The way Vodacom manages the handover of calls between its network and that of Cell C’s hasn’t changed for the past 12 years. The company made the comments in reaction to accusations levelled by Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig that Vodacom is partly at fault for recent service issues experienced by customers of the smaller network operator.

Knott-Craig made the comments in an interview with TechCentral on Tuesday. He said that Vodacom was not living up to the terms of a national service agreement the two parties signed in 2012. Cell C has roamed on Vodacom’s network in areas where it doesn’t have coverage since the mobile operator, South Africa’s third to be licensed after Vodacom and MTN, was launched in 2001.

Though Knott-Craig pointed a finger of blame at a big increase in network traffic on Cell C’s network in the past year, especially in the Johannesburg area, he also said there was a problem with handover between the Cell C and Vodacom networks. “The handovers are not seamless, although they’re supposed to be.”

In reaction, a Vodacom spokesman says the company would like to “point out that the way handover is being done today is exactly the same way it’s been done for the last 12 years”.

“The quality of service provided to all our customers, including Cell C, is of the highest importance to us. This is why we’ve made huge investments in our infrastructure — over R7bn in South Africa over the past year and over R28bn in the past five years.”