Third mobile operator Cell C is making significant inroads against its bigger rivals, growing its subscriber base by 44% in the 2014 financial year, numbers disclosed by the mobile operator on Tuesday show. It has also revealed plans to roll out a 4G/LTE network.
CEO Jose Dos Santos tells TechCentral that the operator had 19,6m subscribers at the end of last year, up from 13,6m at the end of 2013. The company measures subscribers by Sims active on its network within a 120-day period. Prepaid subscriber growth was 45%.
The privately held Cell C doesn’t disclose its financial results, but Dos Santos says the company grew its revenues by 16% in the financial year ended 31 December 2014. Broadband customers increased by 29%, while data volumes grew by 106%. Data revenue growth was 76%. Voice revenue growth was 8%, while minutes of use climbed by 23%.
The company’s effective tariff per minute — the average fee charged to its customers — in 2014 was between 34c/minute and 35c/minute, according to Dos Santos.
Cell C has not disclosed its earnings numbers, or even said by how much they increased.
“Every one of our growth figures is better than the incumbents,” Dos Santos tells TechCentral. “We are making huge progress as a business, both financially and operationally.”
The company says it has budgeted R2,2bn for network expansion in 2015. Some of this money will be used to support its LTE roll-out, which is expected to begin soon. Cell C is promising more details on the LTE project in the coming weeks.
An upgrade to the company’s network in Gauteng has been completed, which Dos Santos says has resolved the network quality problems experienced by its customers. The Gauteng project involved harmonising network equipment on 1 215 base stations and replacing outdated technology used at some of these sites. This project was completed in time and on budget, according to Cell C.
“Cell C continues with similar projects in other metro areas in 2015 to sustain the stability, quality and modernisation drive across the country,” the company says in a statement.
It has also terminated its roaming agreement with Vodacom in Tembisa, where it has expanded its own coverage. It also intends turning off roaming in Soshanguve, Pretoria North and Mamelodi in April, and in Pretoria West, Midrand and Diepsloot in May.
Dos Santos says that, contrary to reports, Cell C’s shareholders — it is controlled by Oger Telecom — remain committed to the business. Oger has reportedly contracted Goldman Sachs to consider its options for the company.
“I am absolutely convinced that our shareholders are committed to this business, but I am also convinced there will be some consolidation at an infrastructure level,” says Dos Santos. “People should stop speculating and wait and see what happens.” — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media
