Red Bull Mobile will not be a fully fledged mobile virtual network operator. Rather, Cell C will own and manage the subscriber base on behalf of the Austrian energy-drinks company, says Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt.

Red Bull Mobile will be launched at a function in Johannesburg on 8 February. It’s expected that content — focused on the hundreds of sporting and other high-profile events that the company holds annually — will be its primary value proposition. It will target the youth market.

Despite Red Bull Mobile not being a full virtual operator, Reichelt has confirmed that Cell C is building a platform to attract mobile virtual network operators and says experience in other markets suggests it could prove popular.

“We still haven’t decided which platform or vendor to use,” he says of the plan. “But the reality is that as the market matures, we believe there will be demand for such a platform.”

Reichelt says he wants Cell C to be in a position where the company can help other companies offer mobile services.

“We want to bring fresh thinking to that market and the reality is a mobile operator like us cannot cater to all the segments. But there are a lot of people who cater to those segments and they do it very well and we want to work with them.” — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral