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Volume 4, January 2005

You’ve seen the ad on TV for Vodafone/Vodacom’s G3 offering—but what is it, and how can it benefit you?

 

The snazzy bright red device slots into your laptop. Comprised of the same basic components as a cell-phone, it enables you to dial-up to the Internet via a network of G3 aerials operating on a different frequency to those of the normal cell-phone networks. This means mobile, wireless links— pretty handy for the businessman on the move. Watch out though: the “foot-print” is not that large since there are not that many 3G aerials in operation yet, and their range is smaller than a normal cell-phone aerial.  Our offices, for example, are in a 3G “hole”, and we get no reception in the office—at all!

 

It certainly does give you a snappy Internet experience, however & normally slow pages download in a blink — a pleasure in a country where we are used to sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting for action! And you can stay on-line for as long as you like — you are paying for amount of data transmitted, not the length of the “call”.

 

Why all the excitement? Basically, Telkom has had a monopoly on telephone lines in SA. In fact, it is still technically illegal to use any technology that would effectively bypass a Telkom land-line—such as Voice Over Internet services. This archaic little bit of legislation falls away early this year, and opens the playing field for some handy new technologies, such as G3!

 

There is only one package on offer from Vodacom at present, and their goal seems to be to lock you into a full 2 year contract before other deals become available in the next few months. Before you buy, also compare offerings from iBurst and Sentech for similar services using different technologies.

 

FINAL VERDICT: great performance in terms of speed, and good value for your money!

 

Please visit our website, www.stylus.co.za for more news, links to some of our clients’ sites, and demos of some of the goodies mentioned above.

Remember that we offer a full range of services, from hardware to software, from databases to graphic design, customized training to good-old fashioned advice! And we serve a mean cup of coffee! So pop around in the new year for a demo, or let us come to you for a free evaluation.

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 Questions, comments or contributions? E-mail info@stylus.co.za or call 0844233359