What's the point?

J

Just_Ice

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Of me having to have at least one rand in my accounting to connect to internet from my phone? Seriously.

I dont think other networks do it, so why cant I just use all my airtime, till the last cent, on data, instead of having to keep a minimum R1 balance? It is my airtime after all
 
You can use it to the last cent...till you run out airtime and reach a balance of 0...but you need to have a balance of a certain amount to establish the connection.
 
Well why do I need that R1 minimum to establish the connection? It uses maybe 1c to establish it, and I have enough for that
 
I dont know for sure Just_Ice....maybe to prevent someone from tricking Vodacom in using that 1 cent to establish a connection, quickly downloading a 1 meg file before the system can update with the new balance and then you chuck the prepaid sim? Kidding....not sure why but it has always been like that i think. You should rather convert airtime into data bundle...works out cheaper and then you really do use all of it for data. Not true?
 
The other networks dont do that though... and surely vc should have a system in place to prevent that from happening? I wont convert it, I dont use enough data to warrant it firstly, and most of my airtime is used on voice calls and smses.
 
Cant comment on that really...have never used the other networks for data. 1c is really not going to get you very far Just_Ice. Would the MyMeg5 bundle not suite you? Cost is R9.25 including VAT. Just a suggestion
 
Im not saying I want to use the one cent, the point is, I should have the option to use it if I choose to. Its my money. Ill just pay the extra 75 cents with out a bundle for 5 megs. Its alright :)
 
No problem, Ill wait for someone who could enlighten me on this practice that vodacom employs
 
ocleroux said:
I dont know for sure Just_Ice....maybe to prevent someone from tricking Vodacom in using that 1 cent to establish a connection, quickly downloading a 1 meg file before the system can update with the new balance and then you chuck the prepaid sim? Kidding....not sure why but it has always been like that i think. You should rather convert airtime into data bundle...works out cheaper and then you really do use all of it for data. Not true?
Click to expand...

Thats a hint right there!

I would think its got something to do with their billing system. They probably don't have real time billing but I don't think other companies have either. Billing is rather complex in the telecoms industry.
 
At a guess, they could say that it's a safety margin to prevent people / automated applications from connecting and trying to send data continuously and always failing, causing unnecessary congestion.

The technical bit would be that the data / connect request could be stopped at the tower because the tower would know your balance, thereby saving traffic on the rest of network.

As a side, it may be that updates to the tower regarding decreases in airtime available are only sent to the tower when the value changed is a multiple of a full rand, instead of spamming the network with 99,98,97,96,95,94 ...

But, I am just having a speculation attack.
 
Hi

Vodacom has a business rule that the minimum required amount is R1.00 to connect .MTN follows the same rule try calling them as i have confirmed.

Regards
VodacomData
 
PythonFSi said:
Thats a hint right there!

I would think its got something to do with their billing system. They probably don't have real time billing but I don't think other companies have either. Billing is rather complex in the telecoms industry.
Click to expand...

The pre-paid data billing is real time. While I can't really see the issue with requiring a R1 balance (banks need R50) the data billing on pre-paid tries to pre-empt your usage by "reserving" some data upfront. As you use data it goes back and reserves some more. Once you disconnect whatever is in the reserve gets put back towards your balance. I suspect the system can't reserve any data for you if your balance is under a R1 and thus you cannot connect. I really don't see the issue personally.
 
morkhans said:
The pre-paid data billing is real time. While I can't really see the issue with requiring a R1 balance (banks need R50) the data billing on pre-paid tries to pre-empt your usage by "reserving" some data upfront. As you use data it goes back and reserves some more. Once you disconnect whatever is in the reserve gets put back towards your balance. I suspect the system can't reserve any data for you if your balance is under a R1 and thus you cannot connect. I really don't see the issue personally.
Click to expand...

There was an issue were you would go into negative balances as well , they would have EXAMPLE 5 mb and R2.00 left connect and don't disconnect go in to a minus say of R50 and then throw the sim away.

Regards
VodacomData
 
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