Melon wants to change mobile in South Africa

The concept of the eSIM has been around for a while, as a software equivalent to the SIM cards that most of us have in our phones. It has proven its worth especially for international roaming, making it possible to sign up to global mobile services without having to buy a SIM card.

One of the best options in this field, the KnowRoaming, eSIM, has been evolving since its launch as software SIM in 2016. Not entirely coincidentally, the company behind it was founded by a South African, Greg Gundelfinger. Based in Canada, he led the acquisition of a small US mobile operator, Telna, to give KnowRoaming access to networks worldwide. It now operates as Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in 22 countries, meaning that it piggybacks on local operators’ networks without having to invest in infrastructure.

In South Africa, MVNOs have had a rough time, with Virgin Mobile a high-profile failure despite signing up close to a million users. Brands like FNB Connect and Mr P Mobile have shown that it can be successfully targeted at existing customer bases, while Me&You Mobile demonstrated the appeal of flexible offerings.

Now both the MVNO and eSIM concept will be part of a new offering from a start-up that aims to change the mobile game.

Melon Mobile, which will launch on Thursday (13 April), claims to be Africa’s first truly digital telco, offering full flexibility for customers, from building their plans, to trying before they buy, to changing the plan on the fly. The name of the company, which will piggyback on the MTN network, comes from the concept of users being able to “slice the melon your way”.

However, it is not technology that will differentiate Melon Mobile, but the human touch.

Founder and CEO Calvin Collett, formerly an MTN executive, says that service is the key to winning customers from other operators. While the bottom-end of the market is highly price sensitive and the top-end highly service-sensitive, Melon will be targeting the middle tiers that are both price- and service-sensitive. The emphasis, however, will be on human service

“When people talk about digital, they immediately talk of removing humans from the process. I don’t believe that’s what digital should be. Digital should just mean that most of the processes that are digital are the ones that make sense. Those that don’t make sense, have humans behind them.

“So we have a full contact center but we don’t depend on bots. They have a place, but we have not put in any bots to start with. We will slowly implement them where necessary. When you communicate with us, it will be via telephone, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram messenger, Apple messenger, Google messenger, and you will end up chatting with a human being.”

The basis of the service, and for the claim to digital first-ness, is that the service is entirely managed via its app. To buy a SIM card, one downloads the app, registers, and orders the SIM card. Even the Rica process is completed via the app, through scanning an ID card and taking a selfie.

Shortly, Melon will launch an eSIM option, so that the last vestiges of a physical business vanish.

“We’ve built what we call the first digital MVNO in Africa. What is digital is that it’s completely based on an app and website, so no stores, no packages, and a really simple journey so that you build your own plans.”

The app includes a slider that lets one choose exactly how much data, voice and SMS one wants to buy monthly, rather than having to choose from packages.

“So you can build a plan according to your budget and your requirements. The big differentiator, one, is simplicity. Two, configurability and control. Three, value. We’re not the cheapest, but we don’t want to be.”

* Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee