The Grid is a mobile phone based social network that provides a platform for users to track their friend’s movements and to share information or Blips, as they are called on The Grid. Your friends just need to register and give their consent for their position to be visible. For example, if you have been to very trendy night spot that you would like to share with your friends, then you simply drop a blip with information, pictures and video.

Users are able to send information, chat to friends and update their profile on Twitter directly from The Grid. When information is uploaded to the grid it is tagged to a specific location. As a user you can view your friend’s blips and drop your own. The Grid will also give you directions on how to get where you want to be.

A network-positioning system makes it possible for The Grid to work out where your mobile phone is via your network provider’s towers. The system is not quite as accurate as GPS – accuracy ranges between a 1km and 5km radius. The Grid uses the signal strength from three towers to triangulate your position while a GPS uses a satellite.

Registration is free. First send a sms to register at the standard sms rate and then it costs 50c to download the application. From here on in the only thing that you pay for is the data that you use and this is dependent on your network and your package. The amount of data that you use is dependent on what you do on the grid – videos and images use more data than a message.

The cheapest way to use The Grid is to buy a data bundle from your service provider. The average cost of data in a bundle is between R0.19 and R2 per MB so using the chat service should cost less than 1c per message.

The Grid is a funded venture by Vodacom who also provides the infrastructure and support. Anyone from any network can use blip - it is not restricted to Vodacom customers.  Advertising your business is currently free. Simply drop a blip about your business or create a group.

To get started all you need is a WAP enabled mobile phone – this is a phone that connects to the internet. Then sms the word GRID to 33313 (cost 50c). Instructions will then be sent to your phone. You can also register at www.thegrid.co.za.
You will then need The Grid application for your phone. This is available on www.thegrid.co.za, the mobile site wap.thegrid.co.za, Facebook

The settings to connect to the internet for each of the networks are as follows:

For MTN
On your mobile, dial *123#
Select ‘phone setup’, usually option 1 from the menu that follows. (Answer -> 1 -> send)
Select option 3 (WAP).
Connection settings will be sent to your phone - save these settings.
If any of the above mentioned steps fail, simply retry.
Still having trouble?
Call MTN’s call centre. Dial 808 (contract) or 173 (pay as you go) from your mobile phone. Alternatively, visit an MTN outlet near you.

For Vodacom
On your mobile, dial *111#.
Select ‘phone settings’, usually option 5 from the menu that follows. (Answer -> 5 -> send)
Select option 1 to choose your mobile make and model from a list, or option 2 to have Vodacom identify the phone for you. In both cases, simply follow the steps as provided to get your WAP settings activated.
You will receive an SMS with your settings - save these settings.
If any of the above mentioned steps fail, simply retry.
Still having trouble?
Call Vodacom’s call centre on 082 111 or visit a Vodacom outlet near you.

For Cell C
Send an SMS containing the word “smartdata” to 0841559911. This is a free SMS message.
You will receive an SMS message back from the Cell C confirming that you have requested the smartdata settings and informing you of the password for these settings if it is required. The password is 0000.
You will receive a settings message from Cell C.
Select save on your phone to save the settings.
If a password is requested, enter 0000.
Your are now set up for smartdata GPRS/EDGE

For Virgin Mobile
On your mobile, find the Virgin Mobile menu.
It is usually on the first page of your handset menu, or under “Applications”.
Select “Virgin Settings”, usually option 5 from the menu that follows. (Answer -> 5 -> send)
You’ll receive 2 settings messages from Virgin
Open the messages and save the settings to your phone.