Shine Technologies has signed a deal to provide network-level ad blocking to the 40 million subscribers on the Econet Wireless network across Africa.
The agreement marks the first availability of Shine’s network-level ad control technology in Africa, following a similar agreement with the Three Group in Europe.
An analysis of Econet’s network performance has exposed that the prevalence and unchecked behavior of AdTech is robbing its subscribers of up to 40% of their data plans.
Placing the benefit of its consumers first, the introduction of Shine’s ad blocking technology is seen as a way to help subscribers protect and manage their data consumption.
This implementation of this feature will start in Zimbabwe where the mobile operator has about 10 million subscribers. Though there are no firm dates, Burundi, South Africa and Lesotho will follow thereafter.
Shine chief executive and co-founder Ron Porat, said: “We are proud to be able to bring the benefits of ad blocking to all of Econet’s subscribers. AdTech abuse is a global phenomenon, and in Africa in particular, it is devastating to consumers’ limited data plans.”
Douglas Mboweni, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, added: “We are delighted that we have taken the lead in ensuring that customers have control of unsolicited ads. This will lead to quicker loading and cleaner looking web pages free from advertisements, lower resource waste in terms of bandwidth and memory.
Mr. Mboweni added that, “It would be remiss not to acknowledge the role played by our partner Cumii in bringing this service to our subscribers in Zimbabwe.”
The feature will be turned on by default for all Econet subscribers.
