How to reduce mobile roaming charges

Customer: "Why are you raping us so badly. It really hurts"

Vodacom: "Rape is in our nature. Can you imagine if we didn't rape you? We wouldn't be able to build a building that has fancy lighting and we wouldn't have been able to change from blue to red if we weren't raping you."

Customer: "Please, stop raping me"

Vodacom: "Here are some tips to make the rape hurt a little less. Do not fight us. Do not resist. Resistance makes the pain increase."

Customer: "But you're still raping me. This rape is not necessary"

Vodacom: "Yes it is. We have thousands of engineers and employees who got their jobs via people they know rather then actual skill sets. We need your money to oursource their ****ups to semi-competent engineers who will blunder the whole thing anyway because we use expensive proprietary technology that has been proven to be less effective then FOSS"

Customer: "But it really hurts! Is it really necessary??"

Vodacom: "Yes. We needed to change from Blue to Red. Do you have any idea how much that costs? The rape is needed to sustain our business."

Customer: "Why??"

Vodacom: "So that we can profiteer bitches! Who cares if you're pooor we are rich!"
 
I sometimes wonder if it is not cheaper to buy prepaid sims in the country you are travelling in. How does the MTN ones work esp when it's within their group? -curious-

btw with rica like laws happening just about everywhere(it's not unique to SA) is it hard to get a SIM when visiting a country or even just for data use? Lastly its a pitty BB doesn't have an international roaming agreement.. something like that would make it more adopted among travelers
 
customers who make calls of long duration, can activate Vodafone Passport to save costs
Click to expand...

They of course omit the fact that there is a "connection charge" of R17.50 per call, regardless of duration, hence the qualification, "who make calls of long duration"

Half of the tips can be compressed into:"do not use data roaming at all"

For myself I just disable voicemail completely. This way the phone rings and I can decide if I want to take the call. If I don't pick up, it eventually cuts off costing me nothing.
 
Vodacom gives tips on how to save costs when using their network.

Cell C gives cheaper rates when using their network.
 
The big roaming rip-off is the one international practice that cheeses me off. I am not sure how it is going to get fixed, because every operator say "It is not us, but the other guys."

But international tourist coming to South Africa is also ripped off. If somebody from T-Mobile in America roams on MTN/Vodacom the rates is as follows:

http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx?tp=Inl_Tab_RoamWorldwide

GPRS $15 / MB
Calls $2.49 / minute

I am going to Japan next week and I thought about roaming but:

On MTN:

Local Calls R 8.25
Int.Calls/South Africa R 25.50
Reciving Calls R 4.00
SMS's R 2.75
Internet(per 25kb) R 3.50 (e.g. R143 / MB).
Click to expand...

On Vodacom:
Package Vodafone World
Country JAPAN
Network SOFTBANK MOBILE CORPORATION (FORMERLY VODAFONE KK JAPAN)
GSM Yes
GPRS Yes
3G Yes
10% Discount No
Super Saver Data Rate Yes
Local Calls R 8.00
International Calls R 23.50
Recieve Calls R 6.00
SMS R 2.75
Data R 17.50 (per MB)
Click to expand...

On Cell C:
Network NTT Docomo Softbank (Vodafone K.K.)
Local 7.65 15.31
International (Call to SA) 50.72 21.79
SMS MO 3.24 3.89
Receive a call 4.12 4.12
Frequency UTRAN 2100 3G** / 2100
Conference Call No Yes
GPRS/MB 211.22 199.27
3G Yes
Click to expand...

What is interesting is that the Data rates are lower for Vodacom, but it is because softbank is a partner (was formerly known as Vodafone Japan). But even with that they charge R17.5 / MB which is ridiculous. There is no routing between countries required and there is no reason why it should cost more to deliver the service. Roaming on another network in Japan puts the rate up to R128/MB.

And just to drive the nail into the coffin of any argument. Vodacom is responsible for the cost and it is not the "other" network's problem. Vodafone owns 65% of shares in Vodacom and is considered the parent company, so they can pretty much negotiate whatever is required. But here is the cost to roam on the Vodafone network in the UK with a Vodacom contract:

Package Vodafone World
Country UNITED KINGDOM
Network VODAFONE
GSM Yes
GPRS Yes
3G Yes
10% Discount Yes
Super Saver Data Rate Yes
Local Calls R 7.20
International Calls R 21.15
Recieve Calls R 6.00
SMS R 2.75
Data R 17.50 (/MB)
Click to expand...
 
Johand - buy a prepaid SIM in Japan and use that rather than running the risk of an expensive bill.

Plus you should be able to connect at good speeds to their local network/internet without worrying about your final phone bill.
 
Best roaming tip is to buy a local sim card for your destination and use that.
 
The_Librarian said:
Johand - buy a prepaid SIM in Japan and use that rather than running the risk of an expensive bill.

Plus you should be able to connect at good speeds to their local network/internet without worrying about your final phone bill.
Click to expand...

The prepaid market is the one thing South Africa is a million miles ahead of other countries :-) I had a look - and as far as I could determine prepaid is not an option in Japan (you need to have an Alien Registration Card). But even then it is not of much help:


Call Rates Voice Call**4 ¥9 / 6 sec. (90 YEN / minute = R7.7 / minute)
Messaging Rates Sending rate Unlimited Mail**1*¥300
Receiving Rate No charge**3
Data communication**4*rates ¥16 / 6 sec. (160 YEN / minute = R13.7)
Click to expand...

Of course you can get unlimited data for R380 /month on contract if you were a permanent resident. So the data prices are EXPENSIVE if you don't have a contract. The rental options are as bad as roaming.
 
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