The new kid on the mobile service provider block, LTE-A group Rain, has launched new promotional, unlimited mobile data deals that don’t expire. Because non-expiry of data is very cool in Icasa’s book. And it’s pretty cool in our book, too.
Imagine buying a pack of Simba chips and once you’ve finished just half of it, someone from the Spar shows up at your house to take it back. Even though you paid full price for the chips! That’s what Icasa wants to prohibit mobile service providers from doing. Rain wants you to eat all your chips, no matter how long you take to do so.
Relying heavily on offering high consumer satisfaction, Rain is now offering data packages that vary from fifteen days of free unlimited data up to three months’ free unlimited data days. These guys understand what harsh data-pricing has done to people.
“Rain offers consumers one plan: mobile data priced at 5c per meg (R50 per gig). Customers will only pay for data they have used at the end of a month,” the company’s offer says.
The Rain deals mark the commercial launch of the company’s mobile data offering, following the group’s focus on rolling out base stations to service its LTE-A network over the past year. They essentially cover all urban areas at the moment, with plans to cover every inch of SA eventually.
“There are no contract lock-ins, no bundles and no regular monthly fees. Data will never expire and customers will never have to pay expensive out-of-bundle rates. At any time, a Rain customer will be able to set and manage their SIM’s spend-limit, ensuring that they never experience bill-shock.”It’s easy to join the Rain network (just remember to check if you have coverage in your area), but after joining online, a Rain SIM will be delivered straight to a client’s door. Each deal also includes either a router, modem or a smartphone (one of which is the little brother of the P20 Pro — the Huawei P20 Lite). The base package includes three free SIMs.
These free unlimited data days are a way for consumers to test the waters, and see if this is truly what they want from a mobile service provider. You can check the network in your area and see if you can manage with data only (Rain doesn’t offer voice-packages or airtime yet).
But you know there are data-based options that you can use to contact your fam? Ever heard of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype?
Off-peak data will come at an even lower price of R250 per month on their Rain one plan. This will grant you unlimited data usage for 19 hours a day, not counting the hours between 18h00 and 23h00. During peak hours, consumers will pay the standard 5c per meg (R50 per gig).
Finally it feels like consumers have a choice when it comes to data costs, and instead of kicking against Icasa’s “controversial” ruling, Rain has decided to give consumers exactly what they’ve have been asking for for years.
