Showing posts with label vodacom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vodacom. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Vodacom4me My Vodacom SMS from PC mobile
Vodacom4me My Vodacom SMS from PC mobile
Update: Free082SMS now sends SMS through the new My Vodacom portal at www.vodacom.co.za
Vodacom is the most generous mobile carrier in SA when it comes to free text messages - they allow subscribers to send up to 20 free SMS every day from the Vodacom portal website - Vodacom4me.co.za (or now the newer "My Vodacom"). However, this feature is only available from desktop computers and mobile users are directed to a stripped down version of Vodacom4me / My Vodacom that excludes free SMS.
But you can send Vodacom4me SMS from your mobile phone. Free082SMS provides A mobile interface to the Vodacom SMS website and email to Vodacom SMS so you can send free messages on the go! The site is built around a simple text based structure for optimal performance on most web enabled phones and it works great on PCs too! Send Free Vodacom SMS now!
You can also use Free082SMS to send free international SMS to Vodacom users who are roaming in other countries! Enable Vodacom SMS roaming by SMSing roamon to 123 before you leave SA. Youll need to SMS roamoff to 123 when you get back to reactivate cheaper local rates and regain access to advanced network features like voice, GPRS, MMS etc.Please post a comment
Follow Free082SMS on Twitter
Available link for download
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Vodacom is implementing a capping policy
Vodacom is implementing a capping policy
Vodacom is implementing a capping policy where high-end BlackBerry users’ speeds will be throttled
Summary: Vodacom will throttle the speeds of their BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) subscribers who exceed 100MB of usage per month from 3G to 2G
Vodacom today (12 September 2011) announced that they have introduced a data capping system on their BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS), where high-end users’ speeds will be throttled.
Vodacom announced in a press statement that they have studied usage patterns to better understand the causes of congestion at peak times, and one finding was that more than 95% of BlackBerry data usage was attributable to less than 5% of users.
“We need to ensure that all BlackBerry users are able to enjoy the service that they pay for. When we realised that such a small minority was using the bulk of the capacity, we decided to implement measures that will ensure that Blackberry users will enjoy a better browsing experience overall,” said Chief Technology Officer Andries Delport.
Vodacom said that steps have been taken to ensure that the 95% of the BlackBerry users who are currently using the service fairly are not impacted by “those who are abusing the service”.
“The 5% of the base who are not using the service for what it was intended will have their connection speed reduced from 3G to 2G levels,” Vodacom said.
Vodacom explained that Blackberry Internet Service users who have reached the 100MB threshold per month will have their connection speed reduced from 3G to 2G levels. Blackberry Enterprise Users will not be affected.
Available link for download
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Vodacom 3G versus MWEB ADSL speed and latency
Vodacom 3G versus MWEB ADSL speed and latency
UPDATE: I have since upgraded my ADSL package to a 1Mbps line and speedtest.net latency is now closer to 20 ms...
My MWEB ADSL line is pretty trusty, but it has been offline at some inconvenient moments, so I signed up for the 2GB + 2GB 3G special from Vodacom.
I picked Vodacom specifically because I know that the Vodacom 3G coverage on my BlackBerry is particularly good in my area, the 2GB of night owl data is a nice value add and it just makes my billing simpler (being with Vodacom already).
I was expecting 3G to be much faster than my 384 Kbps ADSL connection, and it is by miles, so no surprise there. But, I was also expecting the latency on my ADSL line to be much lower than on the 3G and it’s not! Not that I’m complaining at all – I’m super impressed/happy that Vodacom 3G is so much faster than my ADSL connection and the latency is lower or matched at worst. It’s wireless and a completely suitable ADSL replacement (see the speed test results below).
Skype (with video) call quality is improved dramatically and it becomes a pleasure to watch YouTube videos on 3G instead of ADSL (more waiting than watching). I am not much of a gamer though, so I haven’t tested online gaming performance, but I would expect the 3G connection to beat the pants off my ADSL on this front too (based on the far superior Skype call quality on 3G).
Anyway, I’ve got to say a big thanks to Vodacom on this one – The R149 a month is a steal for this truly excellent connection - I am a very satisfied customer and no sweat if the Vodacom network ever goes down – I still have ADSL…
I should just add a disclaimer that 3G performance will vary, depending on your location and network coverage but Vodacom 3G really works great at my place!
MWEB ADSL speedtest.net results*
Vodacom 3G speedtest.net results*
MWEB ADSL MyBroadBand speed test results (international)*
Vodacom 3G MyBroadBand speed test results (international)*
MWEB ADSL MyBroadBand speed test results (local / South Africa)*
Vodacom 3G MyBroadBand speed test results (local / South Africa)*
*Tests were repeated more than once and images were picked to show trends. Yes, I know this is not scientific, but it doesnt take a rocket scientist to see that the 3G really pumps!
Available link for download
Monday, February 6, 2017
Vodacom goes red like Vodafone
Vodacom goes red like Vodafone
Ive always wondered if Vodacom would ever adopt the Vodafone branding and yesterday it happened! Vodacom has rebranded to align themselves more obviously with Vodafone who now own 65% of this South African mobile services provider. Vodacom has retained their name (Vodafone + Telkom from the old days) but its been updated to the Vodafone type face and quote logo. The Vodacom blue has also been replaced with racy Vodafone Red.Hopefully the new look and feel wont require much more than a few cosmetic changes to the Vodacom website on the back of the Vodacom4me migration, however Vodacom is promising that the rebrand will come with much more than some new lipstick and will accompany many welcome improvements including network upgrades and customer service enhancements. I think the new look is awesome! and I am looking forward to all the new changes. @Vodacom is doing a great job on responding to all sorts of customer queries about the new look on Twitter and I caught this historic image of the old Vodacom logo while it was still cached in Vodacoms Twitter feed, capturing a little piece of Vodacoms brand evolution...
DefZA is in the process of updating his free SMS website to make use of vodacom.co.za since vodacom4me.co.za is now officially offline.
Free082SMS.co.za has also been updated to cope with the new website changes. The new Red Vodacom website at www.vodacom.co.za went down (understandably) as I was typing this post, but I was surprised by this very decent Vodacom maintenance page, which is a welcome improvement on any Vodacom error pages I have seen before.
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, even if it means Vodacom is only going to start dealing with problems in a more elegant manner - A welcome change, even if they will not be retiring Mo the Meercat.Available link for download
Friday, December 16, 2016
Vodacom LTE 4G performance during every day mobile use
Vodacom LTE 4G performance during every day mobile use
I conducted a few ‘every day’ type tests to pit Vodacom LTE / 4G against Vodacom HSDPA / 3G because LTE was up to 46% faster than HSDPA on the Vodacom network in my initial speedtest.net results. However, I wanted to see how this speed difference translated to typical real world use such as browsing, downloading apps, using apps, and watching videos.
Internet Browsing
I set my Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE to load the desktop version of Facebook.com and then refreshed a bunch of times using both Vodacom LTE and Vodacom HSDPA while keeping track of the time it took for the Vodacom page to finish loading…. The fastest load time I clocked on Vodacom LTE was 17 seconds, while the fastest load time I clocked on Vodacom HSDPA was 20 seconds.
I could not tell the difference between Vodacom LTE and Vodacom HSDPA when I was using Twitter as timelines refresh and new tweets are loaded very close to instantaneously on both technologies.
YouTube
I was able to watch YouTube videos in HD using both Vodacom LTE and Vodacom HSDPA without any stuttering and the time it took for videos to start playing was short on both as well.
Downloading Apps
It took 22 seconds from the time I clicked ‘Accept & Download’ on the Skype app in the Google play store to the time that Skype had finished installing on Vodacom LTE. The fastest download and install time I could achieve for Skype on Vodacom HSDPA was 24 seconds.
Final verdict
The faster speeds on offer by Vodacom LTE do translate into increased performance in real world usage scenarios, however the performance of Vodacom HSDPA is already superb and the difference between LTE and HSDPA may go unnoticed in average every day use on a mobile device (apart from the fact that LTE may drain the battery faster than HSDPA).
Power users who routinely download large chunks of data should notice a marked performance difference between the 2 technologies as LTE gets more of a chance to ‘stretch its legs’. Another area where LTE performance should outshine HSDPA more readily is in scenarios where the connection is being shared by more than just one user / device.
Both HSDPA and LTE performance depend greatly on signal strength and you can check Vodacom coverage in your area here.
Both HSDPA and LTE performance depend greatly on signal strength and you can check Vodacom coverage in your area here.
Available link for download
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Vodacom LTE Network tips
Vodacom LTE Network tips
I recently activated a Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE to try out Vodacoms next generation LTE data network - Here are a few hints and tips I picked up along the way:
- LTE is not available on prepaid - You need to have a Vodacom contract to activate LTE.
- You can activate LTE on your contract yourself by logging in to vodacom.co.za or calling 111, but...
- You cant activate LTE on a 32K SIM card (this is not a problem on micro SIMs)
- You can activate LTE on a data SIM that is linked to a primary Vodacom contract as long as your primary number is on a 64K SIM card (or higher). I had to do a SIM swap on my primary 32K SIM at a cost of R63 (and activation of the linked data SIM cost R90).
- It may be helpful to set the Network mode to WCDMA or GSM only and then manually select a network operator while you are trying to get set up. My test phone could not locate a data signal for the first time while it was in Auto mode. I think its because I didnt have LTE coverage at the time, you can check Vodacom LTE coverage here.
- There is a glitch with a batch of the LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 where the phone will prompt your for a network unlock code at first boot (unfortunately I got one of the bad batch). You need to phone Samsung SA (08607267864) and have your IMEI number handy to get this problem sorted.
- LTE is fast, 46% faster than HSDPA in my initial speed tests, so you might like to set your device to only update apps over WiFi if you can (under Settings in the Play Store) - Otherwise your updates could run while you are out (and all your data will be gone) before you have a chance to realise whats happened. Alternatively you can control Automatic updating at an individual app level in the Play Store as well. Id recommend a fairly strict approach as Vodacom LTE really tears through data.
- You can extend your battery life (and manage your data consumption quite well) by setting your Network mode to GSM only for day to day use as this setting is fine for most web browsing and email type tasks. Only switch over to WCDMA or LTE for specific data hungry tasks like downloads and watching YouTube, then switch back to GSM when you are done.
Available link for download
Monday, November 28, 2016
Vodacom 4G LTE data network speed test results
Vodacom 4G LTE data network speed test results
I have been entrusted with a gorgeous Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE handset from Vodacom to put their new LTE data network (also referred to as 4G) to the test. Here are the results of my initial speedtest.net tests conducted in the Emmarentia area, Johannesburg, South Africa....Note that the signal strength indicator dropped to 3/4 bars during the 4G/LTE test so I will need to find a location where I can get full strength and then retest to reveal the full potential of the Vodacom LTE network. (Update: I have since located an area with full Vodacom 4G signal and I actually achieved less impressive results than with 75% signal, but I will keep scouting...)
None the less, I am already impressed by the speed on offer by the Vodacom LTE data network in spite of not having full signal - LTE download test results are 46% faster than HSDPA and LTE upload test results are an amazing 432% faster than HSDPA (at the same location).
You can also get a feel for every day Vodacom LTE performance here or get Vodacom LTE network tips here.
Vodacom 4G/LTE speedtest.net results, Emmarentia, Johannesburg
Vodacom HSDPA/3G speedtest.net results, Emmarentia, Johannesburg
For what its worth, I got about 2.5Mbps download and 1Mbps upload on Vodacom LTE with 1 bar of signal strength, so network performance is better on full signal HSDPA than average / low signal LTE.
Available link for download
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)