Vodacom LTE tested

The speed is (almost) irrelevant, unless they drop the data pricing dramatically. What good is an ultra-fast connection when out-of-bundle pricing sits at R2/meg? At 60Mbits/sec it works out to R15 per second when you're out of bundle.

If you purchase a MyGig2 you pay R1.28 every second at 60Mbits/sec ... and you use your 2GB bundle up in just under 5 minutes :-)

I will, however, say that the low latency is very alluring - wonder how it will change as the distance from the tower changes.

--deckert
 
Deckert said:
The speed is (almost) irrelevant, unless they drop the data pricing dramatically. What good is an ultra-fast connection when out-of-bundle pricing sits at R2/meg? At 60Mbits/sec it works out to R15 per second when you're out of bundle.

If you purchase a MyGig2 you pay R1.28 every second at 60Mbits/sec ... and you use your 2GB bundle up in just under 5 minutes :-)

I will, however, say that the low latency is very alluring - wonder how it will change as the distance from the tower changes.

--deckert
Click to expand...

Remember, you probably won't be able to download stuff @ 60Mbit/s the whole time either.... Chances are you'll get about 10Mbit/s, per download. Many data center's networks won't allow you to download at 60Mbit/s due to the amount of connections to the DC.
BUT, this means watching video's or online will be ultra fast.
 
Interesting, 186 m/s to BBC, 8ta 3G i get 210 m/s
 
I think contract customers pay R1 a meg so basically if not careful you could pick up a bill of R240 in less than a minute
 
Bottom line - latency still an issue, price still a BIG issue. Do I trust VodaCom ? - never !
 
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SoftDux-Rudi said:
Remember, you probably won't be able to download stuff @ 60Mbit/s the whole time either.... Chances are you'll get about 10Mbit/s, per download. Many data center's networks won't allow you to download at 60Mbit/s due to the amount of connections to the DC.
BUT, this means watching video's or online will be ultra fast.
Click to expand...
I also notice that streaming live radio was much faster.
I watched the Felix Baumgartner 39km jump live on youtube and it was super fast, got to 2x the sound barrier.

Well done Vodacom, but R2/MB OOB is going to hurt.

I would expect more than 10Mb/s from LTE.
HSPA+ gives 10-16Mbps:
1544642270.png

2240736573.png
 
awesome speeds... at least there is progress to improve connection speeds... while most of us will likely not see those kinds of speeds, it should still mean an improvement to everybody elses speeds in the long run.

what did disgust me just a little bit was the seemingly wasteful advertising on LTE.... visited my parents yesterday, and got to check the sunday newspaper... wow! moerse big advert of Voda LTE, 2 FULL PAGE spread!
I certainly have no idea of the exact cost of a full page advert in major sunday newspaper, but i'm guessing 2 full pages must cost plenty. Just seemed a bit wasteful... especially since most of the country is simply not covered by this service, and even if they were, most people have other priorities than LTE speed.
IMO a half page or even big quarter page advert would have been just as successful in bringing the point across. surely most users who would have interest in this, already know Vodacom, and already have some idea of this service? Go big or go home? :)

still... good job on getting this service running
 
Vodacom will have to rethink the OOB rates, a minor miscalculation in data usage could create a massive bill shock in no time!

Any news on data bundle sizes and cost when using LTE? If the current Vodacom rates still apply, then it's a massive fail!
 
CeeBee said:
what did disgust me just a little bit was the seemingly wasteful advertising on LTE.... visited my parents yesterday, and got to check the sunday newspaper... wow! moerse big advert of Voda LTE, 2 FULL PAGE spread!
I certainly have no idea of the exact cost of a full page advert in major sunday newspaper, but i'm guessing 2 full pages must cost plenty. Just seemed a bit wasteful... especially since most of the country is simply not covered by this service, and even if they were, most people have other priorities than LTE speed...
Click to expand...

It's all about getting your brand name tied to the "LTE" name first! Whether or not the network is ready, Vodacom wants to be the first out the gates... bragging rights you know!
 
BGE said:
It's all about getting your brand name tied to the "LTE" name first! Whether or not the network is ready, Vodacom wants to be the first out the gates... bragging rights you know!
Click to expand...
for sure, as we know Voda is big on advertising, and they probly have a huge adv budget. Still, a 1page full page adv , even big half page, would have attracted my attention just as good! Keep your target audience in mind when doing advertising... as has been mentioned many times, many guys who would actually be using data connections, would rather prefer lower costs overall, so speaking for myself, i'd rather prefer some of those expensive ads be toned down a bit, still be as effective, and bring the data costs down bit by bit ( :) ), even if its just a few cents per meg each month/quarter/year :-)
to my parents, who actually buy and read the newspaper, that big LTE advert doesn't mean s!t :)
 
I couldn't care less about LTE if its at their current ridiculous prices!
 
mmmig said:
I think contract customers pay R1 a meg so basically if not careful you could pick up a bill of R240 in less than a minute
Click to expand...
This is making tears well-up in my eyes.
Your contract customers need cheaper data, Vody. Otherwise you can wave goodbye to a loyal customer (me). Its not worth having a Galaxy SIII that gets nailed for using data. Its designed to always be online.
 
It's cool to see that Vodacom has got LTE up and running, but they should really design bigger capped products (like 50GB + p.m) at affordable rates.

I'd like to have LTE, but if it costs too much for little, don't think i will consider getting it.
 
Silver Crow said:
It's cool to see that Vodacom has got LTE up and running, but they should really design bigger capped products (like 50GB + p.m) at affordable rates.

I'd like to have LTE, but if it costs too much for little, don't think i will consider getting it.
Click to expand...
+1 exactly what they need to do. At least in decently priced bundles of 10gb, and then if you go oob, charge prorata per bundle rate, not the ridiculous oob rates.
 
more underhanded tactics by Vodacom. Its quite clever actually. Increase speed drastically and retain your OOB rates = rape customers ever harder than before.

All the poor souls who have no clue and rush to Vodacom to sign their 24 month "special" and then are so :confused: when their LTE data is all gone on Day 10 of the month. They either informed and top up (more $$$ to VC) or they clueless and hit the OOB waters...

Vodacom are not stupid. When my contract ends in March, goodbye Vodacom. Their "superior network" is not worth the money.

other than that, this Shameel oke is just a complete tool
 
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