Telkom prepaid

[Geriatrix]

I'm not sure in which section to post this and I tried search but didn't find anything really relating to this service specifically so here goes...

Telkom prepaid telephone service, but not for dialup just for normal voice calls.
Have you used it? Is it any good? or should I rather go for a regular telefone line.

I like the slightly lower cost(Edit: thanks Moederloos for the correction) monthly rental, but maybe there's a catch.

 

[|tera|]

Get a little cellphone and a VirginMobile Simcard, much cheaper!!!

 

[Moederloos]

AFAIK (and this is based on my poor memory from when I had this service), the calls are slightly more per minute.

Also, just for correctness sake, it is not by any means a "low cost monthly rental", but rather a "lower monthly rental". Telkom's prices are still hugely inflated.

 

[Geriatrix]

Also, just for correctness sake, it is not by any means a "low cost monthly rental", but rather a "lower monthly rental". Telkom's prices are still hugely inflated.

True, sorry 'bout that.

 

[Getafix]

The "rental" to use it is about R42.00 per month. The calls itself is a lot more than normal. Look up at Telkom's site.
If you phone very little it is worth your while - but then a cheap starter pack cellphone will work just as well, if not better.
If you phone a lot, go for telkom. That is if you phone to Telkom lines. If you phone to cellphones get a topup or something simmilar.
Had a line. Learned my lesson.
If you realy want to cry: Try dialup internet on prepaid.

 

[Geriatrix]

Getafix(nice name btw) the telkom site says rental is R59 and the calls do cost more but that not much.

The call calculator-or-whatever worked out that 300 minutes on prepaid telkom would cost about R137(including line rental) compared to Vodacom Smartstep which was R460.

BTW this would be to call land lines, not cellphones, I already have a prepaid mobile for that.

 

[Moederloos]

Getafix(nice name btw) the telkom site says rental is R59 and the calls do cost more but that not much.

The call calculator-or-whatever worked out that 300 minutes on prepaid telkom would cost about R137(including line rental) compared to Vodacom Smartstep which was R460.

BTW this would be to call land lines, not cellphones, I already have a prepaid mobile for that.

Be careful of how the call-calculator works. If you make 600 30second calls for example, it will be a lot more than a single 300 minute call, due to minimum call charges. However, a per-second cell package might be cheaper.

 

[Moederloos]

True, sorry 'bout that.

One needs to be vigilant - otherwise Telkom will misquote you
I can see it now "A regular member of MyADSL has stated that Telkom's prepaid option is cheap and affordable"......

 

[Surv0]

One needs to be vigilant - otherwise Telkom will misquote you
I can see it now "A regular member of MyADSL has stated that Telkom's prepaid option is cheap and affordable"......

rofl

 

[Geriatrix]

Regarding the calculator, yes, the number of individual calls would make a differance. But wouldn't it still be relatively cheaper to call land lines than using a prepaid cellphone? Say about 30 calls a month each lasting about 2 minutes?

Oh and the airtime, does it roll over to the next month or does it expire at some point?