Standard Bank Mobile tested

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Jamie McKane

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Standard Bank Mobile tested

Standard Bank recently launched its Standard Bank Mobile MVNO on the Cell C network, offering packages exclusively to its customers.

SB Mobile provides cellular and data services on Cell C’s network and also benefits from the recent roaming agreement with MTN.
 
I also don't get it.

Say my banking fees are R125.80 per month.
Do I get that in airtime if I pay R39 per month?

Also, how does the packages work.
 
Got one already, still figuring it out. You get the amount your default bank charges are. So if you pay for a Private bundle for instance you get R350 airtime. But you pay R39, then you can buy a "data package" which is really only a rate you pay per MB.
So it works out if your on Private banking you can get around 2.8GB of data for R39 a month.
You will also get Data depending on how much you spend on your cards. 1MB per R10 spend. So Groceries for the month gives me 400mb, fuel 250mb, municpal bills 600mb etc etc etc.I figure I'll end up with about 4GB of data for R39 a month, and if I add the R200 a month I currently spend/waste on Vodacom then I'll have 7GB instead of 3GB. Pretty sweet. But overall not much cheaper than getting a dedicated data simcard through an ISP. Kicks Vodacom and MTN butt though.

If you are on an achiever account then I guess you won't achieve (LOL) the same results.
 
So I signed up for this and all I can say is I am glad I didn't port my number yet. It sounded like a great deal as I would get R200 a month and probably 1 or 2 GB free data a month.

I am with MTN and at home typically get around 50Mbps down and 5/6Mbps up. When doing a speed test on the same device a few minutes apart with the new Standard Bank sim I got dismal results to say the least. Will test it out a bit more but cant say I am impressed.

Screenshot_2018-11-26-18-51-15.png Screenshot_2018-11-26-19-04-36.png
 
My experience so far:
  • Within a few minutes of getting the SIM I logged into the online portal and could see the SIM showing as Active on my profile. I didn’t have to input anything to activate the SIM.
  • Having specified that I’d like to port the number when I bought the SIM, I expected the port to be processed either Wednesday or Thursday evening. This didn’t happen. When I called in to find out why, the call centre said that Cell C rejected the RICA and that they needed to get the technical team on it.
  • I must say, the contact centre seems ill equipped to answer queries. They also say queries will be resolved in 48 working hours when they mean 2 working days (i.e. 16 working hours). This is unnecessarily confusing. 48 working hours is almost 8 working days.
  • I then saw, on a SIM card which I hadn’t yet used, additional charges of R14-odd. The call centre was unable to explain this to me.
  • I have also purchased R50 airtime using my Standard Bank credit card via the online portal. I did this on Thursday and it has yet to reflect on my profile. The contact centre doesn’t know what’s happened to this money. Hardly reassuring.
  • Last night, the port was finally processed. I thought this would mean I could use my Standard Bank SIM, but it was not to be. Now, the pro-rata airtime which I had been allocated suddenly doesn’t reflect in the online portal anymore. The additional charges that were in the “My bill” section have also disappeared.
  • When I dial *135# on my Standard Bank SIM I get a message of “Sorry! This code is not active on the network”. When I call 135, it rings once, the call starts, but there is silence.
  • I have now been told, having been ported to Standard Bank, that the SIM is still not active on the network. I am however able to make calls with the SIM. With no pro rata airtime and no airtime reflecting on my profile, I can’t make billed calls at the OOB rate.
 
Wait, so you get "Free" airtime depenging on your Account type. Let's say R100/mth

Now, you must select a data package? Ok, let's say you choose R99/mth. Does that mean you now get R99 worth of data at, say, 15c/mb, so effectively you have just purchased a 660MB data bundle for R99? And once the R99 is finished, it will continue to eat your airtime at 15c/MB until 31days are up?

What a stupid complex system.

No wait, it is even more stupid: For the R99/mth you are purchasing a (per MB) data depletion rate! You don't get any data. You then only deplete your remaining airtime at 15c/MB.

Why so many layers of free airtime, bundle rates etc. Just make it simple, stupid.
 
I would have to agree that it is overly complicated. You get airtime but then have to make two choices: the rate at which your minutes deplete and the rate at which your data depletes. If you make the wrong choice, you could end up paying a lot.
 
Anybody on Standard Bank mobile currently? Is it still bad?
 
Was also considering it but the Cell C signal is very poor where I live and work. If it also works on MTN I might consider it but saving R 50 with the possibility of signal issues doesn't seem worth it. Is the agreement for mtn for data and calls or just data?
 
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