Vodacom offers a variety of data bundle options for Contract, Top Up and Prepaid customers in two categories, Broadband Standard and Broadband Advanced. This means that you can choose a data option that suits you, depending on how much data you use, how much you are prepared to spend and how fast you like it.

Whether you choose Broadband Advanced or Broadband Standard, remember that data bundles are valid until the last day of the next month when you purchase it. This means that if you buy your data bundle at the beginning of a month, it will be valid for as much as 60 days, but if you buy your bundle late in the month, however, it will be valid for a shorter period of time.

Broadband Standard

Vodacom’s Broadband Standard Data option is available for Contract, Top Up and Prepaid customers and you get HSPA+ (high speed packet access) with HSUPA (high speed upload packet access) for free.  Broadband Standard Data bundles are particularly popular with people who are trying out the internet and are not sure how much data they are going to need.

It is very important to be aware that the out-of-bundle data rates of the Broadband Standard packages are notably higher than the in-bundle rates.  Although in-bundle-rates can be as  high as 90c per MB (on the Standard MyMeg 10 bundle) or as low as 17c per MB (on the Standard MyGig 2.5 bundle), out-of-bundle rates are R2 per MB for ALL Top Up and Prepaid data bundles. Therefore, if you tend to use more than the allocated data in your Broadband Standard bundle of choice, it will benefit you to rather buy a larger Standard data bundle next time or to switch over to Broadband Advanced instead, if you are able to.

Broadband Advanced

Vodacom’s Broadband Advanced Data option is also available for Contract, Top Up and Prepaid customers. You get HSPA+, with HSUPA free as well, although the data speed at which you connect to the internet will depend on the capability of the cell phone or modem or other access device you are using. It will also depend on the data coverage in the area you are in when you access the internet.

Generally it is safer to go over your data bundle of choice with Broadband Advanced, since the in- and out-of-bundle rates are the same.  These rates can be as high as 74c per MB on the Advanced MyMeg 175 or as little as 18c per MB on the Advanced MyGig 2.5 and larger bundles.

What’s so great about Broadband Advanced Data?

If you are serious about the internet and rely on it for business, you might benefit from using Broadband Advanced Data rather than Standard Data.  Advantages include:

• Vodacom’s price cuts on the Advanced Data bundles have made these more accessible and affordable than they were previously;
• considerably higher speeds than Broadband Standard (up to 7.2 mbps);
• the same in-bundle and out-of-bundles rates apply (as little as 18c per MB on the Broadband Advanced MyGig 2.5 and larger bundles).

Requirements for getting Advanced Data

While most Vodacom customers have access to Advanced Data, it is essential for you to have a good connection and the right equipment (including a suitable modem) to be able to deal with and use the data. You must also be sure that the reception you get in your area is adequate. For example, if you are using a 3G modem but can only get a poor GPRS signal most of the time, you may be wasting your money.

Also, be warned that while Prepaid customers can buy Standard or Advanced Data bundles as they prefer, the same freedom does not apply to Top Up customers.  If you already have a Broadband Standard Data Top Up package, you can’t buy Advanced Data, unless you change your package to a Broadband Advanced Top Up deal.

You can contact the Vodacom Broadband helpdesk on 082 155 (free call from a Vodacom phone) to find out more about whether and how you can benefit with Broadband Advanced.

Where can you buy Broadband Advanced data bundles?

Broadband Advanced data bundles are not as readily available as Broadband Standard data bundles, especially not when you would like to buy them online.  Vtime is proud to still be the only place online where you can buy Broadband Standard AND Broadband Advanced data bundles direct and pinless to your SIM via your internet banking.  Check out  http://www.vtime.co.za/index.php/data-direct/about to see a quick comparison of the Broadband Standard and Broadband Advanced data bundles available from Vtime.  This may help you to choose the data bundle that is right for you.