BUSINESS OF
MOBILE DATA LOYALTY SCHEMES
FIRST COMMERCIAL 5G NETWORK
RAIN, SOUTH Africa’s mobile data-only network operator, yesterday announced at the 2019 Mobile World Congress that it had launched the first 5G commercial network in South Africa in partnership with Huawei. Huawei said in a statement this move had made South Africa one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G.
“With Huawei’s end-to-end 5G solutions, Rain has been able to build the 5G network using its 3.6GHz spectrum,” it said. In the first phase of the roll-out, Rain had deployed 20 new base stations in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Rain Group chief executive Willem Roos said: “The network will provide fibre-like speeds without the installation complexities, time delays and cost of laying fibre in under-serviced areas.”
Shi Jilin, the president of Huawei Cloud Core Network Product Line, said: “It is an important step working with Rain to build the first 5G network in South Africa. With our solutions, we are committed to working with operators to build futureoriented networks that will give them the maximum value from their investment and give their customers the best user experience.” | Staff Reporter
BUSINESS OF DOUBLE POINTS WITH TYME CARD
SHOPPERS can now earn bonus Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty points everywhere they shop when paying with their TymeBank debit card.
Smart Shopper members currently earn one point for every R2 spent in a Pick n Pay store, but customers can now earn double Smart Shopper points (one point for every R1 spent) when they swipe and pay with their TymeBank debit card at any Pick n Pay till. TymeBank customers will also earn one Smart Shopper point for every R3 spent when paying with their TymeBank card at any vendor.
Kate Leslie, head of Smart Shopper, said customers would earn points on their everyday spend, irrespective of where they shop or what they purchase.
“The TymeBank debit card is automatically linked to Smart Shopper if customers opt into the loyalty programme when signing up for their TymeBank account. The TymeBank card will then double as a Smart Shopper card. Customers need to carry only one card, and will earn bonus Smart Shopper points every time they pay with their TymeBank card,” she said. | Staff Reporter