Returned to SA & confused, some advice please re 4G / General data landscape

D

davedavedave

Member
Joined
May 7, 2022
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Location
Fish Hoek
Hi guys,

Coming from the UK and planning on being here around a year. Aside from the obvious (loadshedding) the whole landscape here is pretty different to what I am used to. I'm in (Fish Hoek (CPT).

I would appreciate some advice, as I have trawled through the major providers and am not really any wiser. Unlike the UK, there does not seem to be a genuine cross-market comparison site. But then you have 1 month rolling contracts even on fibre, which is awesome.

I want to have 20~ gigs a month on a SIM, but would like the ability to make voice calls and the odd SMS. At the moment i have a voda SIM and use the vodapay app to buy prepaid data. Seems a little pricey for what it is. I've seen many different data-only offers (and not just Geo-locked, which is something I had never come across) like this one (https://www.axxess.co.za/mobile/telkom-lte). But then as I understand it you can't call, or receive OTP texts?

I have a dual SIM phone but need the UK SIM in it. So is there a reliable enough provider that I can get a decent chunk of data per month, with the occasional call or SMS? Annoyingly it looks like contracts are all 24 months here, and I don't think I'll be here along enough to make that cost effective.

I got a rain sim on off-peak as a trial but the speeds I am getting are pretty poor, and (my own fault) i didn't realise they were data only...and on reflection, not being able to use it without paying during "peak time" was maybe silly...

---

For fibre I have been advised that there's typically a 2 month wait time before installs - as I may move closer to Sea Point by end of year, this isn't really an option. My landlord has BlueDog Wireless which apparently is P2P and then runs on their own fibre. So I will be paying to upgrade it to better speeds, but would also really appreciate any advice on whether this UPS that I ordered would work:

Gizzu 60W Mini DC UPS (Black) - 17600mAH Lithium-ion Battery

The Gizzu 60W Mini DC 56Wh UPS is simple to install and allows you to power various devices during a power outage. <br><br>With multiple-voltage DC outputs, this UPS can power both your Router and ONU (Optical Network Unit) so you can continue browsing the web, working online, or streaming...
www.loot.co.za

To be fair the guys I spoke to at Bluedog were pretty helpful so I guess I could check with them too.


Just in case it matters I use mullvad & wiregaurd on all devices.
----

Also just in case there are any of you around, shoutout to any Prophecy / ES people ;)
 
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Oh and I don't actually have a job yet, so am on a budget of ideally no more than R4400 for LTE....WiFi I will throw in R300 extra each month to top up speeds. I know for R800+ I can get that but that seems crazy, specially if converted back to £! I do now appreciate how cheap UK plans are.
 
davedavedave said:
Hi guys,

Coming from the UK and planning on being here around a year. Aside from the obvious (loadshedding) the whole landscape here is pretty different to what I am used to. I'm in (Fish Hoek (CPT).

I would appreciate some advice, as I have trawled through the major providers and am not really any wiser. Unlike the UK, there does not seem to be a genuine cross-market comparison site. But then you have 1 month rolling contracts even on fibre, which is awesome.

I want to have 20~ gigs a month on a SIM, but would like the ability to make voice calls and the odd SMS. At the moment i have a voda SIM and use the vodapay app to buy prepaid data. Seems a little pricey for what it is. I've seen many different data-only offers (and not just Geo-locked, which is something I had never come across) like this one (https://www.axxess.co.za/mobile/telkom-lte). But then as I understand it you can't call, or receive OTP texts?

I have a dual SIM phone but need the UK SIM in it. So is there a reliable enough provider that I can get a decent chunk of data per month, with the occasional call or SMS? Annoyingly it looks like contracts are all 24 months here, and I don't think I'll be here along enough to make that cost effective.

I got a rain sim on off-peak as a trial but the speeds I am getting are pretty poor, and (my own fault) i didn't realise they were data only...and on reflection, not being able to use it without paying during "peak time" was maybe silly...

---

For fibre I have been advised that there's typically a 2 month wait time before installs - as I may move closer to Sea Point by end of year, this isn't really an option. My landlord has BlueDog Wireless which apparently is P2P and then runs on their own fibre. So I will be paying to upgrade it to better speeds, but would also really appreciate any advice on whether this UPS that I ordered would work:

Gizzu 60W Mini DC UPS (Black) - 17600mAH Lithium-ion Battery

The Gizzu 60W Mini DC 56Wh UPS is simple to install and allows you to power various devices during a power outage. <br><br>With multiple-voltage DC outputs, this UPS can power both your Router and ONU (Optical Network Unit) so you can continue browsing the web, working online, or streaming...
www.loot.co.za

To be fair the guys I spoke to at Bluedog were pretty helpful so I guess I could check with them too.


Just in case it matters I use mullvad & wiregaurd on all devices.
----

Also just in case there are any of you around, shoutout to any Prophecy / ES people ;)
Click to expand...

Get yourself an MTN sim card, choose the per second tariff which works out to 99c a minute, and then sign up for Air Mobile, best move I ever made. R250 for 20GB at the moment and you can claim a free 1GB each month on their app

Air Mobile
 
Also check out telkom mobile - most places have cover by now and you can get 50 mins for R25 via the ussd menu. They also have some cheaper data bundles, there should be something that will be suitable.
 
Rickster said:
@davedavedave

Off topic, why did you come back to the sh!thole?
Click to expand...
I left when I was 16, never got to work and experience it here as an adult. Clearly there are problems, but at the moment I'm not convinced the UK is best place to be anyway.

I'll not retire here, I thinki like the NHS too much..... And public transport, even though where I was it wasn't great.... It was better than here by a long shot.

I missed elements of the culture and vibe here.
 
rodga said:
Also check out telkom mobile - most places have cover by now and you can get 50 mins for R25 via the ussd menu. They also have some cheaper data bundles, there should be something that will be suitable.
Click to expand...
Thanks. They had a plan that wasn't too bad but also made it sounds like their prices would change...

I think MTN is best fit for me.
 
Here are some the deals on telkom
40d637096d7b97da3be7f00e639c8ba7.jpg
bb6608e6fa04d1e7be4d0bd16e42e425.jpg
25abb35e7ab949a23f77aaed9b1118c1.jpg
05422a22306142de7c3759f8e205f669.jpg
 
davedavedave said:
I left when I was 16, never got to work and experience it here as an adult. Clearly there are problems, but at the moment I'm not convinced the UK is best place to be anyway.

I'll not retire here, I thinki like the NHS too much..... And public transport, even though where I was it wasn't great.... It was better than here by a long shot.

I missed elements of the culture and vibe here.
Click to expand...

Just don't let your guard down, you are in a whole different world over here.

You need a bit of paranoia to live here, sleep with one eye open.

Why not get the cheapest calling/data plan and use fibre at home?

As mentioned besomeone, Afrihost mobile + Afrihost air is also a good deal, you can topup on the fly and you can just get a prepaid sim, register on the afrihost network and buy data/airtime as you please.
 
Oh ja I meant for me, subjectively. Plenty of people doing fine in UK. But I just needed a change. If I don't find the work i want, I will be going back.

I at least have property in UK and therefore my mortgage is covered while I am here by rental. You gotta do what is right for you / your family ;)
 
Er, don't recall being disappointed...I knew what I was getting into ;) Just not the dynamic of SA 4g scene.... In the end I have managed to secure good deal for home and mobile data.

The unlimited tariffs at higher end are relatively comparable to UK - the UK just has better lower end offerings...but it's also 1/5 the size of SA and that will play a part too.
 
davedavedave said:
Er, don't recall being disappointed...I knew what I was getting into ;) Just not the dynamic of SA 4g scene.... In the end I have managed to secure good deal for home and mobile data.

The unlimited tariffs at higher end are relatively comparable to UK - the UK just has better lower end offerings...but it's also 1/5 the size of SA and that will play a part too.
Click to expand...
Er, plus the UK is 1st world and SA is 3rd maybe?
 
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