South African Mobile Operator offers free internet access on campuses
Cell C a mobile operator in South Africa is offering students from universities across South Africa university free access websites in a bid to assist them to access course material necessary to complete the year.
“We know students are facing a tough time at the moment, and many need to gain access to course material through their university’s online portal in order to complete their academic year. Zero-rating access is our way of assisting students,” says Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos.
Cell C is in the process of contacting universities and will implement a reverse bill on their website URLs. Cell C will absorb the cost to allow students to access academic content for free. This means that even if students are off campus, they will be able to access the university website at no cost. A list of the participating institutions will be updated and published on Cell C’s website.
“Cell C will ensure that this service is available to students until the end of the academic year,” says Dos Santos.
This service will complement the free basic internet services, including Wikipedia and other information-based sites, that are already available exclusively to Cell C’s customers free of charge through Facebook’s FreeBasics (Internet.org).
