Guys, you are not going to believe this… Telkom has gone and done something pretty freaking awesome. It’s called LIT and it’s… actually, the name speaks for itself.
We’re not really being fair though. Telkom, or at least the gaming and internet arm of the company, has been rather on the ball of late, rolling out new services and actually getting things done at a decent clip. LIT seems to be the next step in their Grand Internet Plan (patent pending).
Telkom’s LIT service is a zero-rating system that will let FreeMe 2GB users, as well as those who are on larger packages (because not to do so wouldn’t make sense) stream lots and lots of things. IT consists of two sections: LIT Music and LIT Video. If you need us to explain what those options consist of, we’re going to be very disappointed. But… some explanation is perhaps in order.
LIT Music will allows qualifying users (the FreeMe 2GB package or better) to stream music, from so-called (and with good reason) select content partners, without using any data. LIT Video (for users with the FreeMe 5GB package or better) is the same thing, with similar conditions, but for video content. Video partners are Showmax, Netflix, YouTube and Google Play, a selection which neatly ensures that you’ll never see daylight or other people ever again. Music partners consist of Google Play Music, Apple Music and Simfy Africa. We’re missing Spotify from this list but we’re okay with that.
Telkom does note that you’ll still need to pay your subscription fee to Netflix and the like. They’re just covering the data costs.
There’s a third part of LIT still to come, called LIT TV. Telkom says that this is a “…media box which allows customers to transform their TV into a smart TV, with pre-loaded content channels from our content providers”. It’ll be available to Telkom Unlimited ADSL, Fibre and LTE SmartBroadband users some time in September. There will be a charge for the media box needed for this service — it’ll run existing subscribers an extra R50 per month, or a one-off R1,099 payment. New subscribers to Telkom’s Unlimited Home 8 and 10MBps ADSL and Fibre offerings will get one free.
The first two sections, LIT Music and Video, are right around the corner, though. The service will launch on 1 September and will be included with their respective internet packages. No extra charge involved. Um… yeah, that’s pretty lit.