Whats the friggin point Vodacom????!

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Keeper

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Why does Vodacom sell expensive 7.2 Mb/s capable devices, when their network is nowhere near capable of handling that speed? :confused:

I bought a Vodafone Huawei E272 7.2 Mb/s Modem, for R2500, but would of been better off buying an E220 from MTN, as you can easily upgrade it to 7.2 Mb/s from the MTN Website, and actually use 7.2 Mb/s!

I hear that Vodacom will be removing the 3.6 Mb/s Service at the end of April, going back to 1.8 Mb/s, and that the 3.6 mb/s Service will be charged Extra!

So, With vodacom I got a R2500 7.2 Mb/s modem, which can only do 3.6 Mb/s on the network, soon to be 1.8 Mb/s! :sick:

And with MTN, you can get the E220 for much cheaper, and have 7.2Mb/s

The only reason why I bought the E272 was because the Vodashop sales person guaranteed me it would work on the MTN Network... :(

....What A dumbass I was for believing that as i'm strugling my ass off to get it to work with MTN....
 
If you get the setup right, there should be no reason for it not to work on MTN. No data cards sold here in SA are network locked.

You just need the correct APN and appropriate SIM card.

I think the reason Vodacom gave us 3.6MB free until April was two fold, one to get us interested and two to test the network without complaints simply because its free.

I understand that 7.2MB will eventually roll out but its reliant on Vodacom getting its own nation-wide network up and running!
 
U sure?

JimM said:
No data cards sold here in SA are network locked.
Click to expand...

Sheesh...i'm not so sure... the vodacom software doesnt have MTN as an option, and pukes when I insert the MTN SIM...

Trying to get Mobile Parter Software to work, will keep those who are interested updated...prob at about 8/9 tonite
 
i remember reading somewhere that mtn have broken sim cards which is why they dont work on vodacom modems. if i remember it only applies to one of them (either 32 or 64k) cant remember which :confused:
 
Keeper said:
Why does Vodacom sell expensive 7.2 Mb/s capable devices, when their network is nowhere near capable of handling that speed? :confused:

I bought a Vodafone Huawei E272 7.2 Mb/s Modem, for R2500, but would of been better off buying an E220 from MTN, as you can easily upgrade it to 7.2 Mb/s from the MTN Website, and actually use 7.2 Mb/s!

I hear that Vodacom will be removing the 3.6 Mb/s Service at the end of April, going back to 1.8 Mb/s, and that the 3.6 mb/s Service will be charged Extra!

So, With vodacom I got a R2500 7.2 Mb/s modem, which can only do 3.6 Mb/s on the network, soon to be 1.8 Mb/s! :sick:

And with MTN, you can get the E220 for much cheaper, and have 7.2Mb/s

The only reason why I bought the E272 was because the Vodashop sales person guaranteed me it would work on the MTN Network... :(

....What A dumbass I was for believing that as i'm strugling my ass off to get it to work with MTN....
Click to expand...

Quite a number of misconceptions in your post.

If you're using the Vodacom VMC with an MTN sim, it probably won't work. You'll need to use the MTN software to access their network.

Both Vodacom and MTN are running a free promo period on 3.6. (MTN claims 7.2 but so far we've seen reports on this forum of only one 7.2 site), and when the promo is over both networks indicated they'll charge a VAS fee. Vodacom have already published their rates, MTN not yet.

The complete Vodacom network is 3.6 while the MTN network is only on certain (unnamed) towers. Check out the MTN sub-forum for details.

While the E220 can do 7.2 HSDPA, it cannot do UPA which the E272 can. A big difference. Also the 272 supports an external antenna.
 
Keeper said:
Sheesh...i'm not so sure... the vodacom software doesnt have MTN as an option, and pukes when I insert the MTN SIM...

Trying to get Mobile Parter Software to work, will keep those who are interested updated...prob at about 8/9 tonite
Click to expand...

Don't you think it's asking a bit too much for Vodacom to support MTN sims in their software? ;)

Black hole (/dev/null) has a valid point on the SIM type. There were previous problems with MTN 64K sims in E220's. Do a search on this forum for more details.
 
Device was made by huawei, should work on all SIMS.

I have the 32K MTN SIM, cheaply bought from ackermans :D

All I know is that I have 3 Friends who have the "Old" E220 on MTN working on much higher speeds than my superior E272 on Vodacom...

Im not asking them to support MTN but I HAVE PAID MY R2500 for the MODEM, and have signed no contracts, so it should work for ALL Networks.:confused:

Eg: If i buy a Nokia cellphone for R200 or get it free on some network plan, I understand if its Netblocked. but not when I pay the Full price of R6000 or whatever?! Then it def. shouldnt be blocked by anything!:mad:

I may have some settings wrong here but I think its rather a case of "deliberatly NOT supporting other networks" than "It's not designed for other Networks"....am I wrong here - cause on the Vodafone website they say they DO block their Modems, however, they were talking about the UK ones...not the local ones....
 
Keeper said:
I have the 32K MTN SIM, cheaply bought from ackermans :D

All I know is that I have 3 Friends who have the "Old" E220 on MTN working on much higher speeds than my superior E272 on Vodacom...

Im not asking them to support MTN but I HAVE PAID MY R2500 for the MODEM, and have signed no contracts, so it should work for ALL Networks.:confused:

Eg: If i buy a Nokia cellphone for R200 or get it free on some network plan, I understand if its Netblocked. but not when I pay the Full price of R6000 or whatever?! Then it def. shouldnt be blocked by anything!:mad:

I may have some settings wrong here but I think its rather a case of "deliberatly NOT supporting other networks" than "It's not designed for other Networks"....am I wrong here - cause on the Vodafone website they say they DO block their Modems, however, they were talking about the UK ones...not the local ones....
Click to expand...

Don't confuse hardware and software.

The E272 is hardware and is not locked to any network.

To make it more user friendly, networks, the manufacturer or 3rd party developers (like ginggs) develop a 'front-end' to manage the modem.

The manufacturer will typically build a network-agnostic app, so would some 3rd party developers. The networks will build an app that works with their own networks and have no incentive to add support for foreign networks.

As an analogy; say you buy an Intel-based PC. This is the hardware and can run a number of different Operating Systems, say Linux or Vista.

But once you've loaded one OS (say Vista) you don't hold Microsoft responsible for not being able to run Unix applications.

But you're most welcome to load Linux yourself.
 
Keeper said:
...but I think its rather a case of "deliberatly NOT supporting other networks" than "It's not designed for other Networks"....am I wrong here - cause on the Vodafone website they say they DO block their Modems, however, they were talking about the UK ones...not the local ones....
Click to expand...
Yes, you are wrong - you cannot expect Vodafone software to be all setup for use with the MTN network, however chances are that using the correct MTN settings and Data Enabling your MTN SIM Card, will allow you to use the MTN network, if not then I suggest that you try [searchforum]DUN[/searchforum] or wait until MTN provides its own s/w for the E272 [which BTW I'm sure MTN must already have for the E270].
 
lol...strange how people jump to assumptions without finding out the finer detail...i bet if you called 082155 they would of explained that it is possible to use an MTN sim by just changing the APN...i do that.....use the latest sftware think its 9.3/4 change the APNS
 
The Vodafone E272 Modem is DEFINETLY NOT blocked

Hi Guys. Apologies for Vodacom, but I had so many mixed opinions I didn't know which was right.

I played around with the Settings in the "Mobile Partner" Software, and guess what? I GOT IT TO WORK! The Vodafone E272 Modem is DEFINETLY NOT blocked, even if you buy them from a Vodashop. - my appologies V3G.

I Must say, MTN's Network is not as fast as I expected, as it is infact SLOWER than my Steady/Stable Vodacom Connection.... ugh...

I must admit, my Vodacom was also crappy last nite and I did not test the MTN properly. could be weather...
I did not test long, as I havent got a bundle installed (Airtime in drawer, waiting for Vodacom's to reach CAP)

So I'm going to use Vodacom (2000MB), and then MTN (2000MB) - and see which is the best, and go for it.

Thanx guys for all your help, I couldn't have done it without U guys!
 
keeper==cool remember 3.6 is almost everywhere on VC network 3.6 on MTN is not .....7.2 on MTN you will most proly find at there HQ as no1 i know of was able to test 7.2 properly , V3G dont know if you are in the means of testing 7.2 or have tested ?
 
SFW007 said:
keeper==cool remember 3.6 is almost everywhere on VC network 3.6 on MTN is not .....7.2 on MTN you will most proly find at there HQ as no1 i know of was able to test 7.2 properly , V3G dont know if you are in the means of testing 7.2 or have tested ?
Click to expand...

Vodacom or MTN?

Vodacom 7.2 is up and running but we're not turning it on till the backhaul can catch up (at least to some level).

But to prove we have 7.2 (in real-life and not just in newspaper ads) we invited rpm (myADSL founder) to come and test it with his own equipment. We just enabled his SIM for 7.2. He used an E220 and E272.

rpm wrote a report on this a few weeks ago (you'll find it in the news section) but basically we saw an average throughput of around 5Mb/s, peaking at 7Mb/s.

On MTN, I know a number of people have put some effort in finding MTN 3.6 and 7.2 towers. You can follow the relevant thread in the MTN section. I do know of 1 MTN tower on 7.2 here in Cape Town. Have not seen reports (on myADSL) of any others.
 
vodacom3g said:
I do know of 1 MTN tower on 7.2 here in Cape Town. Have not seen reports (on myADSL) of any others.
Click to expand...

I can't believe it :eek: ive been fooled by everybody around me (friends)saying MTN has 7.2, in the Gauteng Area...

Most of them havent even tried Vodacom i think, cause I have both, and MTN was "waaaaaaaaaaaa" wait for it.... "aaaaaaay" slower than vodacom last nite...:confused:

I've managed to chow more than half of my months CAP in 1 weekend using Vodacom.... so is that good, or bad :D:D

Just a question, how will vodacom enable 7.2? Free test Trial first? :rolleyes:

And if you have to pay more for it later on (when testing is done), how? ....by utilizing more expensive Data Bundles?

I must say, my money would rather go to more Gigs, than faster speed, as my E272 is quite fast, even on a 3.6 Network.

Thanx Vodacom3G, Im glad ur talking 'bout Voda 7.2 Plans... I don't like MTN, and have been a Vodacom Cellphone user for many years.... but I really had a conception that MTN was faster....
I like Vodacoms Way of doing Things - Using Simple terminology.
MTN has a load of weird fancy names that only confuse, IE: myMTN, mtnLoaded, Noknok, Me2U, 123Data etc etc etc etc....
 
Keeper said:
I can't believe it :eek: ive been fooled by everybody around me (friends)saying MTN has 7.2, in the Gauteng Area...

Most of them havent even tried Vodacom i think, cause I have both, and MTN was "waaaaaaaaaaaa" wait for it.... "aaaaaaay" slower than vodacom last nite...:confused:

I've managed to chow more than half of my months CAP in 1 weekend using Vodacom.... so is that good, or bad :D:D

Just a question, how will vodacom enable 7.2? Free test Trial first? :rolleyes:

And if you have to pay more for it later on (when testing is done), how? ....by utilizing more expensive Data Bundles?

I must say, my money would rather go to more Gigs, than faster speed, as my E272 is quite fast, even on a 3.6 Network.

Thanx Vodacom3G, Im glad ur talking 'bout Voda 7.2 Plans... I don't like MTN, and have been a Vodacom Cellphone user for many years.... but I really had a conception that MTN was faster....
I like Vodacoms Way of doing Things - Using Simple terminology.
MTN has a load of weird fancy names that only confuse, IE: myMTN, mtnLoaded, Noknok, Me2U, 123Data etc etc etc etc....
Click to expand...

Often your PC will say 'connected at 7.2' but this is just a string on the PC itself and has no relation to your actual connection speed. The only way to see your real throughput (on any network) is by using a speedtest like http://speed.vodacom.co.za or if you want to compare networks try http://speedtest.net and use the JHB server.

7.2 will probably be a VAS service like 3.6, i.e. the data bundles stay the same but you'll pay a monthly fee of some value to get access to the higher speeds.

Not sure if we'll do a free trail for 7.2 as we are doing now for 3.6. Probably won't be needed but it's still a way off.
 
Actually Im not really bothered about 7.2, 3.6 is fast enough. Im more worried about the price of Bundles, my CAP is melting way too fast.....

Any info on whether there could be price cuts in the future, for Bundles?

I know MTN and Vodacom are rivals, but it seems as if "they have reached a secret agreement" not to lower Bundle Prices to outdo each other in the Price per GB competition. Their Prices are basically exactly the same, aren't they?
 
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