Vodacom offers prepaid subscribers contract rates

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 03 Aug 2006

Vodacom has made available a once-off voucher which allows prepaid subscribers to enjoy postpaid contact rates for a year.

By purchasing the Big Bonus voucher for R899, customers receive guaranteed airtime of R75 every 30 days, for 12 months, the mobile operator says.

The benefit is customers get contract-like rates with savings of up to 33%, without the complication of credit and contractual vetting, says Shameel Joosub, Vodacom SA`s MD.

The biggest saving of 33% is made when making on-net peak calls, where 4U subscribers pay R2.99 per minute and Big Bonus subscribers pay R1.99 per minute.

Joosub notes once the R75 airtime credit is depleted, users can recharge with regular prepaid vouchers and still enjoy the benefits of contract call rates, he says.

Complications

Communications Users Authority of SA (CUASA) spokesman Ray Webber says while consumers always welcome choice, the offering is complicating the process for customers when trying to decide which package offers the best value.

Firstly, users should consider that unlike the contract subscribers, they still have to purchase their own phones, he says. They should also consider whether the saving they gain from paying an upfront fee is worth the interest they would have gained if they kept the money in the bank and purchased R75 value of airtime every month.

"If you had the R899 to buy airtime upfront, why not just opt for a postpaid contract?" he adds.

Webber concedes the voucher would be useful for high-usage prepaid customers who are unable to get a contract due to credit problems.

It will probably bring mobile costs down, but Vodacom is also assured of guaranteed revenue from customers who take up the package, he says.