Vodacom now offers you the best range of mobile data service, choice and value
for money. You can choose the mobile data solution to suit your unique mobile
data communication needs and only pay for the amount of data you use, regardless
of how long your session is - all billed to your Vodacom account.
Vodacom's mobile data services offer you mobile, instant and affordable
broadband access to the Internet and email, or your company network - from your
cellphone, your laptop or desktop.
You now have a wider choice of broadband technology options to address your
unique data communication needs, with the widest coverage in South Africa and
abroad.
To offer you a wider choice of data solutions for your mobile data communication
needs, Vodacom has expanded its mobile data service solutions to include:
Mobile data services - allowing
you to access information quickly from your cellphone, utilising Vodacom's
GPRS/EDGE network, with access speeds of up to 256 Kpbs.
Mobile broadband data services -
utilising Vodacom's 3G HSDPA network, offering you mobility, broadband
mobile data access to take with you when travelling abroad, and access
speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps, depending on the coverage in the area your connect
from.
Wireless broadband data services -
utilising the iBurst wireless network, offering you instant, continuous
broadband access with speeds of up to 1 Mpbs in South Africa.
How can I use
it?
You can now connect to the Internet, download/send emails or connect to your
company network while you're mobile - at home, at the office or on the road -
from your cellphone, laptop or desktop. Accessing information when you want,
where you want has never been easier using Vodacom's mobile data services.
You can connect via Vodacom's GPRS, EDGE, or 3G HSDPA networks, as well as the
iBurst network.
Why would I use it?
When you're out and about, at home or at the office, you can immediately access
information quickly and easily - no more waiting. With Vodacom's new range of
mobile data services you can stay productive, informed and connected wherever
you find yourself with Vodacom's new range of mobile data services.
You'll experience:
The fastest mobile Internet
The best value Internet
Mobile data that travels with you
anywhere
24 Hour support on 155
It works with PC or Mac
It works with cellphones, laptops
or desktops
Nationwide coverage
How does it
work?
All you need is:
a Vodacom voice package (Contract,
Top Up or Prepaid) to bolt a mobile data bundle onto, OR
a Vodacom data contract package.
You can use one of the following
devices:
the Vodafone 3G Broadband Mobile
Connect Card which slots into the PCM/CIA slot of your Laptop, OR
the Vodafone Mobile Connect USB
Modem which slots into the USB slot of your desktop or laptop (running
Windows or Apple Macintosh), OR
an iBurst Modem which can be used
with your laptop or desktop, OR
you can use your cellphone as a
modem, OR
connect to the Internet by
clicking on the browser icon on your cellphone.
You have the option to subscribe to a
24-month Vodacom data contract package or iBurst data contract package. You can
also bolt-on a Vodacom contract data bundle onto your existing Vodacom contract,
on a once-off or month-to-month basis. If you?re a Vodacom Prepaid or Top Up
customer you can choose between three Prepaid data bundle options to suit your
specific mobile data needs.
How can I manage my data usage?
Vodacom currently has over 265 000 customers using data services via USB modems
or data cards. We embarked on an active campaign to inform and educate you, if
you use Vodacom’s data services, including customers who have Data Contract
packages and/or Contract, Prepaid and Top Up customers who use data bundles, on
how to determine your data usage more accurately.
If you are a customer, using a data contract or data bundle, you are alerted to
your data usage via an SMS sent to the SIM-card to which the data is linked to
(e.g. in the instance of a data contract, the SIM-card in the data card or USB
modem, thus the SMS will appear on the dashboard).
If we look at the accuracy of the “data usage counter”, it is important to note
that the primary function of the dashboard, which is provided with the Vodafone
Mobile Connect Card and Vodafone USB Modem, is to allow you to connect to the
Vodacom network. There are multiple factors which influence the data usage
counter - Vodacom has put additional mechanisms in place via which you will be
able to determine your data usage, including:
Via SMS - you can send an SMS,
free of charge, with the letters “MM” to 31050 from the Vodafone dashboard.
A return SMS message will be sent back informing you of your data usage.
This is available only to Vodacom Service Provider Contract customers. If
you are unable to receive SMSs to your dashboard, you can go to
www.vodacom.co.za to download the latest dashboard software (firmware
upgrade - go to “Mobile Data” and click on “Downloads”) which will ensure
that you’re able to receive these data usage notification SMSs.
Via the web - you can log on to
www.vodacom4me.co.za and registration is easy and free. After you have
logged on, click on “My Account” and then go into Account Information – from
here you will be able to view your data usage, balance enquiry and detailed
bill. If you are using a data card, you can use your data card’s “cellphone
number” to logon. It is important to note that you can register your
cellphone number (the number of the SIM-card in your cellphone) or you can
register and log in with the data SIM-card number (the number of the SIM-card
provided with the Data Contract or the SIM-card used when downloading data).
An SMS will be sent to the SIM-card in the data card, which is displayed on
the Vodafone dashboard. This informs you of the percentage of the data
bundle you’ve used to date. Note that this SMS notification can be sent to
your cellphone. In order to do this simply send an SMS with the word “ALTNUM
XXXXXXXXX” to 123 and the SMS notification will then be sent to the
cellphone.
SMS notification can be changed to
an alternative cellphone number (for all contract customers) using the
cellphone or dashboard. This service is not yet available through
www.vodacom4me.co.za.
If you are a Prepaid or Top Up customer, you can SMS “balance” to 100 from
your dashboard and you will receive a return SMS notifying you of how much
data usage is still available.
Vodacom strives to offer you with the
best and most appropriate service that would address your unique communication
needs. That’s why we advise you to take the following into account when making
an informed decision on which data solution is the best to address your unique
requirements.
Data budget:
If cost is the biggest driver and you only want to spend a pre-determined amount
on data per month, then a Prepaid or Top Up data bundle is the best option.
After the data bundle subscribed to is depleted, and there is no additional
airtime balance available you will not be able to connect to the Internet until
you purchase a new data bundle. Therefore, no additional charges will be
incurred.
If “continuous access / connection” is the deciding factor then this would
over-ride the cost driver. Should you require to be connected to the Internet at
all times ensuring that you immediately receive important information, then a
Data Contract package is the best option. Data usage via a Contract package is
post-billed and you will not be disconnected based on usage or airtime credit.
Should the Contract data bundle be depleted, you will then be charged at the
applicable out-of-bundle data rate, resulting in additional charges. It is
important to note that a range of ad-hoc data bundles are available to you if
you have a Contract data package ensuring that data usage is billed at the
applicable in-bundle data rate.
Data usage patterns:
You should familiarise yourself with your data usage patterns – downloading big
files, movie trailers, games or playing games online results in a lot of data
being transmitted – this will result in high data usage. When you download
emails with large attachments, you will experience higher data usage. If you’re
a Contract customer that frequently exceed your data bundle, you should consider
upgrading to a bigger data package.
Tips to manage your data usage:
You should not leave your PC /
Laptops connected to the Internet when not in use – this opens the door for
unsolicited information to be sent to the PC while unattended;
Ensure to load antivirus, anti
spyware, firewall (if using the Lynksis router) to protect the PC. Vodacom
does not take responsibility for customers protecting their PC’s, laptops or
other devices from viruses. This is your sole responsibility.
You should take cognisance of the fact that you’re billed per MB. Therefore,
listening to music, watching videos, downloading movies/games, playing games
over the Internet results in high data usage;
Vodacom advises our customers to
protect your PC / Laptops against unauthorised usage and access via wireless
technologies, such as Bluetooth & WiFi – ensure when using the Lynksis
router to have a firewall in place and to protect the WiFi hotspot;
Automatic downloads and updates
increase the data usage. This is simply a setting on the desktop which can
be changed so that there are no automatic updates or downloads. This will
reduce data usage and thereby prevent unforeseen costs.
In addition to the mechanisms listed
above, Vodacom has introduced a customer information leaflet which explains all
aspects of Vodacom’s data services. From getting started to how Vodacom
calculates the charges, this leaflet ensures that you make an informed decision
about your data bundle options. This leaflet is provided to you before a
contractual agreement is entered into and signed by you to ensure that you’ve
been informed.
Vodacom always put our customers’ needs first and continuously strives to
provide exceptional customers service and to inform you of all available data
access options in order for you to make informed decisions.
