Ultimate 3G Questions!

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3G_

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Hi everyone!

My apologies if I post questions here that has already been addressed in other posts, but I think it would be nice to have all popular questions asked & answered in one post, which should help total newbies, like myself. :D

I currently use Telkom ADSL as primary internet connection. My speeds vary from 27kb/s to 47kb/s. The connection is mainly used for emails & surfing. I also do a bit of driver downloads. As Im a web developer, I also do some surfing for design ideas as well as website uploads & downloads to a FTP server from time to time.

1) Im interested in taking up the Vodacom PC Deal on 3G, and make this my primary internet connection (cancelling Telkom completely). Would this be a good thing to do? (I dont wanna end up paying both!)

2) Can I ask Vodacom to restrict / warn me if I reach the 1GB cap? I don't intend receiving an un-expected bill of R5000+ for going over the cap!

3) If I do exceed the cap, can I replace the sim in the 3G card with a 4U pre-paid card, and use that to go on the Net (3G speed) until I reach the new month?

4) How does 3G work... am I online 24/7 and only pay for active uploads / downloads, or do I pay for "just being online" aswell in MB's? If this is the case, I would need to stay offline, and only connect once I need something on the internet. I normally set my email to check every X minutes or so.

5) As a user of 3G, and you are online 24/7, did you set your Outlook to check for emails at a certain interval? If so, how much bandwidth does it take approx. just to "check" for new mail?

6) Do I get bandwidth meter software to monitor the bandwith cap on the laptop myself, so I can see when I near the limit?

7) What is the average speeds you experience? Lets say you download an MP3, how many kb/s is the average?

8) Is there someone in Pretoria that would be able to assist me in testing the 3G connection with his/her laptop? It would really help if I could see the connection speeds / availability in my area. Any help would be much appreciated. :) :rolleyes:

9) Is there anyone else that left Telkom for Vodacom 3G?

10) Can we setup the 3G connection on a network, and have it used by two computers at a time?

That's it! My 10 questions on 3G broadband. I trust someone would be able to please assist me in answering these, and in the same process also help others understand 3G more clearly. :D

Thanks
Jacques
 
i'll just answer that i know a bit about, the rest either do not apply or well i don't know about :P

2) Can I ask Vodacom to restrict / warn me if I reach the 1GB cap? I don't intend receiving an un-expected bill of R5000+ for going over the cap!
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That's already in place, you get an automatic SMS when you reach certain % of your bundle usage. I believe you can put on a soft-cap as well [if it's not there already] to prevent your bill going over a certain amount of Rands.

3) If I do exceed the cap, can I replace the sim in the 3G card with a 4U pre-paid card, and use that to go on the Net (3G speed) until I reach the new month?
Click to expand...

Yep, can plug in any data-enabled prepaid sim and go "out-of-bundle" with 3G speeds.

4) How does 3G work... am I online 24/7 and only pay for active uploads / downloads, or do I pay for "just being online" aswell in MB's? If this is the case, I would need to stay offline, and only connect once I need something on the internet. I normally set my email to check every X minutes or so.
Click to expand...

Only pay for actual data being uploaded/downloaded. You can be online the entire day and not pay a cent if you managed not to transfer any data. So yes, you can go online, turn on outlook or some email-notifier and only pay for the emails itself. Of course there's always risks [windows updates/virus updates and spyware/adware which automatically starts transmitting data without your knowledge]. But if you keep an eye on things + got good firewall software, this shouldn't happen.

You send/receive small amounts of data everytime you connect, so in a way it might be better to stay online than connect/disconnect every 10 minutes for email. [depends of course the intervals, once an hour or two might as well disconnect].

5) As a user of 3G, and you are online 24/7, did you set your Outlook to check for emails at a certain interval? If so, how much bandwidth does it take approx. just to "check" for new mail?
Click to expand...

Depends on what exactly you "check". In my case my notifier checks 4 email accounts every 5-10 minutes. If there are emails it will download the subject-header and pop up with that particular info. Generally i'd say about 20 bytes just for a "check" . In the end though just opening this website once is more than an entire days of notifications generally. But i haven't actually did a study on this, my browsing will always takes up so much more of my data usage that notifications hardly make a dent.

6) Do I get bandwidth meter software to monitor the bandwith cap on the laptop myself, so I can see when I near the limit?
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The software do have a bandwith meter, but there are better ones with more details/statistics out there to use imho. Of course you don't have to rely on that meter, you can view your usage on vodacom's website and see relatively accurately how many MBs you used and have left.

7) What is the average speeds you experience? Lets say you download an MP3, how many kb/s is the average?
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Depends on from where you download the MP3. HTTP/FTP downloads [nice and clean] i usually expect 15-30 kiloBytes p/sec. From filesharing/p2p [kazaa/torrents] it varies too much to bother [also because you tend to have a constant upload stream due to -sharing- what you download], although considering the costs i wouldn't use p2p unless it's an emergency or something i desperately need.

10) Can we setup the 3G connection on a network, and have it used by two computers at a time?
Click to expand...

I have a desktop at home which shares the 3G-connection with my laptop and any other PC that sits on my mini-network, i just plug in the network cables. So yes, if you know how to set it up you can [exactly like you would've done with a dial-up connection sharing it]. Obviiously can do the same using the laptop as the "server" if you want to get inet on your desktop without buying a special adaptor to plug the card in.
 
Wow, thanks diabolus! Saved me a lot of typing. I owe you one!

I agree with all your answers.

On question 3: You'll pay the same amount (R2/Mb) if you go over your cap or use a new sim, so unless you put a soft-lock on your primary sim, it might be better to just leave the sim in and pay out-of-bundle. Saves swapping sims.

3G, with a call-sign like that, you have little choice to go the whole hog! :)
 
Hi diabolus & Vodacom3G,

You guys rock! Thanks for clearing up all the questions! :D

Even if Vodacom's broadband is slower than Telkom, or even if I wouldnt be able to go online as much (due to cap restrictions), I still think to ditch Telkom and use only Vodacom, is a good idea because of the service!

With Telkom, there is virtually no human assistance. :p And by using this forum, what else do we need? :cool:

Currently Im using between 2 - 2.8 GB per month on Telkom ADSL, but this is due to playing a few light games & downloading files. If I stop the "entertainment" side on my internet connection, I suppose I will remain within the cap limit. Im thinking of taking up two Laptop deals, then I have 2GB cap limit and 2 laptops. :p

Thanks again guys!
 
I suppose I will remain within the cap limit. Im thinking of taking up two Laptop deals, then I have 2GB cap limit and 2 laptops.
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Well if you can afford that, great. The 3-year contract scared me off mostly, it's just too long just to have a laptop thrown in. I'd probably just buy my laptop seperately and keep my options open in terms of internet service. You pay R200 "extra" per month for the laptop for 36-months = R7200 [chances are you can buy it retail for that price anyway].

But as was said in another thread related to the PC deals, this will be ideal under the right circumstances [financial situation etc]. Still 3-years is a very long time, and wireless-internet has just started and are moving extremely fast. End of the year Vodacom might [rather i believe they said they will] bring out those 2Mbit "3.5G" service and then you probably will have to buy a new datacard for R3000 anyway...stuff like that, which makes a long term contract a burden.

So not bashing Vodacom, just the particular deal is a decision i wouldn't make without alot of calculations and considerations :P
 
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hey Diabolus,

Yea I would make my calculations first. :)

Thanks again for your input!!

Now I should just find someone that can help me test the 3G in my area... :)

Regards
Jacques
 
Im in Pretoria, in the Villieria region....
 
3G_ said:
Hi diabolus & Vodacom3G,
Even if Vodacom's broadband is slower than Telkom, or even if I wouldnt be able to go online as much (due to cap restrictions), I still think to ditch Telkom and use only Vodacom, is a good idea because of the service!
Click to expand...

You do realize that Vodacom is 50% owned by Telkom? You wouldn't really be getting "away" from Telkom, but you might have better customer service.
 
Hi 3G

I'm also in the Pretoria area, and I'm getting about 7Kb/sec. The Vodacom engineers say it is an network problem. So maybe you should wait until it has been fixed.
 
hey BBSA,

Where abouts in PTA are you? Im trying to find out if my suburb got coverage? Im in Villieria area. :o
 
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