10GB free data for all won't work, reverse-billing could - Datafree CEO

[Jan]

10GB free data for every South African household — this company has a better plan

Giving South Africans access to services that don’t consume their data using reverse-billing is easier and more sustainable than trying to deliver on the promise of providing every household 10GB free data per month.

This is the view of Datafree and Moya co-founder Gour Lentell, who believes a reverse-billing model — which he calls ‘datafree’ — is the answer to South Africa’s connectivity problems.

 

[backstreetboy]

Nice paid for advert. Afrihost already gives me gigs for free. Why muck about with this app?

 

[BBSA]

I like the idea.

 

[Cactus]

“What the government should be doing is developing a strategy to make a range of crucial services datafree — paying mobile network operators and giving a commercial incentive for networks to stand behind this.”

Agreed. Though you don't need this app to do that. Wikipedia is already whitelisted on most networks to be able to use without data.

Gather a list of useful websites, such as job sites, email, and so forth, go to network operators and make a deal to whitelist those.

 

[Danie_V]

Nice paid for advert. Afrihost already gives me gigs for free. Why muck about with this app?

You mean "not paid for" ad, as paid ads appear as by Partner with comments disabled ;-)

 

[j4ck455]

With reverse mobile data billing, consumers can access content and services for free, with the services, publishers, and content providers covering the costs of the data they use.

Government could then subsidise these data costs rather than administering a broadband grant system, or forcing mobile operators to zero-rate specific platforms and services.

This sounds overly complicated and totally unnecessary: billing in any direction (forwards, backwards, sideways) means invoicing, VAT, government failing to cough up the suggested subsidies, countless disputes, and unpaid content provider bills.

Zero-rating specific services must surely be much easier to manage without creating brazillians (sic) of jobs for Zuma's innumerate illiterati.

If government insists on 10GB free for everyone, take it out of the Gupta communications minister's salary and bonuses.

 

[The_Ogre]

This sounds overly complicated and totally unnecessary: billing in any direction (forwards, backwards, sideways) means invoicing, VAT, government failing to cough up the suggested subsidies, countless disputes, and unpaid content provider bills.

Zero-rating specific services must surely be much easier to manage without creating brazillians (sic) of jobs for Zuma's innumerate illiterati.

If government insists on 10GB free for everyone, take it out of the Gupta communications minister's salary and bonuses.

Buddy, you're overcomplicating things. All they have to do is credit it to the household TV-license BS.

Wait, that would bend the space-time continuum!

/R14m accidental transfer to NSFAS qualification CFO:

Eish

 

[elysian]

It does sound like a great idea, besides the plug. However, how obvious will it be to the "casual" user what counts towards the free data, if they are just using a browser. I love the idea of people having free data to access some decent news sites, learning/info portals, etc. but I know an average guy working here away from his family, who will just use it on porn. lol

Disclaimer: 1 draught down and half a bottle of red so far...

 

[Martin 007]

Excellent workable solution, simple is great, educational sites free, especially school / university programs, scholars in Pofadder should be able to excess free math content / classes.

 

[cavedog]

I don't agree at all. Pushing people to use specific apps or services as part of the free doesn't sit well with me.

We need to give people 10GB free. If they want to use that to learn from youtube videos or stream udemy courses or just take a break by watching some twitch or playing some online games or even work remotely it should be an option.

People are missing out because they don't have money for data so restricting it to these "datafree" services is rubbish.

 

[Swa]

The thing with reverse billing is that everything that's worth it consumes so little data it has almost no effect on the network. The people using it won't be paying for the data anyway so you might as well give it for free. The admin of billing and then collating which user tariff should apply to a session will cost more than the actual data. Then in this day and age it doesn't even cost R10 to provide 10GB of data. This is just networks still keeping costs artificially high. If they can provide 5 SMSes a day for free then surely they can give a few gigs per month for free to every subscriber. The issue is how they're still treating data as a commodity to extort money from people.

 

[Cactus]

I don't agree at all. Pushing people to use specific apps or services as part of the free doesn't sit well with me.

We need to give people 10GB free. If they want to use that to learn from youtube videos or stream udemy courses or just take a break by watching some twitch or playing some online games or even work remotely it should be an option.

People are missing out because they don't have money for data so restricting it to these "datafree" services is rubbish.

I don't think giving freebies is a good idea at all. MTN made Twitter free for a while, and people used it to distribute porn.

You would get far more mileage by zero rating something like Udemy than limit it to 10 GB per month. Imagine taking a 30 hours course on Udemy only to be cut off 5 hours in due to 10 GB limit reached and having to do a week's course over 3 months due to data limitations.

The goal should be to help people get on their feet, not make them dependent on 10 GB free data for the rest of their lives. Teach a man to fish and all that.

 

[Thor]

10GB free data for every South African household — this company has a better plan

Giving South Africans access to services that don’t consume their data using reverse-billing is easier and more sustainable than trying to deliver on the promise of providing every household 10GB free data per month.

This is the view of Datafree and Moya co-founder Gour Lentell, who believes a reverse-billing model — which he calls ‘datafree’ — is the answer to South Africa’s connectivity problems.

False, isn't this like the 10th iteration of this and still the market disagrees

 

[cavedog]

I don't think giving freebies is a good idea at all. MTN made Twitter free for a while, and people used it to distribute porn.

You would get far more mileage by zero rating something like Udemy than limit it to 10 GB per month. Imagine taking a 30 hours course on Udemy only to be cut off 5 hours in due to 10 GB limit reached and having to do a week's course over 3 months due to data limitations.

The goal should be to help people get on their feet, not make them dependent on 10 GB free data for the rest of their lives. Teach a man to fish and all that.

Totally makes sense but where do you draw the line?

People might just want to watch youtube videos on how to do networking or how to paint etc

Free data can help people experience different things they might not always have been able to.

There will always be abuse always you can't win.

 

[Cactus]

Totally makes sense but where do you draw the line?

People might just want to watch youtube videos on how to do networking or how to paint etc

Free data can help people experience different things they might not always have been able to.

There will always be abuse always you can't win.

I don't see why you can't do both. You can give people basic data like 10 GB, it's really not a lot, and at the same time zero rate some resources to actually help them get on their feet. (As long as it's not a gov portal and something that actually works, like Udemy)

 

[CaptainJustice]

No! This limits you to a small selection of services. With the 10gb you choose how to spend it and can access anything. Go home you're drunk

 

[BBSA]

No! This limits you to a small selection of services. With the 10gb you choose how to spend it and can access anything. Go home you're drunk

So who is paying for that 10gb?

 

[Cactus]

So who is paying for that 10gb?

You, the tax payer off course.

 

[BBSA]

You, the tax payer off course.

Off course, and that is the problem.

I'm fine with helping people if it can help them getting educated, but not to watch porn and cat videos.

 

[Cactus]

Off course, and that is the problem.

I'm fine with helping people if it can help them getting educated, but not to watch porn and cat videos.

If you go the 10GB route it creates vast opportunities for so much tendtrepreneurship. You can't just give 10GB to every sim. I'd walk away with almost 100GB per month.

You'd have to create a place where people can apply, have it approved, a system to link up this special sim as a 10GB one, keep track etc.

So much tendtrepreneurship to be had It's a connected individual's wet dream.