Airtel offers free calls with Zanmi package |25 March 2011

The Zanmi (or Friend) package available to Airtel prepaid clients allows them to make free calls from 6am to 6pm to both prepaid and fixed-line Airtel numbers.

Airtel marketing manager Micky Belle said the offer was conceived for people with one favourite number or more they call a lot during the day, which could be a parent, partner, child or friend.

“People do want to stay in touch with a favourite person, but there are also the issues of affordability and value for money, and after a lot of brainstorming, research and consultations the Zanmi package came into place” he said.

To get the daily package, all one has to do is have a minimum of R26.50 credit available on his phone. To register, a user has to SMS the word “Zanmi” and the Airtel number he wishes to call for free to 9688, which can be either a prepaid or fixed-line number.

Once the message is sent, a registration charge of R25 is automatically deducted, as well as R1.50 for the text, which makes up the total of R26.50 credit needed.

“One can register for more than one number each day, as long as he pays the R25 registration and R1.50 SMS charges each time he registers a number,” said Mr Belle.

“Calls are free from 6am to 6pm, meaning one has 12 hours of free calls per day, although a user can register as early as midnight and at the latest 5pm on the day he wishes to get free calls and can start calling from 6am.”

Users are advised that after 6pm they will be charged at normal local rates, even though the call was started before 6pm – since after that the free offer expires. They will also be charged normal local rates for new calls. 

“For people who wish to buy a new Airtel starter pack, there is a stored credit on the SIM card already, which they can use as their registration fee if they decide to join Zanmi,” said Mr Belle.

“In other words they won’t need to put extra credit on their phone; as soon as they put in their new SIM card, the R26.50 can be deducted straight from the existing credit that came with their starter pack.”

By Ivan Hollanda