Just days after Telkom announced FreeMe Family, a new set of family- and small business-focused tariff plans, rival Cell C has taken the wraps off three new products also aimed at families.

The new plans, which are “promotional” (that is, not permanent), will be available from 7 March and “cater to the growing data needs of families and small businesses”, Cell C said.

The operator, which is in the throes of a major restructuring, said on Tuesday that it is enhancing three of its existing SmartData products and combining its Multi-Data Connect service to create the new SmartData Share plans.

The three packages are SmartData Share 5GB, SmartData Share 20GB and SmartData Share 50GB (with double data for early sign-ons). Each of these products includes a thousand Wi-Fi Calling minutes, plus the ability to share the data and minutes using Cell C’s Multi-Data Connect service, which allows customers to link up to 14 Sims, the company said.

Telkom’s FreeMe Family products allow users to link up to 10 Sims to one contract, with a shared data pool (either 30GB, 50GB or 100GB per month of data).

Additional Cell C Sims costs R5 each per month (from the second Sim).

Unlike the Telkom plans, the Cell C packages do not include any GSM voice minutes (only Wi-Fi calling).

“Cell C’s Multi-Data Connect service has been exceptionally popular since its launch in May 2016 and it makes perfect sense to include it within the SmartData Share Plans in order for customers to share the incredible value,” said Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos in a statement.

Customers signing up for one of the new SmartData Share plans before 30 April will receive double the data value for the remainder of their contract, Dos Santos said.

That means they’ll get 5GB of anytime data, 5GB of late-night data, plus double the value of each allocation. The 5GB plan (with the extra data) costs R199/month.

The SmartData Share 20GB contract costs R499/month, also with free extra data until end-April, while the 50GB contract (again, double data until April) costs R899/month.

“While some customers may use this product across multiple devices, others will want to share the value with their families or colleagues. The choice is theirs,” said Dos Santos in the statement.

All three deals are available as Sim-only options or can be bundled with any device at an additional cost and can be used on any of Cell C’s network technologies, including 3G, LTE and LTE-Advanced.