Cell C 'going for Telkom's jugular'
Cell C is “going for Telkom’s jugular with its new rates” and is no longer playing in the same field as South Africa’s other mobile operators, said an analyst.
Less than a month ago it released the rates for its first data bundle rates: Cell C has slashed the rates to as little as 13c/MB.
“These prices are a challenge to [Telkom’s digital subscriber lines],” said World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck.
Cell C has introduced a 3GB bundle for at R400, effectively providing 1GB more than it had at the same price previously, cutting the cost of bandwidth from 20c/MB to just over 13c/MB.
Similarly, it’s now offering 1,2GB for the same R250 it charged previously for 1GB.
“The new prices are very close to fixed-line broadband rates, which makes Cell C among the cheapest providers in the world, never mind SA,” says Goldstuck.
Cell C’s 3GB bundle is already R13 cheaper than line rental for a 4Mbit/s line from Telkom, without even including bandwidth. Even with the cheapest bandwidth offers from companies such as MWeb and Afrihost, the total cost on Cell C is still less.
Boost in market share
Goldstuck said having products in the market that are cheaper than fixed lines will give Cell C a significant boost in market share.
“It will give the company tremendous potential to take market share, assuming it keeps up the marketing and sales.”
Goldstuck said Cell C is now a good value proposition and alternative to fixed lines for small businesses.
“Telkom should have bundled ADSL with 3G services when they launched 8ta,” he said.
