Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt has used a full-page advertisement in Sunday’s City Press newspaper to apologise for “confusion I may have caused” with the company’s controversial “4Gs” branding.
At the same time, he has revealed that the operator will switch on its much-hyped broadband wireless network in Gauteng in a month from now, in mid-November.
In the prominent advertisement, which is addressed in the form of a letter to SA cellphone users, Reichelt apologises for sowing confusion with Cell C’s use of the 4G and, later, 4Gs terms.
Rivals MTN and Vodacom have filed complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) objecting to Cell C’s use of the 4Gs term, suggesting it implies that the company operates a fourth-generation mobile network. The ASA has ruled that Cell C must stop using “4Gs” in its advertising.
Technically, 4G networks must offer theoretical download speeds of at least 100Mbit/s when users are moving (such as in a car or on a train) or 1Gbit/s when they’re stationary. Commercial networks capable of such speeds aren’t expected for several years yet.
“I have used the term ‘4G’ as a marketing term, bearing in mind that mobile operators in the US (Clearwire, T-Mobile) and Europe (Telenor, TeliaSonera) are running networks with actual speeds of between 3Mbit/s and 10Mbit/s and have called their offerings ‘4G’,” Reichelt writes.
“The intent was to convey the fact that SA, with Cell C’s new network, will be on par with world-class standards.”
It’s not clear from the advertisement whether the apology means Cell C is now dropping its use of the 4Gs term. However, the company’s website features the 4Gs logo crossed out. Alongside it is written: “Our super fast network needs a new name. Give us your suggestions here.”
In his letter, Reichelt goes on to apologise for Cell C’s “cautious approach” in rolling out its new broadband mobile network. He explains that there will always be “gremlins with a project of this magnitude and we are trying to minimise them”.
“That said, I am happy to announce that we are on track to launch [in] Gauteng in mid-November,” Reichelt writes.
To date, Cell C has switched on its next-generation network in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein and George. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral
- See also: Cell C vows to fight ‘corporate bullies’
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