Monday, October 30, 2006

PICK 'N PAY THE FIRST TO LAUNCH PRE-PAID INTERNET ACCESS IN SOUTH AFRICA

In its nearly 40 years of operations, Pick 'n Pay has consistently strived to be at the forefront of innovation, providing customers and communities with unique innovations to enhance and enrich their lives. In keeping with that legacy, October 2006 saw Pick 'n Pay announcing the launch of eazySurf, an internet television (iTV) service which provides instant, pre-paid, internet access for Pick 'n Pay customers.

Similar in concept to pre-paid cellular airtime, Pick 'n Pay eazySurf is inexpensive, immediate pre-paid internet access without the normal 12 or 24 month contracts that internet service providers demand. Independent research has indicated that within the cellular market over 90 percent of subscribers are pre-paid customers. Developed exclusively for Pick 'n Pay by a South African company, iSurf.TV, this pre-paid service offers innovative, low-cost, high-value internet access which promises to empower South Africa by bringing the information age to a far broader market.

Aimed at low-income earners, infrequent 'netizens' or the entry level internet market, Pick 'n Pay eazySurf is offered in either Budget and Super surftime options in the form of vouchers which can either be purchased at point of sale tills within Pick 'n Pay nationwide, or, alternatively on the eazySurf website.

Access to a home computer is not a pre-requisite. With a Net.Box 3.6 consol, which is also available throughout Pick 'n Pay retails outlets, and a dial-up telephone line, access to the Internet is immediate, affordable and simple to use. The Net.Box contains an IR keyboard and remote, a printer port, built-in answering and fax machine and is compatible with all television sets. Costs of telephone calls or connections are not included for these dial-up accounts.

The General Manager for Corporate Marketing at Pick 'n Pay, Ms Tessa Chamberlain heralded this innovation. "Pick 'n Pay has a heritage of being passionate about the rights of its customers, and eazySurf will signify a revolution of the Internet industry in South Africa," she said. "eazySurf provides instant internet accesswhich makes it more accessible, and, most importantly, it requires no fixed contract".

"It is essential that South African entrepreneurs, students and our youth in general are empowered by being exposed to the information age; eazySurf is the means by which a broader base can now have access to the Internet," said Ms Chamberlain.

The Budget surftime option that eazySurf offers enables users to surf daily between 00h00 and 19h00, while the Super surftime option provides full internet access 24 hours a day. Both options include 4 email addresses and vouchers are valid for a month. A national Customer Support desk is administered by iSURF.TV for online support and registration queries.

"It really is a revolution of cyber proportions," said Ms Chamberlain.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just checked the eazysurf.co.za website. I have to say that for a product that is launched by a big corporation like Pick'n'Pay, it's rather badly done. First there is no description of the product. There is no description of the options, there are no contact forms except for registering. I am not sure how good this product is supposed to be and how serious PnP is about it. As a matter of fact, I cannot believe that at this point of time, people still build useless websites with no information whatsoever on them.

An example of a good and informative website would be virginmobile.co.za.

Who ever designed the eazysurf.co.za website probably has no clue about information architecture and surely did not research enough to understand that people visit a company's website because they need information, not because they want to see a pretty logo.

Regards,

Jean-Paul.

Anonymous said...

I think that the eazySURF website is great. It is not meant to be an informative website, although it provides everything you need to know. The website is straight forward and if Jean-Paul cannot see the description of products, well, then I am sorry he has no place leaving comments like that. The general public pick up flyers in PnP stores which has all the necessary information, so before one leaves bad remarks, check your information.
EazySURF is a fantastic product that is well needed for all Internet surfers. Pre-Paid what a concept and Pick 'n Pay - fantastic website (don't listen to jealous people).

Regards,
Brian B