There’s nothing unusual about Cell C’s decision to migrate its contract and mobile broadband customers to Vodacom’s radio access network – it’s all part the company’s new strategy. That’s according to CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson, who said in an interview with TechCentral on Thursday that the company plans to use both the Vodacom and MTN networks to provide cellular services to its customer base.
He confirmed that Cell C recently concluded an “expanded roaming agreement” with Vodacom. This deal was signed last month and comes after the company trumpeted a similar agreement earlier in 2020 with MTN, which many in the market had assumed was some sort of exclusive arrangement.
“There is nothing extraordinary” about the new pact with Vodacom, he said. “It is exactly in line with our strategic intent.”Not so, said Craigie Stevenson, adding that “exclusivity” in the local telecommunications sector is a “swearword”.
The new roaming agreement is for 3G and 4G services; under the old deal, which expired in November, Cell C could access only 2G and 3G bearers through Vodacom, Craigie Stevenson said.
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