Vodacom social network goes global

Following successful launches last year in Nigeria and Tanzania, as of today people worldwide can access the mobile chat and content sharing features of The Grid service, Vodacom said.

Up to now the two million existing members of The Grid in South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania – were only able to chat and share content with other Grid members from their own country.

Members could also chat to their Google Talk, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger contacts from The Grid.

Vodacom says that with the new release, Grid members (irrespective of country or network operator) can become friends, chat to each other or share, rate and comment on photos and videos posted by the community.

The Grid was originally launched in South Africa in 2008. In 2009 The Grid launched into both Tanzania and Nigeria which Vodacom says are both developing African countries with high volumes of mobile web traffic.

The international expansion will make it possible for anyone with a cellphone to sign up and join the social network at no subscription cost. According to Vodacom operations will be based in South Africa with the infrastructure hosted locally by Vodacom Business in their Midrand Data Centre.

“By making The Grid available to everyone everywhere, we’re harnessing the full power of the mobile web to create a truly global meeting place,” said Phillip Boshielo, Executive Head at Vodacom Ventures.

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