By Staff Writer
In a bid to make it easier for customers to access content in the most affordable way, Vodacom is working with YouTube to launch YouTube Smart Offline.
This service allows Vodacom’s Android customers to schedule video downloads overnight (between 00:00 and 05:00). With YouTube Smart Offline, customers can save on data costs by purchasing Vodacom’s lower priced ‘Night Owl Bundles’ when downloading their favourite videos. The service is currently available to Prepaid and Hybrid customers with contract bundles expected to launch in the next couple of months.
“We have always emphasised that our competitive advantage lies in the superiority of our network and the significant investment we have made over the years. It is as a result of such investments that we are able to bring our 37 million customers value added services and new offerings like YouTube Smart Offline and the associated lower bundled offers,” says Zunaid Mahomed, Group Digital and Fixed Services Officer.
“With YouTube Smart offline, we make it more cost effective for our customers to access content at significantly faster download speeds.”
By using YouTube Smart Offline, customers do not need to worry about data connections, buffering and extra data charges. The content that customers download is available for their enjoyment within 48hrs.
How it works:
Step One
- Find a YouTube video you’d like to watch.
- Tap the ‘Offline’ icon to schedule it to be saved overnight.
Step Two
- Choose the video resolution, then select ‘Save overnight’ to use your Night Owl Data between midnight and 5am.
Step Three
- Keep your cellphone data on at night and your videos will download automatically while you snooze.
Step Four
- To access videos or playlists that have been added to Offline, tap on ‘Saved Videos’ in the account tab of the YouTube mobile app.
For the best experience, customers should consider the purchase of a Night Owl Data bundle.
