" ITREALMS: Zain begins free internet access offer

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Zain begins free internet access offer

As the tide for competition takes a new turn, Zain Nigeria, has begun its free Internet access offer to subscribers on the network.

Head, Corporate Communications at Zain Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Oparah, said the offer would last for one month in order to support the operator’s recent launch of Third Generation (3G) data services.

He said that from February 16 through March 15, 2009, subscribers on the network would have the rare chance of activating data services on their handsets and even migrate to its mobile internet offers on their computers.

Zain internet users, he said, would surf the net, access mobile friendly sites, download music and video, make video calls and generally enjoy the internet technology.

He also said the demand for the company’s internet data card and internet-enabled handsets since the launch of the 3G data service on January 28 this year, has been tremendous.

“We thought we should encourage this demand by easing subscription for one month in appreciation to the response,” he said.

Oparah explained that the flexibility of usage gives it a major edge over competition, “because Zain Mobile Internet service plans give users the option to choose their usage preference namely; Pay As You Use; Zain Day; Zain Lite; Zain Plus and Zain Max, where the difference lies in the total number of bytes, hours of usage and cost.”

Enlightening on the Zain Day, Oparah said it has been designed for customers who desire to have access to the internet on a 24 hours basis, while Zain Lite is designed for those that need to have access to internet and emails monthly with their mobile handset.

“‘Zain Plus’ is for subscribers who require moderate internet speed using the GPRS/EDGE technology and ‘Zain Max’ is designed for those who desire to have high speed internet connectivity in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt where the 3G network is available,” he said.

Oparah noted that at the end of the free access period, subscribers will have the opportunity to pick their preferred price plans upon activation of the service.

He further said the availability of the internet service to its subscribers across the country was another major boost to the record uptake of the service, because “all users can conveniently experience the service, no matter where they are in Nigeria.”

Except for video calling, which he said, is currently available to customers in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt presently, all other internet-based services are available wherever the customer may be nationwide.

Equally, he said, to enjoy the free Zain Internet offer, customers who prefer to activate the service on their computer should simply purchase Data cards and a data SIM card at any of the company’s retail outlets across the country.

For those who prefer the use of their mobile handsets, all that is required is to get their SIM cards activated for data services via SMS by simply texting the string – ‘internetphone typephone model’ to 232, and follow the instructions contained in the SMS response.

“We are also encouraging them to take advantage of the Zain Big Bang Promo which provides subscribers an opportunity to own an internet-ready HP Laptop through the HP/Zain Data card bundle promotion financed by Diamond bank,” he said.

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1 comment:

aliyudaku said...

This is very good news. There has always been demand for such a service in Nigeria, it's good that the telecom operators have finnally realised the potential. This will even add up to the about 10 million Nigerians that are already online and bring more potential for aspiring Nigerian web startups. back in 2007 when we started our Internet startup, an African online TV service, it wasn't easy or cheap to get an internet connection set up, and to have a fast connection, you needed to be in Abuja or Lagos. I hope it will be much easier for those that are just starting out.

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