More Than 300 Million Users with Free Mobile Internet Access
In 2020 Via Upstream
- 10 operators offer more than 41 million hours of free
browsing in emerging markets via Upstream’s free ad-funded mobile portal – up
to 97% user penetration
- Zero-D boosts data upselling by as much as 19% - 4.2 billion
ad impressions to users who would otherwise be offline
314 million mobile users in eight countries enjoyed over
3.4 petabytes of free mobile data during 2020 via Upstream’s Zero-D portal.
Mobile operators like Vivo in Brazil and Vodacom in South Africa, having
deployed Zero-D, offered 41 million hours of browsing or 6.9 million hours of
video streaming to their users during a year when
connectivity was crucial for people to stay informed, entertained and in touch
with their loved ones.
Upstream’s ad-funded free mobile
internet portal, Zero-D, was deployed by 10 mobile operators across eight
emerging markets, including Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Ghana and Kenya in
2020. In 2021, Upstream expects its connectivity portal to reach over 400
million users, as it has already launched in Nigeria and is now planning to
partner with the largest mobile operator in the country, as well as to further
expand in Tunisia.
Zero-D is a core component of the
company’s multichannel customer acquisitions and engagement platform, designed
to help mobile operators keep their users connected to the internet, even when
they have run out of data. This is critical in emerging markets where a lack of
fixed-line infrastructure combined with high mobile data costs often leaves
users digitally stranded. The portal allows users to access basic internet
services such as news, email, messaging apps and government services, helping
operators increase customer retention and engagement as well as upsell data
packages.
In Kenya the portal ranks first
among all local websites (.ke domain) and third among all websites in terms of
monthly web traffic while in South Africa it ranks second among local websites
(.za domain) and twelfth among all websites. During the past year, mobile
operators used the portal to ensure critical health information about the
pandemic reached everybody. According to data from South Africa “health” has
been ranked the top “news category” and all the top queries are related to the
pandemic, for example “when will schools open?” and “What is
Coronavirus?”. The 2020 South African launch of Zero-D, branded ConnectU, is a prime example of the portal’s
potential as a sustainability gateway; it offers free access to health info,
news and a job search functionality and is, according to the operator, “part of
their global commitment to make billions of lives better by providing vital
information and services for free to all their customers”.
This has resulted in the free mobile
platform scoring extremely high in terms of user engagement and satisfaction.
97% of mobile users surveyed in Kenya believe that their operator “cares more
for its end-users” by providing Zero-D. According to available data, Zero-D posts a very high Net
Promoter Score, exceeding 60%, whereby average NPS
in telecoms ranges between 25-35%.
Users across markets engage with the
free portal where available. In Tunisia, a staggering 97 percent of mobile
subscribers have been engaging with Zero-D. Similarly, in South Africa, more
than 92 percent of the operator’s subscribers accessed the internet via
ConnectU. Mobile operators in Brazil and Tunisia reported an eight and nine
percent increase in the upselling of data. In Indonesia, the partnering MNO
experienced around double those rates, with 19 out of every 100 Zero-D sessions
ending in a data purchase. It is noted that, in an emerging market, if 100
mobile users run out of data, only 5 of them are likely to top-up immediately.
The platform’s success with customer
engagement also led to more than 4.2 billion ad impressions throughout the
year, allowing Upstream’s mobile operator partners to earn advertising revenue
from users that would otherwise have been offline and unable to connect. It is
noted that one of the features of the portal is data rewards advertising,
allowing customers to top up by watching ads, earning impressions and views for
the advertisers.
Upstream Deputy CEO, Kostas
Kastanis, believes that free internet access has a critical role to play in
bridging the digital divide. He commented: “During
a most challenging year, mobile network operators went to great lengths to keep
economies and people connected. Affecting real change top operators like Vivo,
and Vodacom are offering free internet access to those unable to top up keeping
them connected in trying circumstances. Doing good they are also uncovering
new revenue streams that might otherwise be out of reach. We’re already
planning to go live with Zero-D with a second operator in Tunisia and will be
launching the service with Nigeria’s largest mobile network operator soon.”
In 2020 Upstream’s Zero-D portal won
in the Customer Engagement category at the Fierce Innovation Awards - Telecom
Edition. It also picked up three International Business Awards at The Stevies
for Best Telecommunications Product, Service & Mobile Operations Management
Solution, and was nominated at the GLOMO Awards for Best Mobile Innovation For
Emerging Markets in the Tech 4 Good category.
Source: Upstream media announcement