Samsung to give SA users free Wi-Fi for a year

If you had any doubts as to Samsung’s desire to stay top of the smartphone pile, check this out. The South Korean electronics giant has announced that it will be giving its South African users 1GB of free Wi-Fi access a month.

The offer is part of a deal with roaming Wi-Fi provider AlwaysOn.

“We live in the connected age and it makes sense for Samsung to incorporate a service offering that combines innovative mobile devices with national wireless connectivity,” said Craige Fleischer, director of Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics South Africa.

The deal, which will be extended to all Samsung devices bought in the country over the past three years, represents a potential boon for the manufacturer. Despite a series of price wars between South Africa’s mobile operators, data remains pretty expensive in the country.

As features become less important when distinguishing between different mobile phone models, it becomes imperative for the manufactures to find other ways to lure people into using their products.

“This offering is our way of thanking our local customers for their loyal support. It is also indicative of our investment in expanding the Samsung eco-system of service offerings for a more integrated experience for our consumers,” said Fleischer.

AlwaysOn has over 1 000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country, meaning there will be plenty of places to connect.

If you think South Africa’s status as an emerging market country means it’s not that hungry for data, bear in mind that it has a rapidly growing middle class and that, without any data incentives on its part, Samsung managed to sell 200 000 of its premium Galaxy SIII phones and you can see why a gig of free data every month looks appealing.