Vodacom can charge South Africas R10 per MB for WhatsApp calls = R4 per minute
They're not actually doing it but they applied to ICASA for it and it is included in the terms and conditions so subscribers want to keep an eye open for this. If it happens they may want to use a different messenger service that fully encrypts the transmissions and should not reveal the type of traffic being transmitted. True end-to-end encryption should only show SSL traffic flowing. How would the ISP know what is in that encrypted SSL traffic?
"Vodacom’s terms and conditions give it the right to charge more for VoIP traffic – like WhatsApp and Skype calls – on its network compared to the normal mobile data rate. The company also lodged a tariff of R10 per MB for VoIP traffic with ICASA several years ago."
Vodacom explained that VoIP data calls are currently charged at normal data rates rather than standard voice rates. Through these terms and conditions, however, Vodacom “reserves the right to change this should we deem it appropriate from a business perspective”.
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Vodacom can charge you R10 per MB for WhatsApp calls Vodacom’s terms and conditions give it the right to charge high rates for VoIP traffic. |