means that a custmer who depletes their monthly data bundles before the end of the month ... can now top up with an additional bundle."

Now whether this is active or its the same unfulfilled promise like that of the prepaid bundles in the same newsletter, i cant say...call 155 or i suppose V3g will give an answer faster so no need to call 155..

 

[Hark3n]

I want my prepaid bundle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vodacom3g]

mams, you're right, it's highly embarrasing that the pre-paid bundles fell behind. The print stuff went in a month or more ago and everything was set for 1 Nov. Last minute stress tests revealed some stuff the guys were not happy with. Not an easy decision to pull out of a launch date....

You can add ad-hoc bundles to your normal data contract, so if you've run out on your normal contract, figure how much data you need for the rest of the month and buy that size bundle.

Let me get the gotcha's on this one first though. I suspect (but need to confirm) that the ad-hoc bundle you bought is only valid till the end of that month and not for 30 days. If so, rather buy a smaller bundle.

BTW, apologies for not posting this before. Was not aware of this new feature.

 

[ant101]

Well, I tried 082155 on the weekend, they said I must phone 0821940(corporate) cause it's a business contract. They were closed for business on w/ends. Phoned on monday and started to explain my situation politely, the operator cut me off and put me on hold (didn't even say a word to me!) I hung up cause I was sick of the music on holds by now, and didn't really know where the heck my call was being transferred to anyways??
Phoned a vodashop and they siad I can only upgrade to the contract to 2gig, and currently no bundles can be added. ( like I thought)
So i thought I'd ask here in the real world...

 

[Mams]

Thats a man..( V3G ).prepared to accept a mistake on Vodacoms part

Regarding how long ad hoc bundles last: the newsletter says that it only lasts upto the remainder of the calendar month - not 30 days

 

[eben80]

Day 16

Vodacom normally gives you a service suspension warning on day 15

Makes you think.....

 

[ajax]

Ditto @Hark3n

It is quite strange to see that pre-paid users will be better off on the data aspect of the cellular experience than contract customers. According to V3g's post if you run out of Megs before 30 days is over, you can buy a new bundle and that will last for 30 days again, none of that calendar month crap.

V3g also stated that you can "roll over" your unused megs on day 30 by buying a new bundle in which case the "old" megs and "new" megs will last an additional 30 days?

I hope Vodacom isn't busy changing this back to be in line with contract stipulations...

Pre-paid bundles are due for imminent launch and some of you have already been told d-day is tomorrow, the 1st of November. In reality, the guys are still testing and if they're not 100% comfortable they might push it out a day or two.

Pre-paid will be exactly on the same capacities and pricing as the 'normal' bundles, i.e. R499 for a gig, etc.

You can buy a bundle at any time and it is valid for 30 days, from date of purchase..

You can buy more than one bundle in a month, and GET THIS: If you buy a new bundle (valid for the next 30 days), any unused data in the previous bundle will now have the same lifespan.

So, say you buy a 500Mb bundle on the 10th. It will expire 30 days later. By the 8th, you've only used 400Mb. If you now buy say a 100Mb bundle, you have 200Mb valid for the next 30 days.

In other words all data capacity available to you always carry the lifecycle of the last purchase.

This can lead to some clever 'bundle management'

 

[MrG]

I am wondering if these Data Bundles will ever comes out. I am happily a MTN Prepaid data client
Since I bought my MTN Prepaid sim there is no real need to switch to Vodacom bundles, especially since Vodacom is more expensive.
R220 for R350 I am doing that these days... it rules! Got 260MB left for this month. Gonna have to use it fast towards the end though lol
I am very very happy with the
LOVE MY VODACOM CONTRACT
LOVE MY MTN SIM CARD FOR DATA EVEN MORE

 

[ajax]

I am wondering if these Data Bundles will ever comes out. I am happily a MTN Prepaid data client
Since I bought my MTN Prepaid sim there is no real need to switch to Vodacom bundles, especially since Vodacom is more expensive.
R220 for R350 I am doing that these days... it rules! Got 260MB left for this month. Gonna have to use it fast towards the end though lol
I am very very happy with the
LOVE MY VODACOM CONTRACT
LOVE MY MTN SIM CARD FOR DATA EVEN MORE

Agreed, but when Vodacom releases the pre-paid bundles and have not changed anything about how v3g has said it would be implemented, Vodacom would be cheaper and more flexible.

 

[MrG]

I have not yet read what V3G had said really, only part that I saw was being able to carry over MB's when you load another bundle, but if its R200 for 250MB instead of R220 for 350MB then I will rather stick to MTN.

btw, I was just wondering, does that Airtime transfer work from Vodacom Contract to Vodacom Prepaid users?

 

[ajax]

I have not yet read what V3G had said really, only part that I saw was being able to carry over MB's when you load another bundle, but if its R200 for 250MB instead of R220 for 350MB then I will rather stick to MTN.

btw, I was just wondering, does that Airtime transfer work from Vodacom Contract to Vodacom Prepaid users?

@MrG, I posted this calculation earlier this month. If you make full use of the "carry-over-by-buying-a-small-bundle-on-day30" feature, it works out cheaper -

Let's say I buy 1 GB of data on day 1. Then on day 30, after not using even 50% of my 1GB, I buy a 20 MB bundle for R35. So, what's left of the 1 GB "carries over" to the next 30 day period. Then on day 60 I still have lots of unused data, so I buy another 20 MB for R35. I keep doing this so that I in total I buy an additional 5 x 20 MB bundles on top of my 1 GB bought on day 1.
In other words, over a 6 month period, I will have bought 1.1 GB of data for the price of R500 + 5xR35 = R675. This equates to 60.05c per MB or R112.50 per month for 6 months for 187.3 MB per month.

MTN charges R220 for 350 MB, that is 62.8c per MB and there is no carry over whatsoever. You lose what you don't use. On Vodacom you (would be able to) keep what you didn't use by buying a small bundle just before the expiry date.

Alternately, if you want more megs than above, say 500 MB per month, then instead of buying 500 MB for R350 which is 70c per MB, buy 1GB on day 1, and 20 MB on day 30. That is 1024+20MB=1044 MB to be used over 2 months for R535. That equates to R267.50 for 522 MB per month! (or 51c per MB)

So MTN R220 for 350 MB with no carry over
or Vodacom R267.50 for 522 MB with "carry over"

Vodacom's data implementation will be cheaper and more flexible than MTN's, that is my opinion

 

[ebendl]

In addition, the fact that you can't stack MTN's, you loose everything by the end of the month, and really poor increments (I want to use 50MB a month, what should I do?! 10MB or 100MB?), makes VC's the better option for me!

MrG, you can be real happy that your bundle is just enough for you!

Come on VC, bring us those bundles already!!

 

[TaiRoss]

In addition, the fact that you can't stack MTN's, you loose everything by the end of the month, and really poor increments (I want to use 50MB a month, what should I do?! 10MB or 100MB?), makes VC's the better option for me!

MrG, you can be real happy that your bundle is just enough for you!

Come on VC, bring us those bundles already!!

Question, Does Vodacom have EDGE? 3G cover does not extend into the sticks!

 

[vodacom3g]

As posted in other threads in this forum, the Vodacom EDGE coverage is actually greater than any other network at the moment, especially the Western Cape and Central Regions are well covered.

 

[TaiRoss]

As posted in other threads in this forum, the Vodacom EDGE coverage is actually greater than any other network at the moment, especially the Western Cape and Central Regions are well covered.

Be that as it may, Situated 35 km north of Pretoria, Sorry I have no EDGE from either MTN Or Vodacom.

I Will test for Vodacom EDGE in the morning in PTA North. I have MTN EDGE there. Confirmed on Friday when I installed my Samba 75 EDGE/GPRS usb modem.

Still this leaves me with No EDGE @ Home!!?? Can anyone tell me when EDGE will be available in This area. I dont care who supplies it first!

 

[eben80]

The "EDGE" (pun intended) that Vodacom had over its competitors are disappearing as they take way more than 22 days to do "stability testing"

Still paying R2/meg

 

[goodgirl]

eben80, what stops you from getting a R2 MTN SIM card and putting a cheaper MTN bundle on it in the meantime for your data if you don't want to pay R2/MB? No coverage?

 

[nicovdw]

There seems to be no news on this. Are they still busy removing the "carry over" features?

 

[eben80]

eben80, what stops you from getting a R2 MTN SIM card and putting a cheaper MTN bundle on it in the meantime for your data if you don't want to pay R2/MB? No coverage?

Inconvenience is preventing me from doing that,
Dependance on my mobile for work, only having one GPRS phone, not living in the city, all these things are stopping me from using the service that i want from another provider because the same service that I was promised from my own provider is still not here after almost 1 month.

 

[RompelStompel]

Prepaid data bundles to be launched on 1st December ?

Phoned 155 this afternoon and the consultant told me something that prepaid data bundles are going to be launched on the 1st of December .

Have all the glitches been sorted or do we have to wait a litter bit longer for prepaid data bundles ?

Vodacom - Thanks for a brilliant 3G product

Cheers - have a great day !

RompelStompel