On out-of-bundle tariffs and data usage notification messages

L.S.M Kabweza Avatar

opera-broadbandEvery now and again, an email reaches our mailboxes that makes us here all go “Exactly!”. One such came today. It’s from a reader called Tapiwa and they are basically bringing to light and suggesting that Econet (all mobile operators really) but the fingers should rightly point at the guys with the most ridiculous out-of-bundle broadband tariff – 15 cents!

There is something i feel is a customer convenience i think econet can implement, and i’m sure you guys can get a word in. An sms to give you a warning that the data bundled you subscribed for is near finishing, say at the 10MB remaining mark. or a notification when it actually finishes, and maybe a data disconnection when your bundle is up as well, to prompt the user to buy another bundle instead of automatically being switched to the off bundle data rates that are significantly higher. often times one just finds a zero credit balance when this happens.

all of the above are indeed possible. in my travels ive used maxis sim in malaysia, starhub in singapore and etisalat in dubai, all three of which implement such a system. a preemptive low data remaining sms, a data finished sms and the disconnection to avoid high charges

8 comments

  1. ICT

    ….but dude, these guys cream you off with out-of-bundle tariffs. Very few actually notice they are out-of-bundle until their air-time is wiped, meanwhile, the operator is grinning all the way to the bank. So, its not in their best interest to give you that service. All we need is just more competition and hopefully the prices will come down. I was hoping for a data bundle price war like we witnessed on voice tariffs but that one is elusive!

  2. sinclair

    Where I am at the moment (airtel malawi, same in Zambia) there is no data bundles. You just buy “traffic time”, how you use it is up to you. And why should you have to buy special data bundles, absolutely pointless concept

    1. KuraiMGT

      Whats the price of the data or traffic time per megabyte???

    2. CD

      Same in Tanzania too.

  3. EcoMESS

    Would be a welcome SMS instead of their spam!!!

  4. CD

    This is an honest suggestion but by an innocent school leaver. The guy has yet to go into the world or jungle and learn one or 2 things. There are sharks and piranhas out there not to talk about wolves in sheep’s skin , out rip people off, like Strive Masiyiwa and his notoriously expensive Econet. You see guys like Strive Masiyiwa are no better than Mafia bosses who steal and defraud by the night and and shower Charity organisation with crumbs (left overs) by day inviting the full press so that they can get undue respect.

    Off cause have no interest in telling you that the bundle is finishing off because that’s the trick on how they make their dirty money. Oh yes you may think that you are making a good suggestion by pointing out something that they did not know about and save the public, but the systems was actually designed that way and they compensate and make more from the defrauding system than the cheaper bundle.

    Your best bat is just to buy a bundle and keep no credit in your phone.

  5. Tom

    Telecel sends an sms notification when your data baundle gets finished

    1. ricross

      Its all about the service!!

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