Vodacom to unlock data cards
This move comes after consumer discontent over Vodacom’s decision to network lock its latest Huawei E620 HSDPA PCMCIA data cards. Previously, cards available through the Vodacom resale network were not network locked.
The cellular giant decided to network lock their data cards as it was not keen on other networks benefiting from Vodacom’s sourcing of a sometimes scarce resource. It also wanted to avoid undue criticism of their hardware by other networks and was looking to possibly capitalize on the subsidizing advantages that network locking brings.
Consumers were however unimpressed by this move from South Africa’s biggest mobile operator and openly voiced their dissatisfaction with Vodacom’s decision.
Vodacom was quick to respond to customer demands, and announced today that users will soon be able to unlock their network locked cards at any Vodacare branch.
“A process is being put into place to unlock network-locked cards already in circulation. This process will commence on the 1st of September and will require the customer who wants his card unlocked to take it to the nearest Vodacare where it will be unlocked for free,” Vodacom said.
Vodacom also said that all new cards or 3G/HSDPA devices will not be network-locked.
This is not the first time that Vodacom has shown that it is serious when it comes to customer satisfaction.
Earlier this year the company announced that it will upgrade all older 3G data cards to the new HSDPA quad cards free of charge. This decision, which could cost Vodacom as much as R 100-million, was widely heralded as a good example for other broadband operators to follow.
Vodacom also continues to provide data users with excellent online support in the MyADSL forums, something that has proved to be of great value to both consumers and the provider.
Here MTN followed suit with their representative, MTN_Data_Dude, giving expert answers to customers in a very timely manner.
It is encouraging to see that Vodacom truly listens to their customers and makes some decisions based on customer demands rather than just the company’s profit margin.
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