Financial services and insurance group Liberty has become the second local client of Affinity, the UK-based provider of branded free Internet access.
Liberty says it has distributed more than 11 000 CDs with access software to agents, brokers, staff and business partners.
M-Web, the largest paid-for Internet service provider in SA, has lambasted Absa Bank for offering free access to the general public, saying the free model is unstable and damaging. Liberty, however, says it has no plans to offer services to the general public.
"We see the free Internet service as an ideal platform to build brand awareness among our business partners," says Lee Izikowitz, CIO of Liberty. The company has included a "web wizard" tool in its offering, which is aimed at allowing brokers with little Internet-savvy to have their own Web sites up and running in a few minutes.
"The tool will assist advisers to create their own individual Web sites that their clients can access at their leisure and obtain information," says Izikowitz.
Web pages are hosted on free server space, also provided by Affinity. Liberty staffers say the web wizard will only assist brokers in establishing a very basic one-page Web site on the available 10MB.
Affinity is on record as saying that several other local companies are interested in its services, and that more clients are expected to join in the near future.
Related stories:
Free Internet access debate continues as Absa responds to M-Web
M-Web slates free Internet, Affinity responds
Share