Vodacom made the news again last week, happily, for some good, innovative-tech reasons. Seems like when Multichoice launched DStv Mobile last month, and we assumed this would be the replacement for the much-unloved and uncared for Vodaphone Live! based Mobile TV product, we might have been a tad hasty. To be fair, Vodacom HAD said that the Vodafone live! SKU would be retired, back in March, and they HAD said it would be replaced, and so when we heard about DStv Mobile, we naturally thought…..oh, nevermind. Here’s the news: Vodacom will launch it’s own TV: On Demand product on the 31st July. Curiously, they will also start the DStv Mobile service, on the same day. All a bit confusing, really…

tv-on-demand

If you’re at all interested in this kind of entertainment service, a word to the wise. Take some time to research the difference between “3G streaming TV”, “digital video broadcasting for handheld (DVB-H)” and “TV on demand”. There are some kinks in those cables, and they create significant differences in the product. For instance, as the DStv/Multichoice “fair-use” terms explain, there are limits to the amount of TV you can watch. 45 minutes in a week? That’s not even a Rugby match! Or a Grand Prix…

tv-on-cell-phone

How much does TV:On Demand! cost? R75.00 per month or R20.00 per week. Streaming the content to the customer’s cellphone is zero-rated. (Yay!) To subscribe, SMS ‘ondemand‘ to 31116 (FREE). More good news! Monthly subscribers get the first 30 days free. Weekly subscriber sign-ups, the first week.