Mobile network Cell C plans to stop selling Red Bull Mobile products on 31 May 2015.
Red Bull Mobile was launched in South Africa in 2011 in partnership with Cell C. The partnership, which leveraged the energy drink’s brand, was planned to offer South Africans competitive mobile prices.
Cell C then relaunched Red Bull Mobile in 2013 following a lackluster performance of the cellphone service. Reports in 2013 indicated that Red Bull Mobile only had 120 000 customers.
Subsequently, Cell C has confirmed that it’s ending its Red Bull Mobile partnership.
“Cell C and Red Bull have mutually agreed to focus on different strategies, hence the conclusion of the partnership,” said Cell C spokesman Karin Fourie.
“Existing prepaid, post-paid and hybrid customers will be migrated to similar Cell C tariff plans,” Fourie added.
Cell C has declined to reveal what Red Bull Mobile’s latest user numbers are.
However, Fourie said that the Red Bull Mobile Zone will still exist. This zone includes offerings such as the “World of Red Bull”, which has the likes of content “benefits”.
As the Red Bull Mobile partnership is set to come to an end, Cell C has also entered into a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with new South African telecoms service me&you.
The me&you mobile service was launched on Monday and uses the Cell C network.
Cell C said the launch of me&you had no impact on the decision to end its Red Bull Mobile partnership.
“Red Bull Mobile was a white label product of Cell C and never an MVNO,” Fourie said.
“Red Bull from the onset did not wish to launch an MVNO in South Africa and have not expressed intentions to do so at present. This decision was not based on the launch of MVNOs in South Africa,” Fourie added.
Red Bull Mobile also offers telecoms services in Austria, Belgium and Poland. However, it has also exited from other markets such as Australia. — Fin24
