Vodacom assures BB users on data
2011-09-14 14:39
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Cape Town - Vodacom is working with Research In Motion (RIM) to identify and take action against users who abuse the BlackBerry internet service on the smart devices.
"In the last couple of months we've seen an increasing number of complaints from BlackBerry and when we looked at it, we found a very small number were downloading masses of data," executive head of media relations at Vodacom, Richard Boorman, told News24.
The operator initially said that it would slow the download speed of users who had reached a determined cap, but faced criticism on social networks.
Boorman said that some users exploited loopholes in the BlackBerry service that had an impact on other users not being able to access the network.
"People have found loopholes which allow them to download these massive files. When we say massive, one guy got 310GB in a month."
Functional
Vodacom has decided to engage with RIM to find ways to limit the data that is downloaded.
"It's a positive thing because it's trying to make sure that those few people don't clog up the system so that normal users, using the BlackBerry the way it was intended, can't get their service.
"So what we're going to do instead, is work with Research In Motion to find a solution to prevent the bulk mass downloads," Boorman said.
He assured subscribers that the proposals have not been implemented and the service is functional.
"There is no throttling going on; nobody is having their service slowed down. What we're doing is, we're working with RIM to find that solution."
Vodacom said that they remain committed to stopping users who violate their fair use policy which Boorman said is standard practice around the world.
"There's quite a lot of emotion around this and what we've done is said let's look at this another way: The intention isn't to punish anyone; the intention is to stop these massive bulk downloads."
It is unclear what the abuse of the service has cost the mobile operator and Boorman said that Vodacom's approach was "normal".
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