Staying informed isn’t free. It costs you something, whether your news comes from a newspaper, TV station, or social media. For many, that cost is mobile data. Vodacom and SABC have partnered up to remove that cost for any Saffas accessing SABC News and Education channels via SABC+.
Your mobile data can rest easy
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) announced the zero data cost initiative for Vodacom customers in a post on X. “Stay informed without the worry. Vodacom users can now access trusted news on SABC+ with zero data cost, keeping you connected to the stories that matter,” it said.
That means streaming 7de Laan will still rack up a data cost, while the platform’s live news and education channels will remain free. There’s more than enough educational content to sift through, most of which stems from the corporation’s deal with Microsoft, which kicked off in January of this year.
Read More: Microsoft teams up with the SABC to bring free AI training to South Africans
That partnership arrived in the form of short training videos on SABC+. Topics range from everything AI — ‘What is Generative AI?’ — to ‘The Evolution of search’. These videos, however, appear not to be eligible for the scheme. Vodacom’s announcement explicitly states that the zero data cost applies to channels on the platform.
It’s not exactly clear which channels on SABC+ (Android/iOS) will spare your data from consumption. Our device, bearing a Vodacom SIM, managed to stream SABC News without issue. We’ve reached out to Vodacom to determine which channels are exempt from data charges and will update this article once we hear back.
