VOD Communications, based in Centurion, have launched a fully managed, in-vehicle WiFi offering, which includes user management, on-boarding, full analytics stack and the ability to limit data usage on their Cradlepoint hardware platform, as well as on the cloud-based on-boarding platform.

According to VOD Communication's Sales and Marketing Director, Bennie Warnich, "Free WiFi is a very contentious issue. Very few clients actually understand the risks and costs associated with providing passengers with a free WiFi solution. We have been able to build a full end-to-end solution, that provides redundancy via our Cradlepoint IBR1100 product range which uses dual SIM cards. Cradelpoint's NetCloud provides full manageability, inclusive of GPS as well as dual band WiFi in vehicle. This provides additional connectivity for telematics and monitoring services, whilst giving passengers WiFi access through our cloud based on-boarding platform."

The business model for WiFi often requires for paid for services, which requires additional payment gateways & authentication, which is integrated into our solution. Free WiFi is only sustainable if combined with a social funding programme, or if augmented with an additional revenue stream.

VOD also provides a fully managed and maintained advertising platform, which is cloud based and requires minimal 3G/4G/LTE data for new content uploads.

The solution is not limited to mobility, and can be used in retail and food outlets to promote specials, quickly update menu's and provide further dynamic content such as RSS news feeds, weather forecasts etc. This, combined with rich data analytics inclusive of customer demographics, provides a very powerfull marketing tool, enabling increased customer retention and a deep understanding of your customer's spending patterns.

For further information, please contact Bennie Warnich at bennie@vodcs.co.za