Y4L 60% Voda, 55% Other.... on your cell Broadcast: Anyone wondering what your Vodacom cell phone's are trying to tell you?

Well, Vodacom has just announced (11May2008) the launch of a new Prepaid tariff plan called Yebo4Less. This tariff plan offers customers variable discounts based on the customers location and time of day. {My calculator calculates savings.... see below.}

This means that I could pay a different rate depending on which corner of my house I initiate the call from! Not that I have a large house, it's just that I know that it's covered by 3 Vodacom masts! At the time of writing I have one mast giving "Y4L 55% Voda, 55% Voda" and another giving "Y4L 90% Voda, 65%"! So, obviously I would use the 90/65 connection.

The tariff plan is a per second tariff plan with a flat standard base rate that is applicable all day; i.e. there is no differentiation between peak and off-peak.

The following call charges and discounts are applicable on the Yebo4Less Tariff:
Peak & Off Peak (no difference in cost);
On Net - Vodacom to Vodacom; Standard Charge: R2.60 (=4c/sec) ; up to 99% discount
Off Net - Vodacom to Other; Standard Charge: R2.89 (=5c/sec); up to 65% discount

More details around Yebo4Less costs: http://www.vodacom.co.za/services/yebo4less/cost.jsp

Compared to my current (VodaGo per minute plan): http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17

I have created a calculator to figure out whether it's worth my while to change plans (from VodaGo to Yebo4Less):
VodagoOrYebo4Less.xls

It seems that it is worth it... but, I'm a cautious person... I'll wait a bit and see where the catches are!

Things to note (so far): there's no HappyHour on Yebo4Less; Telkom is treated as off-net on Yebo4Less; per second billing (not per minute, or 30 second part thereof)

Additionally, you also get a guaranteed minimum discount of 50% off calls made during off-peak times, to any number! You only pay for what you have to say – with Yebo4Less per second billing applies.

The discounts are based on the time of the day and how busy the network is where the customer is located.

Vodacom will determine these discounts on an hourly basis.

Yebo4Less customers will be able to obtain discounts of up to 99% on Vodacom to Vodacom national calls and up to 65% on calls to other networks, i.e. MTN, Cell C, Virgin, Telkom and Neotel. Customers can view the discounts by switching on the Cell Broadcast option on their phone or they can dial *111*444#. Cell Broadcast is not available on the 3G network.

Please note that the discount is only applicable to national voice and 3G video calls and excludes premium rated numbers and any data services.

Existing Prepaid customers will be able to migrate to Yebo4Less, via FreeChange by simply calling 1181 from their cellphone (free of charge) or dialling *111# from their cellphone and choosing option 7. Customers are able to change their prepaid tariff plan once ever 30 days free of charge. The customer’s airtime value, Talking Points and any SMS or Data bundle will remain intact after FreeChange.

New customers will be required to purchase a new Vodacom prepaid starter pack and use FreeChange (by calling 1181 or *111#) to change to the Yebo4Less tariff plan option.

Customers on the Yebo4Less tariff plan will continue to earn Talking Points when recharging with airtime vouchers; however, they will not be able to redeem their Talking Points for airtime bundles or call discounts. Talking Points can only be redeemed for cellphones and SMS bundles.

Please refer to this link for more info and FAQs: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=118048

Subscribers on Vodacom PrePaid can switch plans once every 30 days without costs: customer must dial 1181 from their cellphone or dial *111# from their cellphone and select option 7 for FreeChange.

Yebo4Less is just like MTNzone and works with area, but Vodacom gives discounts off calls to other networks too!

Additionally, you also get a guaranteed minimum discount of 50% off calls made during off-peak times, to any number! You only pay for what you have to say – with Yebo4Less per second billing applies.

When you opt in via FreeChange to the Service all accumulated on-net airtime discounts redeemed with Talking points will be lost.

Customers on the Yebo4Less tariff plan will continue to earn Talking Points when recharging with airtime vouchers; however, they will not be able to redeem their Talking Points for airtime bundles or call discounts. Talking Points can only be redeemed for cellphones and SMS bundles.

The discount applied to voice and video calls will be dealt with as follows:

• Same discount period, same area – If your call is connected and terminated in the same discount period in the same area, the discount assigned to that area during that period shall apply.
• Same discount period, multiple area – If your call is connected and terminated during the same discount period but you move between two or more areas during the call, the discount that is assigned to the area in which the call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.
• Multiple discount periods, same area – If your call is connected and terminated in the same area but your call spans over two or more discount periods the discount that applied to the period in which the voice call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.
• Multiple discount periods, multiple area – If your call is connected in one discount period but terminates in a different discount period and different area, the discount that was assigned to the area in the period when the call originated shall apply to the entire voice/video call.

If you are on the Vodacom 3G network, you will not receive the Cell Broadcast due to 3G network configuration restrictions.

The customer will be able to dial *111*444# to find out what the current call discount is for the particular cell they reside in at that time.

There's no subscription costs for Yebo4Less.