Vodacom announces free voicemail service

Vodacom`s 1,1 million contracted and prepaid subscribers will get free access to their voicemail from July 1, the network operator announced today. Vodacom Group chief executive Alan Knott-Craig said many subscribers spent up to 10% of their cellphone bills on retrieving messages. "Free voicemail should be a significant benefit to our subscribers. On an average weekday our voicemail platforms handle some 1,4 million calls. Vodacom also announced a new tariff plan, Weekender Plus, which has 20 minutes more free airtime than Weekender Standard. There is no cost to upgrade to the Plus plan and the Standard plan will be phased out by January 1999. However, only subscribers to the Plus plan will enjoy free voicemail. Mr Knott-Craig said prepaid customers currently account for almost two thirds of Vodacom`s new business. "For many of these cellphone users, their voicemail is often their only reliable address." In order to cope with the expected dramatic increase in the use of voicemail, Vodacom has installed five new voicemail platforms at a cost of R25 million, with another seven platforms at a cost of R35 million on order. "This gives each of our 1,1 million subscribers a `virtual` postbox for free. About 70% of our customers currently use their voicemail and we have launched an educational campaign to show them how to use this free service. "As it is, Vodacom`s voicemail platforms are already among the most active among GSM cellular networks in the world. Our network is by far the largest outside Europe and one of the 20 largest networks in the world. In total, there are some 60 million GSM users on 153 networks worldwide," Mr Knott-Craig said. Asked if he expected a surge in subscribers with the announcement of free voicemail, Mr Knott-Craig said Vodacom was currently connecting new subscribers at a rate of about 80 000 per month. "However, our market research shows that free voicemail would be a powerful incentive for people who were already considering buying a cellphone. The South African market is far from saturated and the total potential number of users could be as big as 10 million. "Increasingly we find that people are buying cellphones for their personal safety. And because the cost of the handsets has decreased rapidly, there are more people per household using them. "For people in the previously disadvantaged areas cellular has become a viable means of communication and free voicemail should make it even more affordable for them," Mr Knott-Craig said.