Vodacom explains 3G/HSDPA problems

There is one little glitch with the official spin version: I have the vodafone usb thingy. (MC950D). With Connect Lite V3.2.1.156. I suppose I could look up the firmware number but that is probably up to date as well. I experienced all the problems that are supposed to be for earlier versions only. It started on Monday. Coincidence?

One day when I am in a better mood, I'm going to film myself calling 082155 and post it on youtube. I am in Hout Bay. I tried the manual apn (internet) setting as per the recorded voice, but no relief. Flushed and registered DNS. Kicked cat. Re-installed software. Cleared cache and cookies. Spoke to support who knew less about computors than my mother.

Last night I drove to Century City and purchased an MTN E270 USB Modem. Problem solved.
 
ngwenyas said:
i must admit that Vodacom would be better off if they would first cover the whole of S.A wth 3g towers (stable towers) before increasing Q0s.those who have good coverage will keep quiet(like myself),all is good(4.4Mbps downlink,1.2Mbps uplink AVERAGING 3-4 bars signal) but those with bad signal(several customers,friends,relatives) will complain about 619,631,634,678,718.

There may be several issues related to the above issue but fact is it all boils down to signal issues/quality.I wouldnt advice people to go to any other network because it is all the same and even worse(Neotel,MTN,Telkom).Atleast Vodacom can handle congestion (unlike embarrassing Neotel with their cheap prices/poor quailty).id rather pay more for quality than less for nothing.FACT!
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The problem is the sheer number of towers you need to cover the whole country. It can take up to 4 towers to give the same 3G footprint as a single 2G tower, so that makes it around 20 000 new towers, worst case!

Let alone trying to get an extra 15 to 20 000 new sites and getting transmission to them. Pretty much impossible.

So clearly this is not going to happen anytime soon, if ever. A better bet would be to deploy 3G on the lower frequencies, for example.
 
Sn1per said:
There is one little glitch with the official spin version: I have the vodafone usb thingy. (MC950D). With Connect Lite V3.2.1.156. I suppose I could look up the firmware number but that is probably up to date as well. I experienced all the problems that are supposed to be for earlier versions only. It started on Monday. Coincidence?

One day when I am in a better mood, I'm going to film myself calling 082155 and post it on youtube. I am in Hout Bay. I tried the manual apn (internet) setting as per the recorded voice, but no relief. Flushed and registered DNS. Kicked cat. Re-installed software. Cleared cache and cookies. Spoke to support who knew less about computors than my mother.

Last night I drove to Century City and purchased an MTN E270 USB Modem. Problem solved.
Click to expand...

You obviously had a different problem to the specific one described that affected the older versions on Monday and Tuesday.
 
ngwenyas said:
it might be too late but there is firmware for your modem on the vodacom site; http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/mobile_data/downloads.jsp .
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No, its not too late, thanks ngwenyas. mine said

3.10.04.0-00 [2007-09-07 13:39:15] after the upgrade it says
3.18.02.0-00 [2008-04-15 16:18:23]. I like the idea of now having a backup in case one provider drops. Hopefully they won't both hang at the same time. With all the conversations I've had with customer care, you'd think that one would have mentioned the firmware upgrade by now. Once I even specifically asked about it.

As a typical South African, I am naturally very tolerant of crappy service. After all, its not as though I have much choice. All I want is to be notified via sms when there is a general network problem. Surely Vodacom can find a provider who will give them a good deal on bulk sms's?

*sigh* I think I'm going to have my modem checked out. The problem is intermittent. I browse for a few seconds, then hang for a few hours. But the worst problem I have is that sometimes the thing just hangs when I'm in the middle of a poker tournament. Then, after 10 minutes or so, all the info I've missed suddenly rushes through like water in a burst dam, and I get to see how much money I would have made were it not for 3G.
 
Also gone to MTN

Don't worry Sn1per, I also think Vodacom customer care are incompetent. In fact, most of Vodacom is incompetent. I bought 3gb worth of bundles in December, that overflowed into January. Despite being charged for the bundles, I was also charged R2 a mb. and no-one can see this. If you call "Customer Don't Care", it takes 45 minutes before someone answers. Why? Because of all the complaints. I reprogrammed my E220's dashboard and am now using MTN. Less downtime, better connection, costs the same. Now gonna take Vodacom to court.
 
:cool:
Ricoby said:
I bought 3gb worth of bundles in December, that overflowed into January. Despite being charged for the bundles, I was also charged R2 a mb. and no-one can see this.
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Hi Ricoby, Vodacom data bundles dont carry over.You probably had bought prepaid bundles which expire 30 days from the day of purchase. The out of bundle charge is R1.20/Mb now. I suggest you call 082155 so they can escalate your query to advanced data (if its not too late)hahaha

Sugesstion:keep your Vodacom sim and a copy of dashboard vmc 9.3.6 (since youv flashed your modem). you never know when Mtn will give you crap+you might want to try Vodacom Hsdpa/Hsupa and compare it to Mtn's(if they have).
 
Sorry to hear Ricoby, hope it wasn't too big of a bill. i've never waited 45 minutes though, it's usually about 20-30 minutes for me..and then 20 minutes of some n00b lady asking me stupid questions...usually it's not
the right ones either - I have to tell them my signal looks good,etc, they don't even ask the right questions LOLOL

some n00b might be having problems, when he has no signal, and the vodacom call centre n00b won't even ask him to check - they could be struggling for weeks!
 
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Ricoby said:
...In fact, most of Vodacom is incompetent...
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This reminds me of something: I was once interviewed by their I.T department. They told me I was overqualified! Maybe incompetence is a pre-requisite?

Yes, the GOTCHA! when your data bundles are depleted and they chow your money at an alarming rate has irked me often enough. What really sucks is the SMS warning which I receive only after my account has been drained. A network send which pops up please, guys.

Of course we have all considered taking them to court. Someone actually tried this in JHB and lost the case. The court ruled that the providers cannot be held liable for loss of connectivity. Now if only they were professional enough to have a Service Level Agreement...:rolleyes:

I was charged for many months for HSDPA, but never ever received it. My dashboard showed no change and my speed tests were the same as before the alleged HSDPA. What are the chances that I will ever get a refund?

P.S. Just realised that you're saying that you were never charged at bundle-rate from the get go? And you're on contract. Eina
 
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Sn1per said:
This reminds me of something: I was once interviewed by their I.T department. They told me I was overqualified! Maybe incompetence is a pre-requisite?
Click to expand...

Hahaha, it wouldn't surprise me. Fact remains it's cheaper and easier to employ a doofus than it is to employ a graduate. And so long as the seats are warm, I guess they don't mind. I mean, it's not like all of us are gonna suddenly uproot and run to MTN or something.
 
vodacom3g said:
You obviously had a different problem to the specific one described that affected the older versions on Monday and Tuesday.
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Must be: If it helps with future problems, please note that tonight, 27th March, for the first time I experienced no problems since that fatefull Monday.
 
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