SA’s data-free video conferencing tool Veedo is a game changer
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South Africa’s data-free reverse-billed video conferencing tool, Veedo, first built to meet NGO needs early in the lockdown, was showing potential to be an efficient, cost-effective way to bridge the digital divide and bring access and participation to all South Africans. Photo: Freepik
SOUTH Africa’s data-free reverse-billed video conferencing tool, Veedo, first built to meet NGO needs early in the lockdown, was showing potential to be an efficient, cost-effective way to bridge the digital divide and bring access and participation to all South Africans.
Veedo managing director Craig Mason-Jones said their team of developers set out to build the tool to meet a sudden need among their NGO clients.
“NGOs needed their remote stakeholders to be able to join video conferences and meetings, but sending mobile data to each participant was proving impossible. They needed a reverse billing solution that was priced within reach of the host organisations, which worked on any handset. At first, we didn’t know if it was possible,” Mason-Jones said.
To enable reverse billing, they needed to route everything through Datafree’s central server.
“We needed to find the right technology to do this without creating a massive load, and we needed to keep costs to a minimum. We had to make sure data, videos and audio were as light as possible, yet still keep the application feature rich enough to meet local needs.”
The tool that was developed in South Africa enables video conferencing and broadcasting that is data free for audiences, and delivers quality audio and video, no matter what mobile devices users used.
Mason-Jones said they decided not to reinvent the wheel, and brought international technology into the South African context. The team started with open-source multiplatform voice, video conferencing and instant messaging applications.
“For many developers using these platforms, the big concern is how many people they can bring into a meeting room using high-definition video. For us, the challenge was how to get 100 people into a room with low-definition video, and what technology and features were appropriate for poor network quality and a plethora of old or low-end handsets.”
Using 360p resolution and harnessing a lower frames per second rate, the developers cut the costs of bandwidth needed for Veedo video.
According to Mason-Jones, there was no reason to send 1080p to mobile as 360p worked better, and looked great. Reducing frame rates used 30 percent less bandwidth, which also made a huge difference.
However, paring down international tools was not as simple as changing resolution and removing features.
“We encountered technical issues, like timeouts and congestion issues, that trigger bugs people of other networks never experience. We have been able to share our bug fixes with a developer in India encountering the same bug, but it doesn’t occur at all in Europe or America. It relates to slow and congested networks, often in rural areas. Really developed countries don’t see these problems,” Mason-Jones said.
Another challenge was the myriad handsets in use across the continent.
“In the US and Europe, you might have tens of modern handsets in use. But in Africa, you could have 5 000 different phones at play on the network. You run into the strangest issues and have to find the lowest common denominator to ensure it works on as many phones as possible. User interfaces are often very fancy, with animations that are very heavy on the device. To support lower end devices, many of them running old software on extremely poor networks, we also built a minimalist front end.”
Datafree head of commercial operations Jeremy George said that Veedo, like Datafree and their messaging and content app Moya, were solving problems that were unique to South Africa and Africa.
“In some developed nations, the problem is providing technology to run an HD video conference for 500 people with 3D avatars. In South Africa, we need to run a video conference for 50 people using low end devices with low bandwidth and no data,” George said.
Following its launch in June 2020, Veedo uptake had increased, and organisations could offer datafree participation in webinars and conferences.
“So many people feel excluded in South Africa. Providing a free way for them to communicate and participate, solutions like Veedo and Moya are including and empowering them,” said Mason-Jones.
The developers said they were continually refining the technology, adding features, and determining the best formats for meetings and broadcasters.
In December last year, HP Africa vice president and managing director Bradley Pulford wrote in an article titled “Unleashing Creativity: How Gen Z’s are innovating, creating, and thriving,” that the Generation Z, who are defined as digital natives, do not see technology just as specific devices or tools, but rather as essential to living their lives.
For this generation, video conferencing services such as Zoom, MS Teams, Telegram or WhatsApp video calls, for example, were accepted as a mode of face-to-face communication not a disconnect, as they redefined what interpersonal communication meant today.
given.majoal@inl.co.za
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