iTunes Vouchers in South Africa – which vendor is the cheapest? [Solved] - Updated 18 Nov 2013

It was time to start buying a few apps for my iPad and so I decided to do a bit of research which I am sharing here… where is the cheapest place to buy iTunes vouchers and pay with my South African credit card? 
I also wanted instant delivery by email – please double check the payment options and delivery methods for the various vendors before making your purchase.


So, eVouchers seems to be the vendor with the lowest markup.
Thanks to Anonymous who commented and prompted me to re-evaluate the vendors out there.

Sorry, CheapCodes - your prices have been beaten!

The winner of the “no contract, pre-paid data deal” in South Africa is… CellC!

I was looking for a data deal that doesn’t attract monthly charges since I don’t use my iPad away from home very much – ideally, the per MB rate should also be lower than the R2/MB out of bundle rates that Vodacom and MTN offer.

I had my eye on the much-advertised-to-me offer from FNB.  I was prompted to investigate further when I saw a tweet to FNB asking for clarity on the FNB deal (first 50 MB per month at 30c/MB, thereafter 59c/MB).  The pre-requisites for using this deal was listed as “A Vodacom Service Provider contract (excluding alternative service providers like AutoPage, Nashua Mobile, etc.) Or alternatively, any MTN cellphone contract”.
So, if I wanted to take up this offer, then I would need to take up a cheap contract that would attract monthly charges, and then the per MB rate would be low.

Here are the Twitter conversations:
 



 


@TopEditorInt warned against contracts – I tend to agree with that… so, I looked further…


I needed to answer the question: “What was the best per MB rate that I could get without taking out a contract, and where the data wouldn’t expire in a month or two?” 

{
Note: this posting has been updated and edited since it was first published… VirginMobile was my original choice (until I found out the their packages expired after 30, 90 or 120 days), the modified “winner” is CellC
}

So, the search was on… perhaps a small monthly fee for a contract from MTN or VSP (Vodacom Service Provider) with a small amount of data could be topped up with data from FNB?  So, I checked all the web sites and compared them.  Bear in mind, I really didn’t want a monthly fee since I hardly used my iPad away from WiFi for more than once or twice per month.

Vodacom data deals list had “MyMeg 10” deal on offer (90c per MB) – but those aren’t contracts so I wouldn’t be able to topup with the FNB deal :(  These were valid until the end of the following month.

MTN data deals list had “MTN-10MB” deal on offer (R1 per MB)– but those aren’t contracts so I wouldn’t be able to topup with the FNB deal :(

CellC data deals list had “25” deal on offer (80c per MB) – but those aren’t contracts so I wouldn’t be able to topup with the FNB deal :( 
These were valid for 30 days.

8ta data deals list had “100” deal on offer (40c per MB) – but those aren’t contracts so I wouldn’t be able to topup with the FNB deal :(
These were valid until the end of the following month.
VirginMobile data deals list had a flat rate of 60c per MB – but those aren’t contracts so I wouldn’t be able to topup with the FNB deal :(
These didn’t expire! Plus: you get R10 for every R30 used.
Plus: DOUBLE YOUR AIRTIME on your first recharge: That takes the rate down to 26c/MB

You get the recharge amount immediately.  The first 50% of FREE airtime will be loaded within 24 hours.  A calendar month later you will receive the next 50% of FREE airtime. e.g. If you recharged with R300, you receive your R300 + R150 (50% of the first recharge free) and a calendar month later, you’ll receive another R150 (balance of the 50%) free.



So, if you bought R300 for your first purchase, that would get you a rate of 26c per MB – that’s even better than the “special” FNB deal, and there’s no need for a contract and no monthly fees, and no expiring/lost data! 

After the first recharge, the per MB rate goes up to 45c – still not too shabby:


So, the clear winner of this competition is: well…. not so sure any more… Waiting for VirginMobile’s response to my Tweet (see explanation below)
With this hurdle, I decided to look further into the other offerings more closely… and I found this winning deal from CellC: 3GB Valid for 365 days (SIM card only – no modem) for R399 once off!


The CellC offer works out to 13c per MB, R133 per GB, or R33 per month, and 250MB per month – perfect!  I don’t think I’d use that much but hey, what a winning deal!

Comparing this with the original “winning” VirginMobile offer even with the ‘Double your airtime on first recharge’ I would only get 1.5GB at 26c/MB for R400!  So, I will get double the bandwidth that won’t expire after 120 days.

Comparing that with the FNB offer of 30c/MB then 59c/MB – it just plainly blows that out of this universe!



Now, where can I go and get one of those CellC microSIMs from?:  http://www.cellc.co.za/cellc-stores

Oh, and yes, you can purchase CellC airtime from the FNB Internet Banking web site :)
BUT, the 3GB for R399 deal can ONLY be purchased at any CellC shop.


Call CellC on 084 140 (Available 24 hours a day, including public holidays)
Twitter: @CellC
Find your nearest CellC store here: http://www.cellc.co.za/cellc-stores  Remember to take your ID and some sort of proof of address eg: Edgars account, or municipal account.
I wonder how much their MicroSIMs cost? {From comments: R29 incl VAT)

Thanks to the original Tweeters for prompting me to do this investigation!

Please let me know if you have found a better solution to this by adding your comments to this post.


Update 30 Apr 2012: Just got a response from VirginMobile to an email – the MicroSIM cost 99c (not like Vodacom’s that cost R110) and can be obtained from any VirginMobile store.

Update 01May2012 08h00: So, I went into a VirginMobile store and wanted to confirm my findings.  I wanted to confirm with the salesman that the Virgin Mobile airtime didn’t expire… but, to my surprise he showed me a brochure with a table of how long the airtime lasted for before expiring – so, it seems that VirginMobile airtime does expire:

How frustrating – I had done all of this research on the web site (and awarded a “clear winner” to VirginMobile) only to find out of this obscure “expiry period”! 
BTW: I searched long and hard on their web site and couldn’t find any reference to the expiry period – hopefully @VirginMobileSA will reply to my tweet.
So, I decided to rename the title of this posing – I removed the “non-expiring” phrase, so as not to mislead you my readers… and now I need to decide whether to award my winning provider to one of the other networks?
If I decide to go with another network then they certainly will not be the winner of this “competition” – watch this space for my decision…

Update 01May2012 18h45: I have updated the post with further investigations and I have decided to go with the CellC offer – so, the clear winner of this competition is: the CellC 3GB for 365 days offer

What’s the cheapest cell phone to run WhatsApp on?

My young son wants a cell phone – he’s got R1,000 to spend.  So, what’s the cheapest phone that can run WhatsApp so that he doesn’t waste all his airtime on SMSs and calls that could be handled by a short instant message?  Here’s my story on how I bought his phone brand new Android phone for R849 incl. VAT and everything else.

I did a lot of hunting around for Nokia phones and even looked at the LG and Samsung offerings – but all the phones that I could find in the WhatsApp minimum requirements list cost over R1,200.

I then looked at the WhatsApp download page and realised that I was overlooking other types of phones that WhatsApp supports: iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.  I ruled out iPhone and BlackBerry due to cost, but that left Android – I hadn’t looked at any Android phones except HTC devices – but perhaps there was an entry level Android phone below R1,000?
The WhatsApp download page specifies that it can run on any device with Android OS 2.1 or above.

I Googled a bit and found references to the Vodafone 845 as being a great phone.  It was launched on South Africa in Aug 2010
It is a branded version of the Huawei “Joy” handset.
Here’s a great review on www.androidza.co.za and also shows “what’s in the box”: Battery, USB Cable, Wall Charger, Basic Manual, Headphones.

It is a 3G phone (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps), with GPS (with A-GPS support), accelerometer, touch screen, WiFi, BlueTooth, camera (3.15 MP), FM radio, on Android 2.1 (Éclair).  I was surprised on the quality of the phone – it felt good and solid. 

Wow… but how much could I pick this phone up for in Cape Town, South Africa? 
And is it for sale for under R1,000?
Well, to cut a long story short…. I was browsing for music in Musica the other day and happened to be browsing their cell phones pamphlet and saw the VF 845 for sale on prepaid for R849 all included – no catches.  I rubbed my eyes a couple of times and then asked the assistant for more info.  She confirmed that it was an Android phone but was out of stock but she would find one – she called her other branches and found a couple of options.  By this time my son was getting more and more excited!  We landed up going to the Parow Centre branch to buy their last phone - and were warned to take IDs and proof of residence for RICA purposes (we RICA’d our other SIM cards while we were there).  Not sure if it’s network locked (I think the SA networks stopped locking phones a while ago – but even if it is locked… for R849 it’s a great buy).

So, results are:
* 1 happy son, busy playing Angry Birds as we speak!  WhatsApp is running fine; Google Sky Map is mind blowing  - what an educational tool!

* Now my other, elder son also wants his own phone… so, let’s find another branch with the phone in stock. 
* I’m an UNhappy camper – my young son’s phone can do (much) more than mine (except for BBM!)

Click here for some help from Vodacom specific to this phone and OS 2.1

Comment from Coenie: “You can now get this phone at Clicks stores for as cheap as R798, R999 at Game and Edgars in South Africa, bear in mind the Vodacom store operator told me it is discontinued in South Africa, as I understand the VF 945 being released in the coming months here”
I did a compare of the VF 845 with the VF 945 and the main differences that I could see were: bigger screen size, up to 32GB memory card, 5MP camera with flash, second camera…. so, if you want to wait for its release… but I’m sure it will be over R1,000.

Here are the minimum requirements for WhatsApp (from here: http://www.whatsapp.com/nokia):
— Nokia S60 3rd edition, 5th edition or Symbian^3 Operating System
Supported device list:
— Symbian^3: N8 · C6 · C7 · E7
— S60 5th edition: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic · Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition · Nokia 5530 XpressMusic · Nokia 5230 · Nokia 5233 · Nokia N97 · Nokia N97 mini · Nokia X6 · Nokia C6 · Samsung i8910 Omnia HD · Sony Ericsson Satio · Sony Ericsson Vivaz · Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro · Nokia N8
— S60 3rd edition: LG KS10 · LG KT610 · LG KT615 · Nokia 5700 XpressMusic · Nokia 6110 Navigator · Nokia 6120 Classic · Nokia 6121 Classic · Nokia 6124 classic · Nokia 6290 · Nokia E51 · Nokia E63 · Nokia E66 · Nokia E71 · Nokia E90 Communicator · Nokia N76 · Nokia N81 · Nokia N81 8GB · Nokia N82 · Nokia N95 · Nokia N95 8GB · Samsung SGH-G810 · Samsung SGH-i400 · Samsung SGH-i408 · Samsung SGH-i450 · Samsung SGH-i458 · Samsung SGH-i520 · Samsung SGH-i550 · Samsung SGH-i550w · Samsung SGH-i560 · Samsung SGH-i568 · Nokia 5320 XpressMusic · Nokia 5630 XpressMusic · Nokia 5730 XpressMusic · Nokia 6210 Navigator · Nokia 6220 Classic · Nokia 6650 fold · Nokia 6710 Navigator · Nokia 6720 Classic · Nokia 6730 Classic · Nokia 6760 Slide · Nokia 6790 Surge · Nokia C5 · Nokia E52 · Nokia E55 · Nokia E71x · Nokia E72 · Nokia E75 · Nokia E5 · Nokia N78 · Nokia N79 · Nokia N85 · Nokia N86 8MP · Nokia N96 · Samsung GT-i8510 · Samsung GT-I7110 · Samsung SGH-L870
For those uber-geeks out there that want the latest Android OS on it:  There is already a custom ROM project: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741643
Download the original firmware here (just in case): 
{From: http://forum.vodafone.co.nz/topic/6538-vodafone-845-firmware-update/}
1. Go to www.huaweidevice.com  
2. Click on "Service Center"
3. On the Service Centre page, under "Download", click on "Software"
You should see a list of file to download.  Near the bottom is the firmware currently on the Vodafone 845.
http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/downloadCenter.do?method=list&flay=software&directoryId=20&treeId=0#
"V845 V845 V100R001NZLC02B233SP01(New Zealand Vodafone) Host Software 2010-09-19"

See here for more info on WhatsApp: WhatsApp for Nokia Symbian phones is now available

Cheap International calls from South Africa using Calling Cards (no computer necessary): another HTT calculator to compare offerings

Yes, I’ve blogged about VOIP and SkypeOut and VoipBuster and NimBuzz and Fring and Dect-to-Voip but all of those require a computer or cell phone, and Internet connection (preferably ADSL or 3G/Edge).  Some of my readers and friends have asked for a much simpler way of making international calls and save money – in fact they are already using calling cards. 
Calling cards are more expensive than using your ADSL connection (probably slightly more than paying for the data charges on your cell phone unless you have a data bundle), but the low cost (relative to Telkom), simplicity and convenience of using a calling card from any phone is a very good option for a lot of people.

This blog article attempts to find a few services that are available in South Africa and compares their rates:
(Please note that I haven’t tried any of these web services, although I have purchased some physical calling cards from ‘Talk Time’;
Also, rates are taken from the services’ web sites and might differ from their actual charges;
Don’t forget to consider the costs of the local call to the calling card’s local service number (that’s the cost of the Telkom call) – call at Call-More-Time {weekends and on weekdays: after 19h00 to 06h59} else get a Telkom ‘Closer Plan’)

   
 

Please note that HTT has not tried any of these services so cannot guarantee their services at all.  Quality of call, and rates might not be as depicted on their web sites.

Download HTT’s calling card calculator – download and read the “ReadMe” worksheet for instructions: HTT’s PhoneCallingCardsRatesCalculator
Note: the spreadsheet also compares VoipBuster and SkypeOut rates – did I say that VoipBuster rocks??!!! 
That DECT to VoipBuster solution is really convenient too :)




HelloHowzit: is dedicated to provide a low cost, high quality phone service offering discounted overseas international telephone calls.

Phone IT also known as: http://www.hellohowzit.com or http://www.phonehome.co.za 

They sell international phonecards for inexpensive international calls.  I think this is the service that provides the “Talk Time International Calling Cards”. 
Access numbers are: 011 - 232 9792 or 011 - 555 9600 or 021 – 673 6730

They also have a dial through service using the 087 8063555 access number, which is useful if you have free cellphone minutes to use up.

International phonecard rates start at R0.36 to most land line destinations. See the website for a whole list of countries.

Free R50.00 signup bonus on new South African call-through accounts!
This offer is valid for a limited time when opening a new R300 account.

The CARE project calling cards:
Make Free International Calls from you mobile or landline and support The C.A.R.E Project.  Save time and energy by using our free service and pay local call rates.  Use you mobile free minutes to effectively make free calls to overseas destinations. YES... It's FREE and support a charity organisation as well!
”
C.A.R.E (Caring. Assisting. Reaching. Empowering) is a non-profit organization formed to combat poverty and assist those less fortunate in realizing their potential towards self-empowerment.  The organization aims to do so by providing food and other products to poverty stricken communities, and advocating programmes for self- development and sustainability.
“

Dial the local access number (010 590 4444) and make free calls to over 60 countries. It's that SIMPLE!
Cellphone free minutes do apply, no PIN required, pay local mobile or fixed line rates.

All profits will be used to fund their social development projects which include:
  *) Funding and support of an orphanage
  *) Homeless feeding schemes
  *) Other social development projects to be initiated

1. How does it work ?
  i) Dial our local access number, 010 590 4444
  ii) Wait for the voice prompt
  iii) Dial your Destination number follows :
         00 <country code> <destination number>   e.g    00 44 207 3457654  (UK London)

2. What's the catch ?
Well... There is no catch.  You dial our access number, we obtain rebates from the service providers and the profits are used to fund social development and charity projects.

3. How much does it cost ?
Calls to global destinations are FREE!

Calls from your mobile provider depends on local call rates available on the package you have subscribed to.
Free mobile minutes may apply. This is not a premium rated service and you will be charged at local cellular rates to call our access number.  Peak and off peak rates apply thus determining the Free destinations available.

Calls from your Telkom landline to our access number are charged at R0.78 per minute during peak hours and R0.40 during off-peak.

4. Do I need a PIN number ?
NO. You do not require a PIN so call at your convenience

HTT comment: excellent rates to a limited list of 127 countries (and some cell phones).



Telesaver Phone Cards
http://telesaver.co.za/pricing.htm

HTT comment: Excellent per minute rates BUT, beware: the cards expire: R50 expires 6 months after first use.  R20 expires 1 month after first use.  Recharging makes a card last for an extra 6 months per R50.
The rates listed are awesome!  Some are even better than VoipBuster!

HippoCom allows payment by credit card.
The International Pre-Paid Calling Cards are available in R25, R50 and R80 denominations. These cards allow you access to all our international destinations at the lowest prices.

Access Numbers: 031-251 8100 and 031-765 2248

See here for their FAQs: FAQs

  
Phone4You allows payment by credit card.
Web site is (still) undergoing an upgrade but shows the rates and compares them with Telkom rates (and % saving).

Updated on 09Jan2010 @ 17h00: added WorldChat and SunDial telecom (and updated WorldChat to calculator .xls)
{Didn’t change the verdict tho)


WorldChat: allows payment by credit card
Calls are billed per minute.

Denominations of airtime: R25, R50, R100, R200

Please note all cards expire within 90 days of initial use.
R200 cards will expire 180 days after initial use
A trick: to add another 90 days credit to your expired card & have access to your expired airtime, recharge online.  Even by recharging with the smallest denomination (R25 for which you'll only pay R22.50) you will get access to your expired credit as well as the extra credit you have recharged by!

Access numbers:
  *) Durban     031 2048090
  *) Johannesburg     011 2312800
  *) Cape Town      021 4871040
  *) Tollfree (but rates per minute to International countries is higher): 0800 1WORLD (0800 196753)



SunDial telecom:
Per minute charge varies according to the calling card denomination that you have purchased – the more expensive the card, the lower the per minute rate.

The advertised web site is not working: http://www.calltheworld.co.za/ rather use: SunDial telecom

Access numbers:
Nationwide Share Call 0860 104649 – you pay for a local call (to Telkom) – this is NOT toll free.
CellSave 087 941 5000

Cape Town 021 402 0164
Johannesburg 011 252 1157
Pretoria 012 313 6930
Nelspruit 013 752 9524
Vereeniging 016 420 6447
Klerksdorp 018 406 2018
Rustenburg 014 590 2002
Standerton 017 727 8261
Kimberley 053 838 2040
Bloemfontein 051 411 0781
Durban 031 582 8218
Port Elizabeth 041 397 9805
East London 043 700 3005

Calls can be made to the 087 Cellsave access number from your cellular phone to use your free minutes (you receive a 30c discount on the per minute rate.) 
All calling card and subscriber calls made to the Toll Free access number (you don't pay local call charges)

See here for rates: SunDial telecom rates

HTT verdict: based on a random selection of countries (listed in the default filtered list in the spreadsheet) it is obvious that the Telesaver International Phone Card rates are the best – but, if you don’t use up your card within the expiry time, then you will lose your money! 
{R50 expires 6 months after first use. R20 expires 1 month after first use. Recharging makes a card last for an extra 6 months per R50.}
Don’t forget though, if you have ADSL, then VoipBuster is the best and cheapest!

Some tips: BEWARE of services that have 0861 access numbers – the rates are probably cheaper BUT they get a kick-back from Telkom per minute of the LOCAL call costs (to the calling card’s access number).


Here’s an excellent (although a bit dated) article from ‘Personal Finance’: Ten ways to cut your phone bill

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

Another take on the *Pre-Paid ADSL* currently on offer in South Africa

Things in the ADSL pre-paid bandwidth arena change so often with new specials from new companies.  I came across some interesting new specials that I thought I’d share with you.

My criteria for choosing the best offer for me:
1) Price (PrePaid, in other words: No monthly fees, no contracts, no setup fees, nor hidden fees!) and No use-it-or-lose-it policy ie: unused bandwidth must not be lost.
2) Support (ie: not an 0861 number, preferably toll free ie: 0800 number, and instant messenger support)
3) Reliability
4) Speed
5) Ease of purchase, in other words, able to pay with credit card with auto top-up facility
6) Bandwidth usage monitor/graph
7) Shaped or Unshaped – not really a factor for the basic user

Update on Tues 22 Sept:  Things have changed BIG time my loyal readers – ignore this article and read this for a 1GB monthly offering for R29…. from AfriHost

Note: readers of this blog would not like the complexity of switching to local only bandwidth accounts – so I have not factored that into my decision criteria.
Note: this is not intended to be an all-encompassing analysis of the market’s offering – merely a sharing of the analysis that I did when choosing a pre-paid offering for myself.  Use this information at your own risk, if I’m wrong, then please share why (by adding a comment) so that I can benefit too – thanks ;)


FNB Connect https://www.fnbconnect.co.za/products_connect_ifuel.shtml

- Unshaped ADSL data
- 6.9 cents per MB or R69 per GB
- 12 month data carry over
- Easy online top-up
- No contracts
- Up to 5 concurrent connections

Data carry over means that if you have a 3GB data bundle and only use 1GB in the month, the excess 2GB is carried over to the next month, so you don’t forfeit it :)

Here is some more information:
- You must have an active FNB account
- You must be registered for inContact
- You have to pay a R69.00 activation fee (you get the R69 back in data).

Here’s an idea on what you can get:
R100 gets you 1.45GB
R200 gets you 2.90GB
R500 gets you 7.25GB


Gam.co.za: http://www.gam.co.za/index.php?class=page&objectID=4888add3060ae#48a2fd7b0c42c
24x7 support: 011 318 1230; R79.80 per GB.


WebAfrica: http://www.webafrica.co.za/adsl/prepaid/
24x7 support: 0861 555 222 or 021 464 9500 (use that 021 number – it’s cheaper!); LiveAssistance instant messaging to the support team; Superb service – I’ve experienced it!  R70 per GB (shaped), R125 (unshaped).

 
Axxess: http://www.axxess.co.za/prepaid.php
Also allows you to roll over your bandwidth if you don’t use it all up, to a maximum of 12 months.  R69 for 1GB semi-shaped; Vouchers can be purchased at Pick ‘n Pay and Engen; 24x7 support: 0861 300 900  Ooops, there’s that 0861 number again! :( 
ADSL 626 Account: http://www.axxess.co.za/adsl626.php R55 per GB: During the week, from 6pm to 6am and Weekends from Friday 6pm to Monday 6am, you will get full unshaped Internet access. (Please note with a 626 account, out side of the times above, you will have NO Internet connectivity).  So, a bit of a pain to have to swop logins on your ADSL router.

 
G-Connect https://gconnect.wirelessg.co.za/pricing.aspx Only 4.9c per MB for unshaped bandwidth with data carry-over and no activation fees. That’s R50.17 for 1GB unshaped data :)

I see that they also have a Happy Hour (every weekday from 17:00 - 20:00) for R46.08 per GB
and
Super Happy Weekend (Saturday and Sunday from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59) for R48.13 per GB.   

Anyone tried their service? Their price is 28% less than the "standard" R70 per GB offerings out there.
I see there’s a thread on MyBroadband.co.za “G-Connect, is there a catch?” – seems that you need to use the “Connection Manager” [2.6 MB] to login to the Internet.
Although, their 101.pdf guide says “Should you opt not to make use of the Connection Manager you will need to set up your router in Router Mode.  Ensure that the ATM PVC settings in your WAN interface are as follows…”
 

Edgars ClubConnect:  http://www.edgars.co.za/Edgars/Edgars_Clubs/Core_Benefits/ClubConnect.htm
Exclusive to Edgars Club members (that’s R20 per month); R28 per GB for the first 6 months, thereafter R55 per GB. Support line: 0861 232 582; No contract.  If you already are a member of ClubConnect, then I’d say this is a good deal.


CybertSmart: http://www.cybersmart.co.za/index.cgi
Seems like they don’t have a pre-paid offering… there’s a monthly fee product called “One Price ADSL” with 1GB per month for R169 that INcludes the ADSL line cost.  Also, there’s an “Account only ADSL” with 3GB for R125 per month.  No contract, month to month.


So, here’s my short-list:
- G-Connect: R50.17 for 1GB UNshaped data :)
- Axxess: R69 per GB semi-shaped.
- WebAfrica: R70 per GB shaped.
- Edgars ClubConnect: I’ll need to join ClubConnect @ R20 per month, so that’s R48 per GB (1st 6 months), then R75 per GB.

…and the winner is…. well, I think I’m going to try G-Connect since my current provider WebAfrica has gone down a notch or 3 as far as pricing goes :(
So, cheers, I’m going to signup here:  G-Connect Signup



If you want to compare ADSL offerings, then here’s a nice site to use: http://broadbandchooza.co.za/adsl.html 


What you need to know about Prepaid, for the beginner: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=111816
There are also lots of other forums that discuss the latest in ADSL in South Africa.

Note (again): this is not intended to be an all-encompassing analysis of the market’s offering – merely a sharing of the analysis that I did when choosing a pre-paid offering for myself.  Use this information at your own risk, if I’m wrong, then please share why (by adding a comment) so that I can benefit too – thanks ;)

Update on Tues 22 Sept:  Things have changed BIG time my loyal readers – ignore the above and read this for a 1GB monthly offering for R29…. from AfriHost