Ugandans to access free airtime
DO you own a mobile phone? Are you on a prepaid account? Soon, you will be able to get free airtime courtesy of a local company, K2 Research Uganda Limited.
By Davis Weddi
DO you own a mobile phone? Are you on a prepaid account? Soon, you will be able to get free airtime courtesy of a local company, K2 Research Uganda Limited.
The free airtime will be used on any network in Uganda — Celtel, Warid, MTN or Mango. Under the brand name Zoreka, mobile phone subscribers will soon benefit from the promotion dubbed Zoreka Thank U Airtime.
At a press briefing recently, K2-Research announced it was establishing airtime hot spots countrywide to tackle poverty.
“Our key focus has been on poverty which is an impossible problem to solve with all the science and technology advancement. The world has become a global village, but how come poverty is still a problem?†Mukunzi asks.
“Airtime hot spots make it possible for the public to access free airtime, just as the public can access free Internet from Internet hot spots,†the company’s general manager, Frank Mukunzi, says.
“Airtime hot spots use airtime as a medium of exchange to enable the public sell their consumer loyalty to vendors of various products and services,†he adds.
Mukunzi says the developed world is not interested in solving poverty problems in the developing countries. He cites organisations such as the Wolrd Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Western countries never utilised the services of the IMF and World Bank in order to develop. Governments in the developing world are trapped because of the conditions set by these bodies when giving out loans,†he argues.
Mukunzi says if something is to be done about this “trapâ€, it should not be part of the Government’s work, so the IMF and World Bank cannot intervene or disrupt a programme that solves poverty.
“We should look at the poverty stricken people. They have the solution. This is actually what airtime hot spots intend to solve,†he adds.
The hot spots are based on one principle — the advantage of backwardness, which Ugandans can use to get out of poverty,†he asserts.
Mukunzi says characteristics of developing countries include consumerism, characterised by scramble for markets. This gives the poor an advantage of the power to “chooseâ€.
“If you are able to choose something and identify where you want to buy it from, this is referred to as customer loyalty. It is this loyalty that every vendor is dying for,†he observes.
According to Mukunzi, airtime hot spots are not only designed to give free airtime to the public, but also to enable them communicate. He says the vendors and shop owners pay for this airtime. Companies usually impose the costs on the customer, but if you bring into the market such a variable where people collect free airtime coupons, suppliers will foot the costs.
“You could get people to earn free airtime and in the long run (say five years), depending on how the variables have been measured, you could get free expensive service such as university education and health insurance,†Mukunzi explains.
Mukunzi says incentives such as airtime hot spots have a positive impact on the economy. They could reduce the Government’s expenditure on services like medical care and education. Vendors who value their customers will have to take advantage of the hot spots. This requires vendors to get the free airtime coupons of Zoreka Thank U Airtime and give them out to their loyal customers in appreciation.
When a customer receives a coupon, he or she would have to send an sms comprising the serial number, voucher code and network code (MTN 077, CELTEL 075, WARID 070 and MANGO 071,) to 0753430780.
The sender will receive a reply confirming receipt of the information as well as an airtime code which he or she should send their respective telecom company.
Thereafter, one receives the airtime credit on their telephone number. However, much as this model is meant to end poverty, it has a competing model, cheap airtime that is being sold by all networks.
DO you own a mobile phone? Are you on a prepaid account? Soon, you will be able to get free airtime courtesy of a local company, K2 Research Uganda Limited.
The free airtime will be used on any network in Uganda — Celtel, Warid, MTN or Mango. Under the brand name Zoreka, mobile phone subscribers will soon benefit from the promotion dubbed Zoreka Thank U Airtime.
At a press briefing recently, K2-Research announced it was establishing airtime hot spots countrywide to tackle poverty.
“Our key focus has been on poverty which is an impossible problem to solve with all the science and technology advancement. The world has become a global village, but how come poverty is still a problem?†Mukunzi asks.
“Airtime hot spots make it possible for the public to access free airtime, just as the public can access free Internet from Internet hot spots,†the company’s general manager, Frank Mukunzi, says.
“Airtime hot spots use airtime as a medium of exchange to enable the public sell their consumer loyalty to vendors of various products and services,†he adds.
Mukunzi says the developed world is not interested in solving poverty problems in the developing countries. He cites organisations such as the Wolrd Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Western countries never utilised the services of the IMF and World Bank in order to develop. Governments in the developing world are trapped because of the conditions set by these bodies when giving out loans,†he argues.
Mukunzi says if something is to be done about this “trapâ€, it should not be part of the Government’s work, so the IMF and World Bank cannot intervene or disrupt a programme that solves poverty.
“We should look at the poverty stricken people. They have the solution. This is actually what airtime hot spots intend to solve,†he adds.
The hot spots are based on one principle — the advantage of backwardness, which Ugandans can use to get out of poverty,†he asserts.
Mukunzi says characteristics of developing countries include consumerism, characterised by scramble for markets. This gives the poor an advantage of the power to “chooseâ€.
“If you are able to choose something and identify where you want to buy it from, this is referred to as customer loyalty. It is this loyalty that every vendor is dying for,†he observes.
According to Mukunzi, airtime hot spots are not only designed to give free airtime to the public, but also to enable them communicate. He says the vendors and shop owners pay for this airtime. Companies usually impose the costs on the customer, but if you bring into the market such a variable where people collect free airtime coupons, suppliers will foot the costs.
“You could get people to earn free airtime and in the long run (say five years), depending on how the variables have been measured, you could get free expensive service such as university education and health insurance,†Mukunzi explains.
Mukunzi says incentives such as airtime hot spots have a positive impact on the economy. They could reduce the Government’s expenditure on services like medical care and education. Vendors who value their customers will have to take advantage of the hot spots. This requires vendors to get the free airtime coupons of Zoreka Thank U Airtime and give them out to their loyal customers in appreciation.
When a customer receives a coupon, he or she would have to send an sms comprising the serial number, voucher code and network code (MTN 077, CELTEL 075, WARID 070 and MANGO 071,) to 0753430780.
The sender will receive a reply confirming receipt of the information as well as an airtime code which he or she should send their respective telecom company.
Thereafter, one receives the airtime credit on their telephone number. However, much as this model is meant to end poverty, it has a competing model, cheap airtime that is being sold by all networks.