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Question of the Day: Main reasons you wouldn't get an EV?
Who’s the cheapest mobile operator?
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
Obronie
Well-Known Member
But, but.......remember Vodacom is very competitive comparing to other countries. Is true, the MD said so!
While the quips are all funny (especially doug's quality response), it's worth pointing out that these graphs are just 2 slides out of a 30 slide presentation, and don't constitute a "study". This isn't a summary of ICASA's whole speech to the PPCC, just a snapshot.
Highlighting who the cheapest is was also not the point (as the way in which the graphs are presented hopefully indicate), it was just additional interesting information to come from the data.
ICASA is certainly deserving of ire for many other things (LLU and BitStream come to mind), but not in this. Analysing the telecommunications landscape to see whether the market is performing as it should and reporting to government about it is part of their jobs.
dougatthewoods
Well-Known Member
I found the whole presentation here. Use the "open to view" link, the "download" link she's broken.
Now that I see it in it's whole form and knowing that this was for parliament it makes more sense. It breaks the information down well for those without a tech background.
Maybe add the link to the article to give more context to the data.
That would be giving away my competitive edge
Seriously, though: we're on a quest for no dead links on the MyBroadband news site. Since we have no guarantee that ICASA won't change CMSes or break the link some other way it means we won't link to the presentation.
I'll just have to serve it up in articles as best I can.
Dups!
Expert Member
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As much as I don't like Vodacom I have to disagree with the calculations on the 'Cheapest prepaid offering' when comparing Vodacom and 8.ta.
8.ta is R1.50 per minute and Vodacom is at R1.40 per minute (both billed per minute), so how is the former cheaper?
8.ta is R1.50 per minute and Vodacom is at R1.40 per minute (both billed per minute), so how is the former cheaper?
Probably a graph reading error from my side - Vodacom's was slightly below the R1,000 line (probably around R980). That doesn't account for the major difference in 900 basket, though.
Both 8ta and Vodacom have per second billing option on prepaid though, don't they? That could make a difference.
moonknight
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dougatthewoods
Well-Known Member
Dups! I don't know exactly what the guidelines are, but I would assume that the 300 calls per month is a combination of peak and off-peak calls as well as calls of varying duration.
8ta's pricing is as follows:
Peak - 4.6c per sec (R2.78 per min)
Off-Peak - 1.6c per sec (R0.98 per min)
Vodacom have multiple packages with varying charges depending on the network you are calling. The R1.40 I quoted earlier is billed per minute to any network. Their packages vary greatly in rates and as I don't use them I don't know what the differences are (and don't feel like reading up on them).
So whatever combination of call times and call durations they used they landed up with the results that they had. 8ta's per second billing probably had the biggest effect on the results. Vodacom's per second options are quite a bit more than their per minute options.
I would like to see a "level of effort required from customer to get the cheapest option". Factor in research time, on-the-phone/web time (to activate the cheapest option) and the opportunity cost to make calls at the cheapest time (i.e., I want to call my grandma, but I get the cheapest calls at midnight, so do I miss the opportunity to call her)?
Its one thing to say that I will get Vodacom's cheapest rate, but how much effort do I need to put in to get to that rate? Versus CellC's all-time-any-time 99c a minute.
Its one thing to say that I will get Vodacom's cheapest rate, but how much effort do I need to put in to get to that rate? Versus CellC's all-time-any-time 99c a minute.
I found the whole presentation here. Use the "open to view" link, the "download" link she's broken.
Now that I see it in it's whole form and knowing that this was for parliament it makes more sense. It breaks the information down well for those without a tech background.
Maybe add the link to the article to give more context to the data.
Thanks dougatthewoods - was able to view the actual presentation
Bottom line seems to be that ICASA wants more moola!
cozinsky
Expert Member
It is time to move my 4 contracts from MTN. I refuse to do any more business with the most expensive cellphone provider in the country. I was pleasantly surprised by Cell C. I like their cheap prices and their network coverage seems to have improved a lot. I am at Hibberdene at the moment and I get HSPA on Cell C while Vodacom and MTN only give me GPRS. I am liking Cell C more and more by the day.
dougatthewoods
Well-Known Member
I know not everyone has cash upfront, but the best deal at the moment is to port to one of the CellC data bundles (Giga[something]) - 50gb+150gb for R1799. This gives you 4gb of data for your smartphone every month (on average (and I am ignoring the midnight data)). You can then add airtime as you need for calls / sms's.
CellC has confirmed that you can do this.
If you want to upgrade your phone you just buy a new one and sell the old one.
This works out cheaper than a contract and you are never locked in and you can upgrade whenever you want.
CellC has confirmed that you can do this.
If you want to upgrade your phone you just buy a new one and sell the old one.
This works out cheaper than a contract and you are never locked in and you can upgrade whenever you want.
I definitely agree that in terms of call rates/data etc. CellC is the best. BUT getting *some* phones on contract through them work out a lot more expensive. For example - the Samsung Galaxy S2 on CellC Straight Up 30 - 30min, 30sms, 30mb costs R300p/m x 24 months = R7200 over 2 years. While on MTN you can get it with R100 airtime, 25sms and 150mb @ R189p/m x 24 = R4536. Although MTN is disgusting in terms of its rates, their contract offerings are very good - often cheaper than the other networks and they have a wide choice. Each operator has its own position in the market.
Has it been confirmed that you can now get the R0.99 call rate on a data SIM?
There was some confusion here:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/482500-CellC-99c-calls-on-Data-contracts
+1
I bought my last mobile, a Nokia N9, at Edgars. 6 months interest-free.
Edgars' insurance is quite cheap too, only R79 per month.
dougatthewoods
Well-Known Member
http://www.cellc.co.za/giganite
Giga 200 Prepaid Terms and Conditions
1. All prices shown include VAT
2. On Giga 200 you will receive 50GB Peak Data and 150GB Midnight data (i.e. between midnight and 6am).
3. The Giga 200 package is ONLY for use on the Cell C Network. National roaming on the Vodacom network is not allowed on this product.
4. Giga is only applicable on the Cell C Internet APN (Blackberry APN is excluded).
5. The Giga 200 offer is available for a once-off fee, which shall include:
5.1 A Cell C data enabled SIM card;
5.2 50GB peak data and 150GB midnight data, which shall be valid for 365 days
6. The SIM card obtained when purchasing this data bundle offer may be used for non-data usage if such SIM is inserted into a handset. Non-data usage shall include SMS, voice calls and MMS. Non-data usage (voice, SMS and MMS) shall be billed as per the 99c for real tariff plan.
My contract expires in March sometime. Should be able to get a Nexus 4 for <R5000.
Bern
Expert Member
This info is actually very useful as it is verified by ICASA, not just argued by individuals. It also removes all the "specials" and gets down to the standard rates which really proves what Cell C are doing.
What is actually a great way of checking is to create a little excel sheet and import your call history, it is scary how much Cell C can save you! Then there is the other part where people on anytime minutes lose out very badly if they make weekend/evening calls as they are effectively billed for peak calls. Anyone on per minute not per second is completely mad, getting charged a full minute for every 2 second call is crazy.
What is actually a great way of checking is to create a little excel sheet and import your call history, it is scary how much Cell C can save you! Then there is the other part where people on anytime minutes lose out very badly if they make weekend/evening calls as they are effectively billed for peak calls. Anyone on per minute not per second is completely mad, getting charged a full minute for every 2 second call is crazy.