Rain’s Revolution: Is the Telco Giant on the Brink of Annihilating the Competition?
Behind the scenes of South Africa’s telecommunications sector, a stealthy operator is secretly building a mobile empire. Unbeknownst to the masses, Rain, a former fixed-wireless specialist, has been quietly forging a formidable mobile product – Rain Mobile – designed to tear apart the stranglehold of legacy players.
Rain’s aggressive new strategy unleashes a 4G Sim offering a staggering 2GB of data, 60 minutes of talktime, and 100 SMSes for the astonishingly low price of R165 per month on a month-to-month contract. This means Rain is snatching control of the market at a 40% discount of its competitors. But is this calculated gamble doomed to fail, or will Rain successfully disrupt the status quo?
The true extent of Rain’s insidious intentions is revealed in its novel use of 4G/LTE technology, bypassing 2G and 3G altogether. They’re not relying on VoLTE (voice-over-LTE), like WhatsApp, but adopting the tech for high-definition voice services – a bold experiment that either spells doom or heralds the rise of a new era. To top it off, RainMobile users will get a dedicated RainTalk app for making voice calls, eroding any remaining loyalty between consumers and old-school operators.
How far is Rain willing to go in this revolution? Will they stop at nothing to displace the likes of Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom? One thing’s certain – their bold move won’t sit well with the corporate giants of the industry.
