What is the difference between the packages available for telkom wireless data?
It is confusing for tech savvy people – probably more so for the general public
Wireless is an internet connection using cell phone towers that are 3g, 4g (LTE) and 5g. The 3g, 4g and 5g are standards agreed upon that allow for different speeds. They all use the same microwave signal technology to allow network packets to be sent and received on networks.
Wireless internet providers sell data which is a specific maximum amount of data you can send (upload) and receive (download) over their network.
Telkom USSD codes:
*180# - mobile account menu
*188# - get current balanceTelkom Tariffs
There are 3 types of prepaid options:
- Telkom Thola More
- Telkom More
- Telkom SmartBroadband Wireless Prepaid
LTE/LTE-A Once off
You have to be on the SmartBroadband Wireless Prepaid tariff type.
Unfortunately all LTE/LTE-A Once off data packages have an expiry date – forcing you to use the data by a certain date
| Amount of Data | Price | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| 3 GB | R50 | 14 days |
| 7.5 GB | R100 | 31 days |
| 10 GB | R150 | 31 days |
| 20 GB | R250 | 61 days |
| 40 GB | R360 | 61 days |
| 60 GB | R460 | 61 days |
| 80 GB | R560 | 61 days |
| 120 GB | R760 | 61 days |
| 220 GB | R1060 | 61 days |
You get an equal night surfer amount to encourage data use after midnight to 7 am when we are all asleep. I do not include it in the above table.
The price has been rounded up by R1
- Telkom terms and conditions for LTE/LTE-A Once Off
- FAQs_for_SmartBroadband_Wireless_Prepaid_26112018
Also take note that this data will only work when you are connecting to a telkom run cell tower – not on a tower that telkom piggy-backs off from another network.
Beware the SmartBroadband Wireless Prepaid charges excessive fees for calls, smses and out-of-bundle data:
- Calls: R 2.75 on per second billing basis
- SMSs: 50c/Sms
- Out of bundle data: R0.30 per megabyte (R307.2 per GB)
Out of bundle means you have depleted your LTE bundle and now use airtime to pay for data – you can turn off out-of-bundle data
To change tariff:
- *180#
- Select the option for tariff change
- Change to SmartBroadband Wireless Prepaid
Once-off All Network Data Bundles
- Available on any tarrif type: More, Thola More and SmartBroadband Wireless Prepaid
- Once-off Mobile data bundles work on both Telkom and MTN networks
- Once-off internet bundles have longer expiry times
| Amount of Data | Price | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| 35MB | R7 | 6 months |
| 75 MB | R14 | 6 months |
| 150 MB | R30 | 6 months |
| 300 MB | R50 | 6 months |
| 500 MB | R70 | 6 months |
| 1 GB | R80 | 2 months |
| 1.5 GB | R90 | 2 months |
| 2 GB | R140 | 2 months |
| 3 GB | R200 | 2 months |
| 5 GB | R300 | 2 months |
| 10 GB | R470 | 2 months |
| 20 GB | R700 | 7 months |
| 50 GB | R1500 | 13 months |
| 100 GB | R 2500 | 13 months |
Once off mobile data bundles do have night-surfer data however it expires after 31 days
Usage Stats
Important to remember that the usage amount of LTE can be in one of 2 buckets:
- normal – any time data
- night surfer – midnight to 7 am data
When checking your usage via the selfservice telkom website – this will show the combined data. That is both normal and night surfer data. It may show data but you might not be able to surf as it is showing night data.
When checking the usage via the telkom app on your device it will only show the normal usage. So this is a better usage stat to use as you never want to be left without data at any time:
High Time Preference
Telkom forces its subscribers and customers to burn up the data and keep topping up like addicted peasants.
Telkom doesn’t make it easy for customers to understand things – there are so many options and configurations that you can only figure out by trying them – at cost.