MTN is getting social. The Johannesburg-headquartered cellular telecommunications group has signed an agreement with US-based social networking service Facebook.
The deal will see the two companies introduce a new mobile version of Facebook at 0.facebook.com — and mobile users won’t have to pay any Web browsing or data access charges to take advantage of the service.
It’s seen as a move by Facebook to increase its presence in emerging markets, where most users are expected to access the Web for the first time not on computers but on mobile phones.
The new mobile website is optimised for speed — it is faster and more lightweight that Facebook’s existing mobile site, m.facebook.com.
The site does not serve up graphics or photos and the site’s pages have been optimised for use on MTN’s network, the two companies say. Standard data charges will apply when a person leaves 0.facebook.com to view photos.
The service will be available to all 123m MTN subscribers in the 21 territories in which it operates in Africa and the Middle East is already available in eight of the 21 territories in which MTN operates, and will be expanded to others over time. — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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