Vodacom today announced the launch of a service that is going to proactively inform customers via SMS while abroad, about the roaming rates that are applicable in the foreign countries they travel into. The service, known as Roaming Tariff Information (RTI) SMS, is going to help customers avoid roaming bill shock.

The RTI SMS service will notify customers on arrival at their international destination that they are in the coverage area of a foreign network; and it will specify the exact roaming rates customers are going to pay on a particular foreign network.

Commenting on this new offering, Portia Maurice, Chief Officer, Corporate Affairs at Vodacom says, “This service augments our ongoing consumer educational campaign on how to help prevent roaming bill shocks. By proactively informing customers about the roaming rates, this will enable customers to manage their roaming use carefully.”

Customers should take note of the rates in the RTI SMS, and be aware that roaming is more expensive than using the same services back home.

When travelling internationally, Vodacom suggests the following tips to help customers manage their roaming bill.

Data Roaming tips: (more…)

This will be an ongoing post, and I will update it as time goes on.

In South Africa we have a tendency to not really care about bad customer service, which really only makes us even more deserving of it. Worldwide the launch of a new iPhone is typically followed by a bit of a frenzy by loyal Apple fans. In South Africa, Vodacom and MTN are the only providers of the iPhone, so users need to use their “pre-order” channels in order to secure an iPhone.

Vodacom’s handling of this launch has been nothing short of shocking. I have been a Vodacom customer for more than 10 years, and every year I have had to deal with poor service trying to get an iPhone on launch day. I have been up for an upgrade for a few months, because I was holding out for an iPhone 4S.

This year is no different: After multiple calls with their call center, Twitter agents, multiple uninformed stores (“I think you mean the iPhone 4 sir!”) etc, I decided I would share my experience with the readers of this site. At this time I have still not gotten hold of an iPhone 4S, and Vodacom has not yet reached me to inform me when I will receive one. And the strange thing is, I doubt I am the only one in this boat.

Here is a timeline of my experience with Vodacom and the iPhone 4S launch:

Thursday, 1 December 2011 – Vodacom Pre-Registration Form goes live. I register within the first hour of the page being available. I also register with Cellucity’s pre-registration page. That set my mind at ease. (more…)

The iPhone 4S has finally been launched in SA this past weekend – but the networks kept their cards close to their chest in terms of deals. Pricing was only officially announced on Thursday, and not through very public channels. Pricing is definitely better than expected, but it is clear that networks are trying to limit the choices of contracts you can receive a free phone with.

For example, last year you could get a free iPhone 4 with a Vodacom Top Up 275 contract, with 100meg of data at R379. This year, Top Up customers are not as lucky – I was quoted R3000+ pay in on the Top 315 contract. So if you want a iPhone 4S, you are pretty much forced to go for the more business orientated contracts. (more…)

Finally we have some idea when Apple’s iPhone 4S will be landing in SA. On Vodacom’s website their iPhone 4S registration page just went live. Luckily the wait is not too long – 16 December is only a couple of weeks away, and you can pre-register for it right now.

In the past these pre-registration forms are next to useless, so if you are desperate to get one, you might want to rather get your name on a few lists at stores close to you. There is also no news yet on what deals will be made available, but with MTN also getting the iPhone 4S, some competition might keep the prices reasonable. (more…)

Vodacom today announced a promotion which will see data costs for Prepaid and Top Up customers reduced by 87%. This promotion introduces Vodacom’s lowest per megabyte Prepaid mobile data price of 2.4c.

This data promotion launches on 7 November 2011 and will continue until 9 January 2012.

The price reduction will apply to Broadband Advanced MyGig 20 Prepaid and Top Up once-off data bundles, now priced at R499. The normal retail price of the My Gig 20 Advanced bundle is R3620. The new promotional price gives a saving of R3121.

Chris Ross, Managing Executive: Commercial Development at Vodacom says, “Offering increased value to our customers is our top priority, which is why we’re excited to offer this significant data price reduction to our Prepaid and Top Up customers.  With this promotion, we are providing our customers great value for the festive season.”

All Broadband Advanced MyGig 20 Prepaid and Top Up once-off promotional bundles purchased will be valid until the last day of the next month; thus if a bundle is purchased in November 2011, the bundle will be valid until 31 December 2011 and if the bundle is purchased in December 2011, the bundle will be valid until 31 January 2012. Bundles purchased in January 2012 will be valid until 29 February 2012.

Customers interested in purchasing unlimited Broadband Advanced MyGig 20 promotional bundles can do so through the following Vodacom Prepaid sales channels:

• Dial *111#, free from a Vodacom cellphone and follow the prompts;
• SMS “MyGig 20 Advanced” to 100; or
• Go to vodacom.co.za, click on ‘Sign in to My Account’ to register/login and follow the menu structure to purchase the promotional bundle.
• Multiple bundles may be bought in one month.

The Vodacom Apps Store has reached 100 000 downloads in its first month, and the company is now launching a program to support local talent in applications development. This Vodacom Developer Program aims to create an environment of collaboration and innovation amongst the local developer community.

The program will launch in Johannesburg on 7 October 2011 at the Protea Fire and Ice Hotel in Melrose Arch from 6-9pm, and in Cape Town on 10 October 2011 at Vodacom’s main auditorium in Century City from 6-9pm. This is free for those wishing to attend.

Prins Mhlanga, Managing Executive of Digital Media at Vodacom commented: “We see the Apps store as the embryo of an ecosystem. We’re looking forward to building a network of successful local developers, so they can help develop apps that help South Africans.

“With our apps initiative, we hope to complement and enhance this already vibrant community.”

The program promises to be a valuable knowledge sharing and learning exercise for the industry as a whole. Those attending will be provided with the opportunity to:

-       engage with the most renowned industry specialists in the mobile apps marketplace;

-       discuss tools to monetize apps

-       identify training opportunities in the mobile apps environment; and

-       gain insight into Vodacom’s innovation incentives and available technical and commercial support.

The Vodacom Apps Store was launched on 1 September 2011, and features a catalogue of over 140 000 applications powered by Appia, one of the world’s largest open application marketplaces. All Vodacom customers who wish to access Vodacom apps can do so by visiting http://vodacom.mobi/apps on their cellphones or from the apps feature on Vodafone live.

“The opportunities for further development in the Vodacom Apps Store are significant considering it also supports all major platforms including Android, Blackberry, Java, Symbian and Windows Mobile,” Mhlanga concluded.

Developers and interested parties are invited to register for the Vodacom Developer Programme at www.vodacom.co.za/developer

Updated: Vodacom’s CEO, Pieter Uys, finally clarified this issue in a statement.

This one is short and sweet folks. You know that Blackberry you got because of uncapped data usage? This might make a few folks sour:

Vodacom studied usage patterns to better understand the causes of congestion at peak times and one surprising finding was that more than 95% of BlackBerry data usage was attributable to less than 5% of users.  Speaking about this, Delport said, “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.”

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.

Basically what Vodacom is proposing is that all users using more than 100MB in a month will have their service downgraded to much slower 2G speeds. That gives you 3.3 Megabytes of nice fast data per day…

Now 5% of users might not sound like much. But Twitter has been all abuzz about this announcement, and @garymeyerza put it into perspective:

One way around it – get your phone activated for Blackberry Enterprise Service. Apparently the usage cap is not yet active for it…

Maybe someone with a IT legal background can tell us if this is legal? Can Vodacom go back on its service level agreement with Blackberry users?

You can view the new amended rules of BIS service here.

PS: Some irony pointed out by @saulkza: R49 actually gets you 100MB of 3G data.

Updated: Keep in mind that BIS typically compresses data between 2 and 4 times, so it means actual monthly data might be between 200MB and 400MB before being throttled…

In the tablet market it is pretty tough going for anybody except Apple. What if you want a tablet that is not the same as everyone else’s? Sure you can go for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, but I can guarantee you in a year from now you will see Android tabs everywhere. Or what if you are a Blackberry fan – and there are a lot of you out there… SA customers now have another choice.

Good news – Vodacom today announced that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet is now available in South Africa from their stores.

The BlackBerry PlayBook does have some great features and is quite a bit smaller than the iPad – and it is made to work hand in hand with your Blackberry. Simply fire up Bluetooth, and all your mail and BIS related data services can be used on the Playbook.

The BlackBerry PlayBook will come in three Wi-Fi® models, featuring 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of memory storage.

“We’re very excited to make the BlackBerry PlayBook available to customers.  It is available today at Vodacom World in Johannesburg and will be available from participating stores nationwide from 29 August 2011,” says Vodacom’s Managing Executive – Sales, Zunaid Dinath. “With its set of features, portability and power, the BlackBerry PlayBook is an ideal companion for busy people on the move.”

Says Craige Fleischer, Regional Director for Southern Africa at RIM: “We’re pleased to bring South African customers an innovative and truly portable tablet which delivers uncompromised performance and a fantastic mobile experience for both consumers and business users. With its exceptional multimedia and Web functionality, as well as its support for true multitasking, this is the tablet that discerning users have been waiting for.”

As a bonus Vodacom is bundling all Playbook’s with G-Connect vouchers so you can use them at Mugg and Bean’s countrywide. My advice – use the Bluetooth connection with your Blackberry instead.