South Africans often compare local cellular prices to those in the US, bemoaning how expensive local services are compared to the States.<\/p>\n
However, these comparisons don\u2019t always take the many differences between the local market and the US into account.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say local services are priced better, but it is interesting to take note of the differences when they are put into sharp relief – as was the case recently.<\/p>\n
T-Mobile CEO John Legere wrote a blog post<\/a><\/strong> about how the network was going to clamp down on \u201cabusers\u201d.<\/p>\n Legere said\u00a0data \u201cthieves\u201d were hooking their phones up to their PCs and downloading large quantities of data over their unlimited LTE plans.<\/p>\n The issue is that T-Mobile only offers unlimited data for on-device browsing. When you tether the device to your PC, you are meant to be capped.<\/p>\n T-Mobile\u2019s Unlimited 4G smartphone plan costs $80 per month (excluding VAT) and includes unlimited on-device talk, text, and data in North America.<\/p>\n When using your smartphone as a portable hotspot, however, you are limited to 7GB per month – after which you are throttled to 2G speeds.<\/p>\n On-device usage also has a fair use limit of 21GB – after which your usage will be reprioritised for the rest of the billing cycle.<\/p>\n Legere said some\u00a0subscribers had found ways to circumvent these caps and restrictions, with one user downloading 2TB worth of data.<\/p>\n This group of subscribers – 0.01% of T-Mobile\u2019s userbase – was \u201cstealing\u201d high-speed tethered data, and could negatively impacting the user experience for all\u00a0customers, said Legere.<\/p>\n For this reason, T-Mobile will clamp down on these subscribers – starting with the 3,000 “thieves” it has identified.<\/p>\n Those who do not heed T-Mobile\u2019s warning will be permanently kicked off the Unlimited 4G plan and moved onto the carrier\u2019s capped packages.<\/p>\n To see how South African mobile operators compare to T-Mobile, we looked at the US carrier\u2019s cheapest and most expensive smartphone plans, and compared them to those of South Africa\u2019s mobile networks.<\/p>\n To eliminate cost-of-living and earning power from the comparison, we used the purchasing power parity conversion factor for private consumption from the World Bank.<\/p>\n It is worth noting that T-Mobile\u2019s smartphone plan is month-to-month, while those from Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom are 6 – 24 month contracts.<\/p>\n Cell C offers SIM-only smartphone plans on a month-to-month basis.<\/p>\n Vodacom launches new LTE business broadband deals<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vodacom\u2019s \u201cPlease Call Me\u201d case lessons<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Mobile network data expiration investigation underway<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nVodacom, MTN, Cell C, and Telkom vs T-Mobile<\/h3>\n
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\n Top-end plans<\/td>\n Price in $intl.<\/td>\n Local price (ZAR excl. VAT)<\/td>\n Data<\/td>\n Voice<\/td>\n SMS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n T-Mobile Simple Choice Unlimited Nationwide 4G<\/strong><\/td>\n $80<\/td>\n $80 (R1,067 excl.)<\/td>\n 21GB \/ 7GB*<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cell C Infinity Select<\/strong><\/td>\n $153<\/td>\n R999 (R876 excl.)<\/td>\n 10GB<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Telkom Completely Unlimited<\/strong><\/td>\n $184<\/td>\n R1,199 (R1,052 excl.)<\/td>\n 10GB*<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vodacom Red VIP<\/strong><\/td>\n $253<\/td>\n R1,649 (R1,447 excl.)<\/td>\n 5GB<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n MTN Sky<\/strong><\/td>\n $284<\/td>\n R1,849 (R1,622 excl.)<\/td>\n 10GB*<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cheapest smartphone plans<\/td>\n Price ($intl.)<\/td>\n Price (local)<\/td>\n Data<\/td>\n Voice<\/td>\n SMS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n T-Mobile Simple Choice 1GB<\/strong><\/td>\n $50<\/td>\n $50 (R667 excl.)<\/td>\n 1GB*<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n \u221e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vodacom Smart S<\/strong><\/td>\n $32<\/td>\n R209 (R183 excl.)<\/td>\n 400MB<\/td>\n 150<\/td>\n 400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cell C SmartChat 1GB<\/strong><\/td>\n $15<\/td>\n R99 (R87 excl.)<\/td>\n 512MB<\/td>\n 25<\/td>\n 0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Telkom SmartPlan 50<\/strong><\/td>\n $11<\/td>\n R79 (R60 excl.)<\/td>\n 500MB<\/td>\n 50<\/td>\n 5 for 50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n MyMTN Choice 25 + 5MB<\/strong><\/td>\n $7<\/td>\n R44 (R39 excl.)<\/td>\n 5MB<\/td>\n 25<\/td>\n 0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n \n\n R13.34\/USD, R5.71\/$intl., *Not caps. Fair use limits for on-device\/tethered use.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n<\/table><\/div>\n More cellular and smartphone articles<\/h3>\n