{"id":127320,"date":"2015-05-26T20:48:46","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T18:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=127320"},"modified":"2015-05-26T20:50:23","modified_gmt":"2015-05-26T18:50:23","slug":"r169-uncapped-mobile-data-sim-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/127320-r169-uncapped-mobile-data-sim-reviewed.html","title":{"rendered":"R169 uncapped mobile data SIM reviewed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After the rug was pulled out from under them at the start of 2015, Data SIM is back with a new uncapped mobile data product.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Also read: <a title=\"R149 unlimited data SIM \u2013 what happened behind the scenes\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/116954-r149-unlimited-data-sim-what-happened-behind-the-scenes.html\">R149 unlimited data SIM \u2013 what happened behind the scenes<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Though it costs R20 more per month than the\u00a0previous deal, and it is on the Telkom network rather than MTN\u2019s, the heart of the service remains the same: for a fixed monthly fee you get an uncapped, but heavily-restricted mobile data service.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Data SIM website, the service offers the following features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Uncapped Internet Browsing<\/li>\n<li>Uncapped Facebook \/ Twitter \/ Instagram<\/li>\n<li>Uncapped Whatsapp \/ BBM \/ Viber<\/li>\n<li>Uncapped Emailing \/ Downloading attachments<\/li>\n<li>Other social media sites and services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not mentioned on the front page of the site is that data speeds are throttled to around 200kbps. The product details page lists the maximum speed as 282kbps.<\/p>\n<p>Blocked services listed on the site include: Youtube and other streaming sites, pornography, and downloading.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">More restrictions revealed in tests<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_127324\" style=\"width: 594px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-7zip.exe-download-test.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127324\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127324\" src=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-7zip.exe-download-test.jpg\" alt=\"Data SIM 7zip.exe download test\" width=\"584\" height=\"248\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127324\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Data SIM 7zip.exe download test<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_127328\" style=\"width: 515px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-download-2MB-file-test.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127328\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127328\" src=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-download-2MB-file-test.jpg\" alt=\"Data SIM download 2MB file test\" width=\"505\" height=\"124\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Data SIM download 2MB file test<\/p><\/div>\n<p>To test Data SIM, we ordered one of its uncapped SIMs online.<\/p>\n<p>Data SIM provided a card which listed access point name (APN) configuration instructions for Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Symbian, and iOS.<\/p>\n<p>We tested it in an iPhone and an Android device, and the instructions worked as advertised.<\/p>\n<p>After testing browsing, we checked whether it was possible to access the respective application stores of either mobile operating system.<\/p>\n<p>We could not download apps from Google Play or the Apple App Store, or\u00a0access the storefronts.<\/p>\n<p>While the iPhone did let us create a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, tethering seemed to run over the normal Telkom APN, and not the Vetex APN.<\/p>\n<p>This means it was not possible to use the uncapped Data SIM connection on a PC through an iPhone.<\/p>\n<p>On Android, it was a different story, and tethering a PC to our smartphone let us test some of the other limits of the Data SIM service.<\/p>\n<p>Among them was that downloads around 2MB or more are blocked, with certain exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>For example: downloading a 2MB .zlist file from a local Ubuntu mirror was blocked, while a 4MB download of source code from Github (which did not report the file size) was allowed.<\/p>\n<p>It was not possible to make an FTP connection to the Ubuntu mirror at all.<\/p>\n<p>The HTTP download tests conducted also suggest that speeds to some servers were allowed to run at almost 1Mbps, while our download from Github crawled between 50kbps and 200kbps.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to browse Flickr at these speeds proved impossible.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127332\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-FTP-test-to-ubuntu.mirror.ac_.za_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127332\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127332\" src=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-FTP-test-to-ubuntu.mirror.ac_.za_.jpg\" alt=\"Data SIM FTP test to ubuntu.mirror.ac.za\" width=\"600\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127332\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Data SIM FTP test to ubuntu.mirror.ac.za<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_127322\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-Github-source-code-download-test.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127322\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127322\" src=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-Github-source-code-download-test.jpg\" alt=\"Data SIM Github source code download test\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-Github-source-code-download-test.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Data-SIM-Github-source-code-download-test-250x166.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127322\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Data SIM Github source code download test<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Social media, messaging, and VoIP tests<\/h3>\n<p>Our tests on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp behaved as expected (keeping in mind a maximum speed of 284kbps), including streaming video from Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>However, we could not get Skype to sign in. WhatsApp voice calls also refused to connect, though they did ring.<\/p>\n<p>During our first test of Instagram on Data SIM, pictures refused to download. When we tested again the following day, Instagram worked as it should.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Bottom-line: probably not worth it<\/h3>\n<p>For under R169 per month, you can get 1GB of data from Vodacom or Cell C; or 2GB of data from MTN (<a title=\"Da-taaa! MTN double data promotion extended\" href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/125114-da-taaa-mtn-double-data-promotion-extended.html\"><strong>Da-taaa! promotion<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Subtracting the R50 airtime included with Data SIM still leaves R119 per month &#8211; the same price\u00a0as a 1GB Telkom Mobile data bundle.<\/p>\n<p>You will probably be far better off with any of the above options rather than with Data SIM.<\/p>\n<p>Taking into account all the restrictions on the service, it is unlikely that you will get more value from it than a normal 1GB data bundle.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t mean a product like Data SIM doesn\u2019t have its place, though.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to get a restricted uncapped mobile data service for your children, or if you blow through a gig of data per month with your smartphone just on normal browsing, instant messaging, Facebook and Twitter, then Data SIM could be just what you need.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"related\">More on Data SIM and mobile data<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadband\/126462-uncapped-mobile-data-for-r169-per-month.html\"><strong>Uncapped mobile data for R169 per month<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/126928-uncapped-mobile-data-for-r149-per-month-powered-by-telkom.html\"><strong>Uncapped mobile data for R149 per month \u2013 powered by Telkom<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/127108-what-your-cellphone-provider-knows-about-you.html\"><strong>What your cellphone provider knows about you<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/126512-hidden-cost-to-move-your-vodacom-mtn-contract-to-cell-c.html\"><strong>Hidden cost to move your Vodacom, MTN contract to Cell C<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/telecoms\/124466-sudden-price-increases-in-sa-telecoms.html\"><strong>Sudden price increases in SA telecoms<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We put Data SIM\u2019s uncapped mobile data service for R169 per month through its paces to see how it performs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":126466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,23],"tags":[28308,35,109,30510],"class_list":["post-127320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","category-reviews","tag-data-sim","tag-headline","tag-telkom","tag-vetex"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127338,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127320\/revisions\/127338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}