Novatel U630 Merlin Package

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mantissa1000

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As per the sunday paper ads , its 24 mnths X R 63 odd to which I would latch for eg a 100 mb package at R100 odd and I would be up and away with a g-mail alias or 2.

Idiot question possibly , but is that it . R163 odd amonth and I can be shot of Telkom as an isp or do you pay for data calls on top , and if you do , how is that billed if it isnt a classic style dial-up scenario?? Basically if its an extra R100 odd amonth on top of the R163 , then I might go the phone as modem routew and get a bit more value?

Any input would be great. Thanks.
 
mantissa1000 said:
As per the sunday paper ads , its 24 mnths X R 63 odd to which I would latch for eg a 100 mb package at R100 odd and I would be up and away with a g-mail alias or 2.

Idiot question possibly , but is that it . R163 odd amonth and I can be shot of Telkom as an isp or do you pay for data calls on top , and if you do , how is that billed if it isnt a classic style dial-up scenario?? Basically if its an extra R100 odd amonth on top of the R163 , then I might go the phone as modem routew and get a bit more value?

Any input would be great. Thanks.
Click to expand...


There is NO escaping TELKOM. NEVER! YOU HEAR ME! NEVER!!! muWHAHAHAHA!!!! :D

Anyway, I think, and please, anyone feel free to correct me, you pay a subcsription of R63 + R100 bolt on as required and after that 100mb bundle is used up (via gprs), it's R1.50 per meg as per package.

I think.

The bundle only refers to gprs. Dial-up doesn't count.

Don't use dial-up. Otherwise your screwed, really.
 
Thanks Cube

Still a bit muddy about the bundle only reffering to GPRS and dial up not counting??
I pay Telkom R80 pm plus all calls AND numerous dropped calls and all I am trying to check is how the technology is billed inside the contracted 100mb . Every time the card sends a request , is there a charge being billed on top of the R167 , so that I basically end up with a "data"phone bill on top of the R167. I would assume usage over the 100mb cap gets billed at a premium .

Anyway every cent that Telkom dont get will count towards a marginally better nights sleep
 
No, the billing is then R1.50 per meg for out-of bundle (for that particular bundle deal). Have a look at http://www.mtn.co.za/?pid=11468 for more answers. Beware: The site's v e r y slow at the mo... or should I just stop smoking this stuff :p

But beware of the billing system in use by mtn.
 
mantissa1000 said:
Thanks Cube

Still a bit muddy about the bundle only reffering to GPRS and dial up not counting??
I pay Telkom R80 pm plus all calls AND numerous dropped calls and all I am trying to check is how the technology is billed inside the contracted 100mb . Every time the card sends a request , is there a charge being billed on top of the R167 , so that I basically end up with a "data"phone bill on top of the R167. I would assume usage over the 100mb cap gets billed at a premium .

Anyway every cent that Telkom dont get will count towards a marginally better nights sleep
Click to expand...

The R63 or so (whatever the small print says) is the monthly subscription and if the add includes a free SMS bundle (Express Message) that is thrown in as well.

The 100 meg bundle is an extra monthly bolt on.

You get internet access included in that.

If you want an e-mail address you use your existing or register on MTNLoaded.

GPRS, EDGE and 3G all support packet-switched data connections where you pay for bytes sent and received. Our Novatel card has built in settings for that. You know you are using this service when you connect to an 'APN' or dial using *99#

The Novatel does 3G and GPRS. The Nokia 6630 or 6680 connected via bluetooth supports 3G and EDGE so gives a better overall speed experience.

Ever time you connect to an APN you are charged for data sent and received on that connection (regardless of time - it could be for a few days) and the minimum charge each time is 1c. Makes it very cheap to check your e-mail! The Novatel has a data counter to assist in estimating

'Dial-up' I think referred to 'circuit switched' where you actually phone a number to connect up. I don't recommend this for the purpose you mentioned.

Hope that helps. Happy surfing.
 
Thanks MTNB
That is a lot clearer.The only variation I see is for example , as you mention it being cheap to collect mail , but at an opposite extreme , fairly costly for a prolonged download? And if the rate is set according to the volume of data and NOT the time of day or the rate of data flow , what is the average cost for eg 100mb .Thats actually badly worded but I guess I am trying to find the minimum and the maximum one could be charged on top of the R100 for 100 meg .And then why it charges you the nominal 1 cent per time.Is it every packet request and not the reciept therof ?
Thanks
 
Just to add to MTNBB if you connect on the GPRS Card for fours days continuosly and you don't send or receive email, or don't open a webpage. There is no charge (Well small charge of a couple cents). Unlike the 4 days of telephone bill.

GPRS/3G works on the amount or data you send and receive. There is no "Dial Up" account. MTN then becomes your "ISP". So in short you don't pay the R80 a month for a dial up account. There is no Telkom ISP / Dial Up Account involved you go straight to MTN.

Hope that helps. Sorry if I repeated anything.
 
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When you connect via packet-switch (gprs or 3g) you start by requesting authentication to connect to an APN. For consumers that is the MyMTN APN which gets you onto the internet. For corporates they have their own ones.

When you are authenticated (actually there is no password) you can remain connected for long periods. The incoming and outgoing packets are clocked up during that connection. Once you disconnect the bill is based on the total data sent and received and rounded up to the nearest cent. For a subscriber with no bundle 1 cent is about 5 kilobyte's worth. If you check your e-mail and the box is empty you effectively pay 1c (compared to a fixed dial-up where you pay almost 60c!).

I agree the technology is more cost-effective for smaller downloads. This suits quite a few applications but not the heavy users. I have chatted to quite a few people who find the 1 gigabyte package too much and don't reach it.
 
Thats great Crash . Thanks . I am heaps clearer than this morning.On re -reading the replies I see that MTNBB says " pay for bytes sent AND recieved"so its not just the packet request that is an issue.I would follow from what you said as well then that a request and reciept intensive session willl be more costly than a simple large download where the traffic is one way? Either way , the charge seems minimal on top of the bundled charges or am I being naive?
Cheers
 
mantissa1000 said:
Either way , the charge seems minimal on top of the bundled charges or am I being naive?
Cheers
Click to expand...

The first 100Mb will cost you R100 i.e. R1 / Mb. For every Mb thereafter the cost is R1.50 / Mb for the 100Mb bolt-on bundle.
 
Hi MTNBB

Thanks . I am now in the picture . Its just a job for me to weigh up the costs of your various bundles now , but regardless of wether I go for card or handset , these additional charges will be incurred . All I have to try and do is a certain how good 3G coverage is in Fish Hoek area .If 3G is OK and if I am going to get bumped down to GPRS with the card , but still have Edge with the phone , it really comes down to how consoistently availible the 3g is. Probably go for the card to be honest but a compelling argument for a handset might still sway me ....

Cheers
 
is this contract just 63 rand a month + 100 free sms with not payment for the modem upfront?

great deal

MTNBB Does the modem dash have an ability to sms's to multiple users?
 
mantissa1000 said:
As per the sunday paper ads , its 24 mnths X R 63 odd to which I would latch for eg a 100 mb package at R100 odd and I would be up and away with a g-mail alias or 2.

Idiot question possibly , but is that it . R163 odd amonth and I can be shot of Telkom as an isp or do you pay for data calls on top , and if you do , how is that billed if it isnt a classic style dial-up scenario?? Basically if its an extra R100 odd amonth on top of the R163 , then I might go the phone as modem routew and get a bit more value?

Any input would be great. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Which service provider is this special with?
 
MTNSP advert

ash said:
Which service provider is this special with?
Click to expand...
Last week's Sunday Tribune (26 June 05) had the advert for this special. The advert was only branded with MTN, but the small print said MTN Service Provider and quoted the www.mtnsp.co.za webpage.

I kept a copy of the advert and will be contacting MTNSP this week. :) Still hoping I can convince them to rather give me the Aircard instead as I won't have 3G in PMB for a while.
 
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what would happen if I am connected via this gprs bundle and e.g. a slammer/blaster (variant) hits again? (or any other sort of traffic intensive worm). Is that relevant to this? I'm supposing it is an you would have some sort of ip, hence could be scanned every 10 seconds by some script kiddies etc. Does that count towards send/recieve data, hence cost money?

I.E. if I am connected for 2 days and dont do anything, I could still use up 20 or 30mb.... yeah?
 
Yip. There's only one way to stop that. Disconnect.
But, if you are getting 20 megs of port scans and attempted hacks OMG.
You must be really cool.
 
lol @ crash

remmember it`s usually BILL GATES checking ur XP reg. key lol it`s updates or spyware
 
hotdog said:
Last week's Sunday Tribune (26 June 05) had the advert for this special. The advert was only branded with MTN, but the small print said MTN Service Provider and quoted the www.mtnsp.co.za webpage.

I kept a copy of the advert and will be contacting MTNSP this week. :) Still hoping I can convince them to rather give me the Aircard instead as I won't have 3G in PMB for a while.
Click to expand...

I've been to MTNSP in Bloem today and they list it at close to R1600 on ExpressMessage without any knowledge of the Free Offer.

The Corporate Sales guy said he'd follow up on it as someone else had contacted him about it, but their July specials have not been released yet and will let me know.

In the meantime I opted for the Sony Ericsson GC85 Free on MyChoice 75 (I need the SIM for something else and can use the card instead of my 6230 which has a dual SIM). However, I notice that SE will soon release the GC95 which does 3G/EDGE/GPRS and seems to be the first "tripple-card". Whilst it is very early days, the SE GC85 seems to work pretty well, so the GC95 should be a very capable product.

It's a bit weird though that the MTNSP offices doesn't seem to know about the advertisement discussed in this thread, or that they advertise something like that a week before they release their pricelists at a significantly higher price for July....

To top that...accordingly to MTNSP Bloem, the central warehouse does not have stock of the Novatel U603 Merlin! Now, obviously, that means that they may or may not have stock, as various other discussions on this board have shown! <grin>
 
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