MTN brings Internet connectivity to its feature phone market

MTN has introduced MTN SurferLite, a pilot project that promises to provide customers with feature phones access to the Internet at minimal cost. The MTN SurferLite platform is another innovative solution that allows customers easy access to relevant digital information and entertainment on feature and Java-enabled phones.

Explains Peter Malebye, MTN SA General Manager: "The MTN SurferLite application provides an introductory data service to the digital world to customers by delivering an affordable experience that allows non-Internet customers access to content that is otherwise only available on an Internet-enabled phone."

The MTN SurferLite solution will provide mass market consumers with access to news, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, MTN Football, NBA Scores, Dictionary, Translations, Love Quotes, Sudoku and much more. It is planned to extend the capabilities of the platform in future to also include accessibility to e-gov services, local health- and education-related matters, job search and others.

Says Malebye: "We recognise the gap between current content access solutions available in the market and what consumers really need: simplicity, affordability and relevance. We are piloting this service because it is an end-to-end solution that is tailored to the local needs of our consumers and also has the flexibility to grow with them. With this platform, we hope to address the growing needs for access to basic Internet content by a large portion of the South African population while leveraging other broadband technologies that MTN has built."

"We are pleased to have been selected by MTN to showcase the capabilities of our platform for the benefit of South Africans by empowering them to take full advantage of the capabilities of their mobile devices, especially for practical daily needs. Our goal is to make access to mobile content, information and services available to all people regardless of device or delivery channel, and by partnering with MTN, we are undoubtedly making a giant leap towards accomplishing this objective," says Guy Kamgaing, Mobile-XL CEO.

MTN SurferLite is another step towards bridging the digital divide and is taking our customers closer to achieving 2020 broadband vision.