Cell C

Cell C

Type	Private
Industry	Telecommunications
Headquarters	Randburg, South Africa
Products	GSM-related products and services 3G/Internet service provider
Slogan	The Power is in your Hands
Website	http://www.cellc.co.za/

Cell C advertising on Harvards at the 2011 Grand Rand Airshow, Rand Airport

Founded in November 2001, Cell C is owned by 3C Telecommunications, which is 60% owned by Oger Telecom South Africa, a division of Saudi Oger; 25% owned in an unencumbered holding by CellSAf, (a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment entity representing over 30 black empowerment companies and trusts), and 15% by Lanun Securities SA (Lanun is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Oger Ltd).

In 2011, Cell C enlisted South African comedian, Trevor Noah, as their spokesperson, in a marketing campaign where he was given the title as their "CEO" (Chief Excellence Officer). The current Chief Executive Officer is Jose Dos Santos. Cell C has recently shaken up the South African market by introducing a flat call-rate of 99c / min, to any network, and the lowest data rate, as well: 0.15c/MB. Their market strategy appears to be "more subscribers, paying less," which is a significant challenge to the high-margin stance of the other network operators.

Technology

Cell C's network has 98% population coverage as of the end of 2012, the balance catered for by Vodacom data coverage. Cell C had completed its technological migration to a new sophisticated core switching network so the network can cope with any unprecedented traffic demand. Roaming agreements exist with over 550 telecommunications operators in more than 187 countries.

Cell C has spent over R5-billion (US$660 million) on its state of the art HSPA+. The network supports speeds up to 21 MB/s and 42MB/s, and is available in most parts of South Africa. The 900 MHz band has been re-farmed to provide greater coverage compared to other operators. Despite all of the recent upgrades, there are still areas of urban Johannesburg as well as many other areas in South Africa that do not have adequate signal.

Products and Services

Woza Wheneva: Cell C gives users 10 free airtime minutes for every R10 (accumulated) spent on recharging. The qualifying period of the free minutes runs from Monday 00h00 to Sunday 23h59. The offer is available to all prepaid customers.

SupaCharge: When customers recharge their airtime, they get free minutes, SMS's and data. Recharging with R5 airtime gives you 4 talk minutes, 4 SMS's and 4 MB of data. Free minutes and SMS's are only Cell C to Cell C.

C Advance: Cell C allows customers to access emergency airtime when they are in need. This airtime can be used for calling, sending messages or for data. C Advance amounts are: R5, R10, R25, R50 and R100. Customers need to pay back in the form of airtime, with a service fee of R1.

Cell C started a mobile broadband price war in 2010, introducing South Africa's most affordable prepaid data sticks. In advertising the service, Cell C claimed it was offering a 4G network, whereas it used HSPA+. South Africa's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the company should stop using the term 4G in its advertising material, even though the technology CellC used is described 4G worldwide.

Other services from Cell C include video messaging, HSPA+, MMS, internet, voicemail, Blackberry internet services, etc.

Human Resources

• Staff complement: 89% are historically disadvantaged individuals and 47% are female.
• 54,5% of senior managers are historically disadvantaged and over 28% are female.
• Average age of employees is 32-34.
• Investment in skills development exceeds minimum legislative requirement of 3,65% of labour bill
• 37% spent with BEE suppliers and SMEs.

See also

• Take a Girl Child to Work Day, an annual corporate social investment event organised by Cell C.