VodaCRAP I hate you

[Mantis]

I'v been trying to log in to a few pages using my phone as a modem and i keep getting connection resets, etc. The only thing that loaded was a plain text site which took about 30 seconds. I got sick of waiting for Facebook to load after 5 minutes. It doesn't depend on time of day either as they'd like you to believe. I'm now forced to post this from my cellphone using Opera Mini. And after waiting for those pages to load (1,5 mb later) it chowed more than R10 of my airtime. But what did I expect; its always done this. I should stick to using Virgin Mobile. It always works for me. I just hope pages start loading fully now and not halfway causing me to have to constantly reload them. I HATE YOU VODACRAP and i hate you Ivy and you too Lyndall. You make me wanna cry, ... or send you some plastics

 

[scorpiocandy]

I agree with you 1000%. I never thought I'd say this but I miss my Telkom ADSL. It's kinda like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. I choose the devil Telkom.

Vodacom sucks

 

[Mantis]

Open letter to the CEO of Vodacom

Dear Sir

I have been a loyal Vodacom supporter and user for the past six (6) years, which is the length of time for which I have had a cellphone. I have had SIM cards for the other networks to take advantage of their specials but have always used Vodacom as my default carrier. I have always promoted and endorsed Vodacom to friends, family, as well as the clients who I have served in my position as a sales assistant in a cellular store for the past six (6) years. But no more.

I have over the nine (9) months been spending more and more money on Virgin Mobile airtime due to their cheaper anytime rates for calls, sms's, mms's, as well as data. Also their uptime has been much much better than your network's. I very rarely use Vodacom to connect to the internet at all these days due to the fact that I am never able to load web pages using Vodacom to dial up to the net, unless I want to wait five (5) minutes to view a pure text page.

I know that the few hundred rands I spend with your network probably does not mean a thing to you, but it means a great deal to me. I don't mind losing the rest of the airtime I have loaded, I also don't mind losing my cellphone number I've had for the last six (6) years; I'm not sure yet whether I will pay the porting fee charged in order to keep my number. It might be just a few measly rands to you, but to a student working two (2) jobs where your boss is either never there or a completely moronic racist, those few measly rands do count.

I know that you probably won't read this letter, but I wrote it all the same; partly hoping that others would read it, and partly so that I could vent. I could only hope that our current telecommunications environment changes for the better, at least in the next ten (10) years. I also hope that you are never forced to use your own network for work purposes; you might pop a vein while losing your temper or smash your phone against the wall.

Well, I'm not sure yet how I'm going to send this letter. The last time I tried logging on to the MyADSL site I kept getting timeouts, and when I tried posting directly from my cellphone the page stopped loading which isn't uncommon for when I'm using your network. I'll probably have to copy this to a flash-disk and go to an internet cafe to upload it. Aah, this makes me love being proudly South Africa. I wish I could do something about this myself, but I guess the situation is inevitable.

Yours truly, (and with no faith in your network whatsoever)
Mantis (MyADSL Forumite)

 

[vodacom3g]

Mantis, after reading your first post I was wondering what to do, but realised I can't do much without any information.

If someone has a problem, they'll typically post (or PM me) all the details and especially the ref numbers they got from the call desk.

You'll agree, without accurate information we can't do much about a 'disconnect problem somewhere in Paarl'. With thousands of users in your area, the call-desk would quickly light up if there was a problem and we just don't see this.

What did 155 say when you called them? Can you post the reference numbers please?

 

[MobileAllOver]

I've been using VodaCom for the past few years as well... The 3G / HSDPA service is exceptional and really fast... Maybe you should consider an upgrade to a real cellphone ;-)

Virgin Mobile data sucks! I cannot connect to VPN, only get GPRS speeds and the signal gets dropped as soon as it switches to another tower. I fail to believe that the fault is on VodaCom's network....

I have several VodaCom data cards, all working 100%... Will support them all the way, believe they are an example for SA companies.

 

[Mantis]

don't actually plan to but in the event that i do log on with vodacom again, i'll log everything i do. i loaded about 5 to 10 pages on voda and tried logging on to msn and it sucked out my R29. on virgin i actually managed video calling

 

[vodacom3g]

don't actually plan to but in the event that i do log on with vodacom again, i'll log everything i do. i loaded about 5 to 10 pages on voda and tried logging on to msn and it sucked out my R29. on virgin i actually managed video calling

What about the previous times you called 155? Did you keep the ref numbers?

PM me the number in question and I'll pull up all your calls to the call desk.

 

[ic]

don't actually plan to but in the event that i do log on with vodacom again, i'll log everything i do. i loaded about 5 to 10 pages on voda and tried logging on to msn and it sucked out my R29. on virgin i actually managed video calling

were you using Skype for that "video calling"?

 

[Mantis]

sorry, not video calling, rather video chat on msn. i guess it helps that it was low quality video. anyways i only called 155 about 2 or three times i think. can't remember ref numbers. i think i'll try again tonight seeing as though i've gotten your attention

 

[ic]

sorry, not video calling, rather video chat on msn. i guess it helps that it was low quality video. anyways i only called 155 about 2 or three times i think. can't remember ref numbers. i think i'll try again tonight seeing as though i've gotten your attention

Please clarify your intention behind this thread:

Did you intend to just have a good rant? - nothing wrong with that provided it is based on fact and not fiction, also note that moaning about the unavailability of the so called [post=619272]Free Internet[/post] is counter-productive.

Or, did you intend to ask for help in resolving connection problems you're experiencing?

I ask this bcos your subsequent posts sound like you want help, whereas your initial post is purely a rant with zero useful information for the purpose of helping you resolve any problems.

If you do want help resolving connection problems, then [post=932410]click here...[/post]

 

[Mantis]

mmmkayy ic, i don't get the ref to moaning about free internet even after reading my reply in that. maybe i'm just a bit slow this morning 8-/ anyhoo i started this merely as a rant, facts are true too, and didnt expect help as i have found neither voda or mtn helpdesks to be of any help over the past 6 years. because v3g took some interest i'll be supplying him with the info he needs to solve this problem. and thanks for pointing me to the page about the current voda problems, it does explain alot. although it doesn't explain away the problems i've had in the not too distant past to do with data transfer as well as seemingly "irregular" data charges.

 

[JK8]

I'v been trying to log in to a few pages using my phone as a modem and i keep getting connection resets, etc. The only thing that loaded was a plain text site which took about 30 seconds. I got sick of waiting for Facebook to load after 5 minutes. It doesn't depend on time of day either as they'd like you to believe. I'm now forced to post this from my cellphone using Opera Mini. And after waiting for those pages to load (1,5 mb later) it chowed more than R10 of my airtime. But what did I expect; its always done this. I should stick to using Virgin Mobile. It always works for me. I just hope pages start loading fully now and not halfway causing me to have to constantly reload them. I HATE YOU VODACRAP and i hate you Ivy and you too Lyndall. You make me wanna cry, ... or send you some plastics

Use a 3G phone, If you have coverage in Paarl it should be fast, less traffic on the towers, 1.5 Mb does not charge R10, check your settings you might be using CSD on your old 3g phone, if you want to save data on facebook, use firefox and adblock, you wasting time and money on the adds.

Whos Ivy and Lyndall?

 

[ic]

mmmkayy ic, i don't get the ref to moaning about free internet even after reading my reply in that. maybe i'm just a bit slow this morning

In doing my due diligence to try and find out what problems you have experienced, I searched for posts by yourself in this forum, and found that, apart from this thread, the only other post was a moan about Vodacom blocking the Free Internet loophole, which combined with what you posted earlier in this thread:

I have over the nine (9) months been spending more and more money on Virgin Mobile airtime due to their cheaper anytime rates for calls, sms's, mms's, as well as data.

IMO suggests that you might still be miffed about the Free Internet loophole being blocked - it's just the impression that I got.

Whos Ivy and Lyndall?

surely you know of Poison Ivy & Tsunami-Shareholder Lyndall Shope-Mafole .

 

[Mantis]

oh ok, i see what you getting at ic. not miffed about that at all. i gave up on that loophole thing quite shortly after. yes the reason i moved to virgin is partly that they're cheaper but mostly because i don't seem to have these problems. i've had one that i can recall and it sorted itself out before gerald (i think thats his name) could contact me. since my airtime is mostly free (bonus for working in a cellular store) cost for data is not my major issue but rather not getting what i (kinda) "pay" for. but less b1tching more action from my side. will try at about 15:30 since theres so much interest

 

[JK8]

oh ok, i see what you getting at ic. not miffed about that at all. i gave up on that loophole thing quite shortly after. yes the reason i moved to virgin is partly that they're cheaper but mostly because i don't seem to have these problems. i've had one that i can recall and it sorted itself out before gerald (i think thats his name) could contact me. since my airtime is mostly free (bonus for working in a cellular store) cost for data is not my major issue but rather not getting what i (kinda) "pay" for. but less b1tching more action from my side. will try at about 15:30 since theres so much interest

 

[Mantis]

@JK8: yes it might sound like i'm contradicting myself. i get a limited amount of free airtime every week. once thats up, i've gotta start paying for airtime. i'd rather use that airtime on voice calls which terminate successfully than on data which doesn't

 

[Mantis]

Vodacom vs Virgin Mobile

Hey guys. Sorry I took so long. This is how it worked for me. I'm not promoting any a certain network above another. This is just the way it has always seemed to work out for me ...

Ok, so this is what I did. I went out and got myself some Virgin Mobile airtime as well to compare it to Vodacom.

I loaded up a few sites and checked the time it took to load these sites. I was using Mozilla Firefox with an Add-On called Faster Fox. I wasn't using any of the functions of Faster Fox besides the timer it places in the bottom of the window which times how long it takes for a website to load.

On Vodacom:

> Loaded R29 airtime
> Start time: 17:41
> Opened up www.facebook.com/login.php - load time = 307.332 seconds
> Typed in my details and clicked "Login" - load time = 129.556 seconds

> Typed in http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/index.php
> connection reset after 27.269s
> Refreshed page - load time = 261.606s

> Typed in (www.telkomsa.net) - load time = 407.00s
> clicked on "Speed Test" - load time 85.803s

> clicked on FTP Test (ftp://196.43.1.13/test.file)
> connection reset after - 2.503s
> refreshed - connection reset after - 1.73s
> refreshed - connection reset after - 1.73s

> Logged on to MSN
> 1st attempt failed
> 2nd attempt failed
> 3rd attempt failed
> Did the troubleshoot
> 4th attempt successful

Sent a message to a contact and logged off. While logging off I received an error message saying "Unable to start conversation ..."

Sent data = 442,210Kb
Received data = 1,445,960Kb

Total data used = 1,888,170 = +/-1,80mb

Ending balance = R24,56

R29,00 - R24,56 = R4,44

1,80mb * R2/mb = R3,60

:: Overcharged by 84 cents

On Virgin Mobile:

> Loaded R35 airtime
> Start time: 18:31
> Opened up www.facebook.com/login.php - load time = 106.994 seconds
> Typed in my details and clicked "Login" - load time = 232.595 seconds

> Typed in http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/index.php - load time = 72.784s

> Typed in (www.telkomsa.net) - load time = 117s
> clicked on "Speed Test"
> 26.689s later - "Server Not Found"
> Refreshed page - load time 55.9s

> clicked on FTP Test (ftp://196.43.1.13/test.file)
> connection reset after - 1.662s
> refreshed - connection reset after - 3,505s
> refreshed - connection reset after - 4,466s

> Logged on to MSN
> 1st attempt successful

Sent a message to a contact and logged off.

Sent data = 414,775Kb
Received data = 1,511,886Kb

Total data used = 1,926,661 = +/-1,84mb

Ending balance = R34,24

R35,00 - R34,24 = R0,76

1,84 * R0,50/mb = R0,92

:: Undercharged by 16 cents

I don't care much about being overcharged, as long as its not way over what I'm actually supposed to pay, as it has been in the past. And I don't like the undercharging either. I used the Virgin Mobile service and I expected to pay for it (its so cheap to begin with). And before anyone goes around quoting me saying things about free internet loopholes, cough, ic, cough, those are cool and all if you're interested in playing around with settings and getting "the man" back ... whatever.

I'd rather pay for a good service, than struggle to squeeze a few trickles of data through a proxy

 

[ic]

@Mantis, you're obviously using pre-paid for Vodacom, IMO part of the problem is that Vodacom does not have [searchforum]PPDB[/searchforum]s smaller than 500MB, as for why you experience long page loading times on this site, I don't know why, I didn't experience the same problem when I was using my PPDB earlier today with Vodacom's HSDPA, maybe there is a congestion problem in the area where you're using Vodacom's network - I suggest looking for packet loss to confirm that.

BTW, what modem are you using and which network, i.e. 2G or 3G|HSDPA?

Also, run Vodacom's speed test: http://speed.vodacom.co.za/ and post the results.

 

[Mantis]

@Mantis, you're obviously using pre-paid for Vodacom, IMO part of the problem is that Vodacom does not have [searchforum]PPDB[/searchforum]s smaller than 500MB

True, many see this as a problem as well

maybe there is a congestion problem in the area where you're using Vodacom's network

I usually blame the kiddies on MXit. Its even worse than this at certain times.

BTW, what modem are you using and which network, i.e. 2G or 3G|HSDPA?

I'm using my cellphone (Sam D500) as a modem, so 2G I guess.

 

[ic]

I'm using my cellphone (Sam D500) as a modem, so 2G I guess.

I assume that phone does not support 3G?

Speed test results?

Are you testing indoors or outdoors with a notebook? - your uplink signal could easily be a problem from your phone to the base-station - especially if it's being substantially blocked indoors which would result in numerous TCP/IP retransmissions, and consequently taking longer, which means low speed due to the additional time taken for retransmissions. Another test that is useful here, is to try some audio streaming via UDP packets - maybe a local radio station will be best to try for elimination purposes: http://www.antfarm.co.za/.