There is good news in the quest to find cheaper bandwidth in Swaziland. Since MTN officially launched 3G I have been plagued by how incredibly fast I could now spend my imali by downloading and surfing the web. And I was again plagued when it seemed that SPTC offered their USB dongle in practically every community in the country except my own. And now with SPTC’s future ability to provide services in question, we may continue to be loyal customers to MTN.
As I began this article I mentioned there is good news. This news comes in the form of prepaid “data bundles” that PayAsYouGo customers can use. Remember that we are PayAsYouGo customers, so these data bundles are available to us. These bundles convert your prepaid airtime into data-only airtime. And the rates are exceptionally better than using straight airtime for your internet needs.
|
MEGABYTES IN BUNDLE |
AIRTIME COST |
COST PER MB |
TOTAL COST SAVINGS |
ACTIVATION CODE |
|
10 |
R 9.75 |
R 0.98 |
R 1.65 |
*567*10# |
|
50 |
R 39.00 |
R 0.78 |
R 18.00 |
*567*50# |
|
75 |
R 49.00 |
R 0.65 |
R 36.50 |
*567*75# |
|
150 |
R 89.00 |
R 0.59 |
R 82.00 |
*567*150# |
|
300 |
R 149.00 |
R 0.50 |
R 193.00 |
*567*300# |
|
500 |
R 229.00 |
R 0.46 |
R 341.00 |
*567*500# |
|
1,500 |
R 399.00 |
R 0.27 |
R 1,311.00 |
*567*1500# |
|
2,500 |
R 629.00 |
R 0.25 |
R 2,221.00 |
*567*2500# |
|
3,500 |
R 849.00 |
R 0.24 |
R 3,141.00 |
*567*3500# |
|
5,000 |
R 1,149.00 |
R 0.23 |
R 4,551.00 |
*567*5000# |
|
7,000 |
R 1,499.00 |
R 0.21 |
R 6,481.00 |
*567*7000# |
|
10,000 |
R 1,999.00 |
R 0.20 |
R 9,401.00 |
*567*10000# |
The above table shows the different bundles that are available. Currently MTN is charging approximately E1.14 per megabyte. This is really expensive! So now I can walk into PEP and buy the E150 airtime deal. I get E30 in “bonus” airtime and suddenly I have 300MB of data available. That makes it less than half the price I’m paying now, in fact I’m saving E193 if I actually were to use the entire 150MB of standard airtime.
Of course some restrictions apply. You must use the data bundle within 30 days from date of purchase. MTN also specifies that video calls (aka Skype) are charged at the standard voice rate. I can’t personally attest to that, but if I find a workaround I’ll post it. The other major issue I have encountered so far is checking my balance. Although dialing *556# is supposed to show me my airtime, bonus, and data balances, I have been unable to check my data balance, and have to guess how much is left.**Edited Feb 25, 2013 after comment from Gee below. You can check your data balance by dialing *567#. This will also show your main account balance, but not include your bonus amount.
Even with the few drawbacks, if you tether your phone to your computer or use your phone a lot for data, I highly recommend getting one of these bundles. Please tell anyone and everyone that uses MTN for data that this can really save them money. Although still not as cheap as an SPTC dongle, MTN will be around for a long time.
You can actually check your balance by dialling *567#..
You will see both your voice and data balances, amongst other things.
Thanks Gee!