International calling from your South African PrePaid cell phone: if you’re with Vodacom, then you’re getting ripped off!

If you have a Vodacom PrePaid cell phone, then here are some tips to avoid the very high Vodacom call charges (R10 per minute).  One could use an MTN SIM card and save over R6.51 per minute!  Or dial a local CellC number and save over R6.40 per minute – here’s how:

A friend asked me how much it was to call Italy from his MTN Prepaid cell phone – here are the outcomes from my investigations:
Vodacom PrePaid cell phone to Italy from a PayAsYouGo phone is R10 per minute. http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgmenus&pkgTypeId=2&pageId=21

{If you had a contract: Vodacom Talk120: International Calls (Per minute):
Off Peak: 0.99 + Telkom Off-peak (landline = 0.83; mobile = 2.82) ===> Off peak to a landline: R1.82 per minute; Off peak to a mobile: R3.81 per minute.
Peak: 2.10 + Telkom Peak (landline = 0.99; mobile = 3.19) ===> Peak to a landline: R3.09 per minute; Peak to a mobile: R5.29 per minute.
http://www.telkom.co.za/products_services/internationalcallservice/cost.html
}

 

For MTN PrePaid Classic: it costs (per minute) R3.49 to dial a mobile phone directly in Italy, and R2.90 to a landline in Italy (billed on a per second basis).
http://www.mtn.co.za/Travel/International%20Calling/Pages/default.aspx?index=2 

Wow, seems like MTN is MUCH cheaper than Vodacom…. But still, VoipBuster to Italy landline is free for 120 days!  See here for more details: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/08/voipbuster-over-skypeout-verdict-read.html

You could also dial this CellC number (084 198 0001) and speak to over 60 international countries for no extra cost: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-cellc-call-and-speak-to-over-60.html . This works for landlines only in Italy.
{Works for cell phones in these countries: USA (most networks); Canada; China; Singapore; Hong Kong.}

Costs of calls to CellC:
For Vodacom pre-paid Vodago to CellC: to Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R1.08; Peak: R3.60 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17

For Vodacom contract Talk 240 to CellC: Value-Added Services Off-Peak: R0.98; Peak: R1.88 http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=1&pkgGroupId=1&packageId=4

For MTN PayG Classic to CellC: Peak: R2.85; Off peak: R1.60 per minute.

See here for details of MTN’s peak and off peak calling times: http://www.mtn.co.za/Support/faq/NewSubscribers/Pages/MakingTakingcalls.aspx

So, HTT’s verdict:  since my friend was already with MTN (whew), his cheapest option to call a landline in Italy @off peak times is to dial the local CellC number which would cost R1.60 per minute. 
At peak times he should rather dial direct (ie: MTN call) @R2.90 per minute (the CellC number’s cost is R2.85 but the call setup time (while you’re keying in the international number on the CellC call) will use up time and nullify the 5c per minute savings).
If he needed to call a cell phone in Italy (the CellC number doesn’t cover cell phones in Italy yet) then he would need to dial directly @R3.49 per minute.

HTT’s verdict for other Vodacom PrePaid users: rather than paying the R10 per minute, get an MTN SIM card for your international calls.

But, for all of you that read this far… these costs can be slashed further if you use VOIP – even on your cell phone.  Install NimBuzz and configure a SIP connection using your VoipBuster account.  Then for the 1st 120 days you’ll pay nothing for landline calls to major international cities except for the data costs (R2 per MB on prepaid if you don’t have a data bundle). See here for more info:  VoipBuster over SkypeOut: the verdict? Read this for hands on tips on saving on your phone bill

Buying airtime can be done in numerous ways - HandyTechTipper weighs up convenience with discounts

I was looking for a online site that offered discounted airtime for my prepaid cell phone.
I previously used Discovery Vitality's Airtime that offered 10% discount (now discontinued and handed over to GotPrepaid).
I now purchase from Pick 'n Pay stores or Clicks.

I was looking for an online alternative - and here are my findings...

Buying airtime for your pre-paid cell phone is easy - go to any shop and they'll gladly sell you the airtime 'virtual' voucher that you can enter into your phone.
Online purchasing of airtime is also easy - if you have a credit card

HandyTechTipper (HTT) did a search for airtime vendors

Discounted airtime is also a bonus for the end user i.e. buy R29 worth of airtime for R27.

HandyTechTipper's ideal place to purchase airtime would be one that offered all of the following:
i) online vendor; ii) accept credit cards; iii) offered discounted airtime; iv) automated airtime credits.

Click here to download: BuyingAirtimeCalculatorFeb2009.xls

Note: not all vendors have been verified - use at your own risk!

Using the spreadsheet:

In worksheet "AirTimeOutlets":
Use worksheet "AirTimeOutlets" to see a summarised view of what's out there
Look through the offers and use the "ShortList" column to filter the offer that you are interested in and so home in on the offer best suited to your needs

In worksheet "DiscountedAirtime":
Use worksheet "DiscountedAirtime" to see what %age discounts are given.
Look through the offers and use the "ShortList" column to filter the offer that you are interested in and so home in on the offer best suited to your needs.

It seems that the following services come up tops for me:

http://www.airtimeforfree.co.za/ due to the highest discount and 26th voucher free offer [buy 25 of R12 vouchers for R287.50 and get airtime to the value of R312.00 [= 7.85% discount]].

http://www.vtime.co.za/ due to the random discounts and specials offered eg: R1,100 for R1,000
 
Pick 'n Pay and Clicks give small discounts (or ClubPoints), allow credit card purchases - but don't sell airtime online :(

Banks like FNB, ABSA are very convenient (no registration forms), online, 24x7, and transfer airtime immediately.

eBucks: gr8 to use up those bucks for airtime too.

Watch out for those "services" that require registration fee and transactional fees.

So, either go through the pains of registering and paying using EFT (and wait for your topup) to get your discounted airtime,
OR purchase online via your bank for immediate topups (but no discounted airtime).

Update on 7th April 2009:
I would love to be able to verify all the vendors listed but I do not have such funds (and time) at my disposal – for a proper verification of all services I would need to purchase at least 30 vouchers from each vendor and then calculate what the overall costs and savings were. This would (sort-of) then take into account the varying/random discounts and come up with a better comparison. But, even then, random prizes (eg: free cell phones, etc.) could not be taken into account…. I’d say that was an extra bonus that the end user shouldn’t bank on.

I have also noticed that http://www.vtime.co.za/Tips.asp have an ongoing offer of R1,100 airtime for R1,000.

Updated on 14July2009:
MTN users can now buy prepaid on credit (directly from MTN).
See here for more details: ITweb article

Update on 7th September2009:
Another service that accepts credit cards online is: BigTimeAirtime
There's also a small discount of R1 or R2 on amounts over R100 or so.

Make a CellC call and speak to over 60 international countries for no extra cost

Is this too good to be true? Dial 084 198 0001 from any cell phone (in South Africa) or any everyday Telkom land line to call any of the 60 listed countries 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at the cost of a normal local CellC phone call.

No contracts, no sign-up, no subscription or memberships.

All you pay for is the local call to the CellC number.

Free minutes canNOT be used. V.A.S (Value Added Services) rates apply.

VAS rates means that VAS rates are charged and excludes discounts of any kind such as free minutes etc.

The cost of calls to VAS numbers depend on your calling package.

Cell phones only in the following countries: USA (most networks); Canada; China; Singapore; Hong Kong

Browse your network provider's web site to see what the VAS call rate would be.

eg:

for Vodacom pre-paid Vodago: to Value-Added Services (Off-Peak) R1.08 (Peak) R3.60) http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=2&pkgGroupId=8&packageId=17
for Vodacom contract Talk 240: Value-Added Services (Off-Peak) R0.98 (Peak R1.88) http://www.vodacom.co.za/pkgcr.do?action=getpkgsgroups&pkgTypeId=1&pkgGroupId=1&packageId=4

Still interested?, then go to their web site: http://www.farcall.co.za/ for more information.

To use the service:

1) Dial 084 198 0001
2) Wait for the voice-prompt to enter your international number.
3) Enter the international dialing code for the country you’re dialing. No need to enter “0” beforehand, just the country’s code.

4) Dial the phone number.

For more info or clarifications: why not drop them an email: info@farcall.co.za

Ok, now for HandyTechTipper's analysis of the offering:

As stated on their web site they are using Voice Over IP (VOIP) technology.... this means that when you make the call, you will be routed from the South African CellC network using VOIP to the party you are calling in the other country.

Essentially, this means that your voice will be take the following path:

1) your cell phone to your cellular provider,

2) to CellC to an automated voice response system that will answer the call and routed to the Internet and then to a telephone in the country that you have "dialled".

So, things to watch out for: 1) since it's voice over IP watch out for voice quality; 2) watch your cell phone account!

How do they do it? Well, 1 way of doing this would be to have the automated answering service route calls using SkypeOut ie: VOIP calls over the Internet that call "real" phones for a cheap rate. See here for SkypeOut rates: http://www.skype.com/intl/en/prices/callrates/?currency=ZAR

See here for more Skype related articles:

SkypeOut info: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/04/skypeout-save-money-on-long-distance.html

Get 20% off SkypeOut purchases: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/06/join-fatwallet-cashback-scheme-and-get.html

Where do they make their money? They get a revenue share from the VAS calls ie: CellC gives FarCall a percentage from each call's cost... which needs to be more than the cost of making the call over the VOIP service (and their infrastructure and Internet costs: bandwidth and ADSL lines).

So, is their statement correct: "...forget the inconvenience of international calling cards, and ditch the local monopoly!"?

Well, I suppose, if you're on a contract that has low VAS rates then this will probably be cheaper that calling from your Telkom line but not cheaper than using SkypeOut.

But, if you're on prepaid, then I don't think many countries will be cheaper than Telkom rates and definitely fewer (if any) will be cheaper than using the calling card option - none will be cheaper than using the SkypeOut method.

See here for Telkom rates: http://www.telkom.co.za/common/pricelist/prices/international/internationaldestinations/countries.html

One thing's for sure - if you are going to use your cell phone to make an international call, then use this service - it will definitely be cheaper than calling the international party directly!
eg: On Vodacom Talk 240 contract: International calls cost: (Per minute) Off-Peak: R0.95 + Telkom Off-Peak {Peak: R1.76 + Telkom Peak}
On prepaid Vodago: depending on global zone: ranges from R5.50 to R17.50 per minute!

See here for another calling service that allows you to Use your cell phone's free minutes to make international calls

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.