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STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS
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 ADAM MESSER, CYBERTWIGA Adam Messer, General Manager, CyberTwiga has launched with Mobitel the first prepaid internet service in Tanzania, and the Africa continent. Marketed under the brand name Tele2 Prepaid Internet, it is available to anyone who has a computer connected to a normal land telephone line.Simply by purchasing a Mobitel Kadi Poa prepaid card, and dialing the prepaid Internet telephone number, customers can use the Internet for as little as $5. Customers are provided with full Internet access and a free E-mail address on Tele2’s web based E-mail service. Commenting on the Tele2 brand, Mobitel’s General Manager, Mr. Jim Bell, said "the introduction of prepaid cellular telephone services resulted in more than 85% of our subscriber base choosing this payment method.Prepaid Internet has the same advantages and savings for Internet users so we are confident that we will see a similar development" >What first led you to launch the new service? Two main considerations:All ISPs charge on a flat rate basis, but our stats showed that most users log on less than 2 hours/week.A pay as you go service would help us own that space.Further, when our JV partner, Mobitel, offered a prepaid cellular platform, it was enormously successful—about 85% of all cellular subs are now on the prepaid platform. We are looking for similar success with the internet. >How do you make it work at the low cost rates offered? Because the service is prepaid, and on a pay for service model, we know in advance what our service (mainly bandwidth) liability is and scale up accordingly.Prepaid users tend to be very parsimonious with their minutes, resulting in less dwell time and greater gateway utilization. >What sort of numbers of people do you think will sign up? Thousands? More? Thousands.Keep in mind that in some areas of Tanzania the cost of a year’s Internet access is more than the cost of a computer.Tele2 prepaid Internet services reduce those costs by 80%. >Who’s the money behind or the owners of Tele2? In Tanzania, Tele2 is an access brand supported by a joint venture between CyberTwiga, and Mobitel.Mobitel’s parent company, Millicom International Cellular, uses Tele2 as an access brand in other regions, and owns the most important wireless broadband provider in the UK called, you guessed it, Tele2. >What’s the overall size of the dial-up market in Tanzania? Currently estimated at 20,000. >Is it still growing or has the growth begun to plateau? Growing >How many other ISPs does CyberTwiga compete with? 10-15 >Why are you different? CyberTwiga is customer-driven, offering a unique suite of services from dialup to HF radio access, as well as a well-engineered broadband network. Support staff are motivated and knowledgeable, because we emphasize human resources and training.Our JV with Mobitel enahnces our infrastructure and extends the depth and range of our services in Dar (representing 60-70% of the market) to up-country regions. >What’s the one thing you’d like the Government or the regulatory authority to do? Not license ISPs and allow us to purchase bandwidth freely. >What’s your favourite web site (other than your own)? Naturally I’m not going to tell you what my favorite web site is, but I look at http://www.meteosat daily. Lately I’ve also been hitting http://www.extremetech.
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This page last updated on January 28 2004.
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