MTN "uncapped" 3G offeringPosted by: barrmar on May 20, 2010   |
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MTN's latest "uncapped" offering appears to be very expensive and more than a little misleading.
In brief, MTN is offering two options - 3 GB (Lite) or 10 GB (Pro) as fair usage. You can continue using the Internet after that but at a throttled speed. The Lite sells at R749 per month and the the Pro at R1999. Either package depends on a two year contract.
Anyone that has been using MTN's 3G will know that the high-speed Internet access is often - very often - far from fast. This varies according to where you are and how many people are using the service.
I use MTN 3G from one of my client sites. Yesterday the speed was too slow to do a simple Internet banking transaction. Later that day, the speed improved. Accessing MyDigitalLife has become a challenge - not only because of MTN! but it is still better from home.
Once out of the "fair usage" limits, the service will not be worth using. If it already takes up to 20 minutes to download a 1 MB file, then how much worse can it get when throttled. Perhaps the entire day.
MTN has improved its 3G network coverage over the last few years, but the service is still far from adequate. R2k for 10 Gigs for a poor service? MTN should first focus on improving its network coverage and the capacity before making an offer such as this!
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written by The Source, May 20, 2010
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written by barrmar, May 20, 2010
The MTN 3G service has been problematic over the long term. MTN claims that its broadband is fast. Occasionally it is very fast, but unfortunately that is the exception rather than the rule.
A few years ago I worked at a place where there was no MTN coverage at all. It took MTN five months to send a technician to evaluate the lack of signal. He promised that it would be fixed. When I left three months later, MTN had still not been back. At the same time, MTN insisted that I pay for the service that I was unable to use and refused to cancel.
Recently I have been connecting and receiving an HSDPA signal. That should be fast, but more often than not it is painfully slow. If the HSDPA connection is so slow when there are a few people using the network, then the throttled offering will be totally unusable. So to call the service uncapped is misleading to say the least. As for the price, MTN is not shy! My 10 Gigs on ADSL costs R290 plus the Telkom cost. The only drawback is that it isn't mobile.
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written by Xane_7, June 10, 2010
The LITE version at R749 per month is NOT capped, so to speak, BUT it sure is throttled.
Maybe When the weather conditions are perfectly out of this world and your actually standing on top of the cellular transmitter and you are also the only person on the network at that time, you may just come close to the possible 14.4 mbps download speed.
Although, I sure hope you don't because at that speed you will burn out your 3GB cap (wasn't this uncapped?) in about 208 seconds. After this 'intense' speed rush you can only connect at a maximum 128kbps for the remaining 43200 seconds of the month because your speed is throttled....?
Talk about hero to zero - 128kbps? Are you serious? Scratching through the garage to find an old ISDN modem is going make you look more technically savvy.
Why not offer a GENUINELY UNCAPPED package? At a guaranteed fair connection speed of 400-500 kbps throughout the entire month for the same price? Even cheaper to be honest.
There can be diffent levels - if you want to connect at 14.4mbps then go for it and pay for it. But why must anyone looking for a viable alternative to the communications demon, Telkom, always be given a raw deal?
Advertisers should try and not throw around jargon that misleads the average consumer who simply wants a good deal. Most importantly though South African cellular providers need to catch a wake up call and stop ripping people off. Next to the major banks of this country I couldn't think of another two business sectors that are so grossly out of line according to international standards when it comes to service and tariffs.
I have to agree with Barry Marcus. To add insult to injury MTN 3G is generally poor. Living in Simonstown, Cape Town I find the service incapable of accessing almost any online content and what it can access is sssllllooooooowww. On the other hand, Vodacom 3G using a USB dongle - no problem 250-350 kbps which is just fine - but the data cost is ridiculous.
Why can't the cellular providers crack the nut in the head and realise that if they could offer a fair uncapped 3G deal that they would gain huge support from existing Telkom ADSL subscribers that would surely migrate? I certainly would...what was that I hear you say? Collusion? No, never...
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written by barrmar, June 10, 2010
At my current work location the MTN 3G is good, but certainly no better than ADSL! At home I get very mediocre speeds on 3G, so even if the cost were reasonable there wouldn't be much point in stopping the ADSL.
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