South African consumers have become accustomed to prices going up, from petrol and food to electronics. For a change prices are heading in the opposite direction, with Vodacom today detailing the price cuts to its data bundles that are impending.

The company also unpacked a range of initiatives that will result in R2.7 billion in additional savings for customers.

More specifically, as of the 1^st of April, the 30 day data bundles will be reduced by 40%, with 1GB data bundles that are valid for one month dropping from R149 to R99. As well, the company noted that discounts will be provided on all 30-day bundles.

 “Following the release of the Competition Commission’s Final Data Market Inquiry Report in December last year, Vodacom decided to engage constructively with the Commission on the issues arising from the report,” explained Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub.

“The agreement struck with the Commission provides us with an opportunity to enter into a Social Contract with the regulators, our customers and the people of South Africa to bring down the cost to communicate and promote digital inclusion. In terms of the agreement, and following confirmation by the Tribunal, Vodacom will introduce price reductions across all its monthly bundles and provide free access to basic internet, essential services and cheaper pricing to the poorest communities. This will promote greater digital inclusion and assist with societal problems in education and unemployment," he continued.

To this end, Vodacom has affirmed that it consolidating all existing zero-rated data services with new essential services aimed at social upliftment into a single platform called “Connect U.”

This, the company elaborated, will form part of its social contract, and will give Vodacom customers the following:

• Free access to job portals, where youth can search for employment and upload their CVs.
• Free educational content such as its e-School platform, which provides CAPS curriculum aligned content from Grades R – 12. 
• Free Health and wellness information through the Mum & Baby platform focused on equipping mothers and caregivers with advice on pregnancy, neonatal and childcare through SMS, educational articles, tutorials, videos and other tools.
• Free access to Facebook Flex, the low data alternative to Facebook that enables customers to stay socially connected.
• Access to two free SMS’s per day to customers, provided they have made a purchase in the past month. These can then  be accessed  on the new portal.
• Further discounted bundle offers will be made available to pre-paid customers in areas where the majority of people live beneath the food poverty line. This, the company asserted, will benefit more than 2000 suburbs and villages.

Another series of offerings that Vodacom detailed included those that are zero-rated. For example, users will have zero-rated access to select government sites to assist members of the public in accessing government services such as Home Affairs, Ambulance Services, Education sites and Government Communication Services.

Also on the cards is a a full zero-rated internet search function powered by Wikipedia, which will allow customers access to the entire Wikipedia database of knowledge free of charge, and free access to other essential information such as local and international headlines, trends and the weather.

“We believe these commitments, as part of our social contract, will go a long way in assisting customers in these tough economic times and driving digital inclusion for all,” concluded Joosub.