With the recent reduction in data prices by cellphone operators, consumers should make sure they are not being ripped off.<\/p>\n
When considering your options for your smartphone you need to look at how much data you are getting, at what price and how this compares to other offerings.<\/p>\n
Currently on the market MTN<\/a> has a 75MB data package for entry-level smartphones, starting at a price of R25 a month or R300 a year.<\/p>\n Once you run out of your MBs then you need to recharge or costs will be deducted from your airtime.<\/p>\n This service also comes in packages that are specific to the user’s requirements and can either be an extension of one’s contract offering, or purchased on prepaid.<\/p>\n However, for almost double that price (R57-R69 a month) you can get uncapped data via BlackBerry’s<\/a> BIS , on either a prepaid or contract subscription, although excessive internet usuage may be throttled.<\/p>\n With questions being raised as to whether 75MB is enough, MTN says it has an agreement with Opera<\/a> Mini Browser (OMB) which allows users to compress data, thus equating the 75MB capacity to 500MB of normal internet usage.<\/p>\n This offering however will not be available for higher-end smartphone users, as they have contract specific offers.<\/p>\n 8-ta, like MTN also has a fixed-rate offering but only for prepaid BlackBerry users. It offers six months worth of browsing (BIS) at a cost of R600, or R100 a month, and 500MB of “free” YouTube<\/a> streaming.<\/p>\n