SOUTH African mobile telecommunications company Cell C is on a trajectory to have the same like-for-like network as MTN and Vodacom by the end of 2023, says the company’s chief operations officer, André Ittmann.
Cell C said it no longer had a network deficit, but would compete based on the services it provided, giving customers more choice.
“Great strides have been made in moving forward in our phased approach with the network migration sitting at around 44 percent, with the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape and Limpopo now roaming.
“This year will see further progress with North West, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga as we target a 74 percent completion by the end of 2022. Last will be Gauteng and the KwaZulu-Natal metro areas when we reach the culmination of our migration by 2023 as planned.”
Just over two years ago, Cell C embarked on a strategy to turn its fortunes around and build a more competitive and sustainable organisation. In its latest results, for the six-month period to June 2021, the company’s performance reflected continued improvements in profitability and operational efficiencies as the efforts to build a fit-for-purpose entity started to bear fruit.
At the time of reporting, the total subscriber base had grown close to 13 million from 11.7 million in the prior comparative period.
Cell C said it was also making good progress in implementing its new operating model, critical to which was its network strategy.
Ittmann said Cell C recognised that a new way of doing business was needed to keep abreast of technology trends in the telecoms industry.
“We proactively pursued a nimbler, fit-for-purpose model that is sustainable and stimulates competition.”
On November 18, 2019, Cell C announced that it had concluded an expanded roaming agreement with MTN which gives it nationwide 3G and 4G roaming. Through this agreement, Cell C gained access to MTN’s 12500 sites across South Africa. This roaming agreement enables it to shut down its radio network and move all its traffic on to MTN’s network.
Cell C’s network strategy and transition to a Virtual Radio Access Network (V-RAN) had enabled it to get back into the broadband market, reconsider the mix of products it offered and sustain their average revenue per user (Arpu) at R66 year-on-year while growing the prepaid customer base by 15 percent to 9.6 million in the first half of 2021 from 8.4 million in the prior period.
Economic inclusion and digital inclusion went hand-in-hand in the digital era and Cell C recognised that one could not talk of socio-economic development and enterprise development without mentioning digital inclusion and skills development.
Cell C said its three most valuable assets in its transformation journey were spectrum, a loyal and profitable customer base and a resilient brand.
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