MWeb has unleashed a social media campaign to encourage South Africans to demand 'naked ADSL' by voting to remove mandatory landlines with ADSL lines.
The initiative is part of MWeb's “Free the Web” campaign, which was launched last year in order to champion change in the local Internet landscape.
“With uncapped ADSL finally becoming the norm for fixed-line access, the time has come for Free the Web to focus on the next cause,” says CEO of MWeb ISP, Derek Hershaw. “So we're asking consumers to take a stand and call for naked ADSL.”
Hershaw says there are currently three costs associated with having ADSL connectivity in SA, namely the ADSL line rental, the cost of the ADSL data, and the cost of the landline rental from Telkom.
“If they want ADSL, customers are forced to also pay the rental fee for the landline, irrespective of whether they use the line for voice calls.
“Since a landline is not required for ADSL connectivity, naked ADSL calls for Telkom to unbundle landlines from ADSL lines, ensuring that ADSL customers who don't want a telephone line don't end up having to pay for one unnecessarily,” notes Hershaw.
Social power
MWeb Connect GM Carolyn Holgate says by using social media, MWeb is able to engage the public in a two-way conversation regarding naked ADSL.
“It's not just about MWeb raising awareness about naked ADSL, the public are also able to provide input and shape the conversation by commenting on MWeb and Free the Web's Facebook walls, as well as discussions taking place on Twitter and public forums.
“Social media also makes it easy for people to spread the word about naked ADSL by retweeting content, sharing video links and sharing content to their Facebook walls, which allows the cause to 'go viral',” says Holgate.
“In this case, Facebook provides a great interactive platform for people to make their voices heard, by adding their photos to the visual petition. Social media also has great analytic tools which allows MWeb to measure engagement and sentiment, which is useful in measuring the impact of the initiative.”
Being heard
So far, Holgate says the response has been very positive. “We're excited about the growth of our visual petition at www.facebook.com/FreetheWebSA, as well as the fact that #nakedADSL trended on Twitter in Cape Town yesterday. We've also seen growth in the number of Free the Web page likes.
“When engaging via social media, although you set up a platform for people to engage in certain way, the community tends to find a way to show their support in a way that makes sense to them, so you normally see an increase in engagement across a host of channels,” says Holgate.
“In this case, the most important thing to MWeb is that the naked ADSL cause message is heard and shared as widely as possible.”
Holgate adds that social media works best when the topics are relevant and authentic.
“People want to get involved when the cause or campaign looks to add real value, and when it gives them tools or mechanisms which they can use to further engage with their own networks.”
South Africans can support the campaign via an “appeal mosaic” (created with the profile pictures of all the campaign's supporters) on the Naked ADSL Facebook tab. They can also follow the campaign via the @FreeTheWebSA handle on Twitter, and by using the #NakedADSL hashtag.
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