Travelling to SA

[Enrica]

Please can someone in SA try and answer this question. I am planning to go back for a visit , so I went to Telstra to check what I need ie like one of those #g thinggies.

I was told not to waste my money as they probably wouldnt work in SA, so my question is how do I then access the internet in SA?

I know its probably a stupid question, but my small brain cant get around this.

Are there actually wireless hotspots in Sa like we have here?

I really would appreciate some insight into this

Thanks

Enrica

[KathyW]

Hi Enrica,

Forgot to tell you, you cant rent a 3G from the SA Airport. A friend told me this is what she did when she went back to SA for a visit.

Cheers

Kathy

[Guest Bronwyn]

You can just go to an Internet Cafe. They are in most big malls and you just pay R20 for half an hour or something. I took my laptop with me when I went back on holiday but it was a waste of time to carry it.

Bronwyn

[Beukes Familie]

Enrica

I still have my MTN 3g card. You just buy a mtn starterpack in Sa wich is fairly cheap, some places you can get if for R2-5. Put some airtime on and you are ale to use it.

Regards

Petro

[wendy]

you should buy a data bundle for a pay as you go. you get 1gig for R499. you should just make sure you can connect to your pc from your phone via bluetooth or cable..

[Bloubul]

Enrica

Find out from the people where you are going to stay if they have internet access.

Most laptops have a build-in modem and is also wireless, so you can just plug their cable in or connect to their wireless modem.

Many coffee shops (All Mug & Beans) have wireless connections, so you can access the internet for free - mahala.

[Enrica]

Thanks everybody for all the advice.....

No, the people I am staying with dont have Internet access

So thank you very much Petro for offering your 3G CARD... VERY KIND OF YOU.

Thanks

Enrica

[2un@]

3G coverage in S.A is pretty good with both Vodacom + MTN

Heres Vodacoms coverage - http://www.vodamap.net/3g/

Heres MTN's coverage - http://www.mtn.co.za/?pid=11789

For both telco's you can use either

1) a 3G capable Cell Ph.

2) modem

Data is either R2/MB off your airtime balance or buy a data bundle, various sizes available - larger ones are 1GB/R289 or 2GB/R389,expire 1 month from purchase date.

Telstra Australia 3G i thinks work on a differant frequency to S.A 3G so careful there re buying a modem from them.

Here the frequencies used are 2100/1800/900 and i think telstra works on 850

+ it would have to NOT be networked locked so you can work on an S.A prepaid Sim card(R0.90)

I don't know if Aus telco's lock their modems,S.A ones are'nt.

Common modems that will work here (as long as there not network locked)

E220,E272 these are USB type modems

E620,E630 these are the plug into laptop slot datacard type modems

You don't have a 3G capable cellphone cos that would possibly be the easiest way to connect without buying anything?

That too would need to be NOT network locked to work on a S.A prepaid sim tho.

If your not sure about your cell ph being 3G capable give us the brand + model + i can check it out for you if you like.

Edited July 31, 2008 by 2un@

[2un@]

If you wanted to buy one to keep there's a 2nd hand one here atm for R600 which is an ok price.

http://mybroadband.co.za/classifieds/showp...duct/6496/cat/3

[Enrica]

Dear 2un@

Wow, you are an absolte mine of information.Thank you ever so much for all the info

I have a Siemend Phone a SGH-A801 OR a Nokia N70 phone, I think the Siemend might be 1 of those 3 G phones, so perhaps that will work.

So then all I would need to do is buy a sim card MTN or Vodafone and buy a bundle and I should be OK.

To all of the others that replied on this post also, that you very much,

Regards

Enrica

[2un@]

Hi Enrica,

The Nokia N70 will do the trick

Yes just buy a Vodacom or Mtn prepaid Sim

Load credit on it

Activate the ph for 3G -

For mtn dial *123#

For vodacom *111#,choose option 5,follow along in that menu for WAP settings.

Load the data bundle -

For Mtn dial 141 - follow prompts to load a "once off data bundle"

For vodacom *111#,choose option 2,follow along in that menu to load Data bundle.

Turn ph off then on again and you should be good to go.

That will give you 3G on your phone

To use your ph as the modem for your laptop you'll need the data cable to connect the 2.

I'm not a Nokia user but i think this is the Nokia Data Suite or Nokia PC Suite

If you don't have that Suite looks like you can download here

http://www.nokia-asia.com/A4482317

After you got that its probably just a matter of connecting the cable from ph to laptop

opening the Nokia software and selecting create "connect to internet" option or something that looks similar to that.

I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of that Nokia software but bound to be someone here that uses it that can let you know.

If you have to manually enter anything

If it asks for APN use "internet" for either Vodacom or Mtn

Access no for both is *99#

I have to duck over to Oz for a month or 2 from this coming Tuesday so i won't be about so much but if you get any problems.

Theres a bunch of people on this forum here that'll fix you up if you need any assistance if you can't get answers here

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/

Good luck with it....it reads more confusing that it is to do in reality OK

[Enrica]

Thanks a million

[Mythryl]

You will be surprised how fast Vodacom has spread its 3G coverage. Most major metropolitan areas even support EDGE and EVDO which NZ still hasn't implemented

You can always get a vodem and then purchase a prepay pack in SA as this will work out cheaper than data roaming

[polly]

When in SA, I had a Vodacom account and just used my Nokia 6680 to connect via 3G./ Bought a databundle and voila. Faster than a landline. A lot of places have hotspots. Just look for the signs, e.g. a lot of Mug 'n Beans