Cell C drops prepaid prices to 99c
2012-05-16 12:45
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Cape Town - Mobile operator Cell C has made its first big move under new CEO Alan Knott-Craig, by slashing its prepaid call rates to R0.99.
Cell C announced that it would slash prepaid call rates by more than 34% with a plan called 99 Cents for Real, Gadget reported.
"In a bid to meet consumer demand, Cell C is releasing a new prepaid voice product and tariff plan called 99 Cents For Real, which slashes off-net, and peak call tariffs to 99c per minute, with per second billing from the first second," Cell C announced.
The new tariff will launch on 20 May and it is seen as a direct assault on the two established SA mobile operators, MTN and Vodacom.
Knott-Craig is a former Vodacom CEO and hinted that he was on a mission in his new position to shake up the industry.
Data cost
"The number one priority is I have to make sure that we can build a world class quality network with a footprint which is competitive or better than the other network operators. We cannot build a company without a proper network," Knott-Craig told News24 recently.
Cell C is seen as a junior in the SA mobile market and Knott-Craig, though obliged to remain out of the industry after leaving Vodacom, seems ready to take on the mobile giant he helped to build.
"This new tariff gives Cell C's prepaid customers the best voice rate in the market, making it - in most cases - even cheaper to call from Cell C to other networks than it is for our competitors’ own prepaid customers to make on-net calls."
As smartphones make more of an impact in SA, the cost of data has become a barrier to their adoption and most believe that the BlackBerry Internet Service offered with the devices, has helped cement the brand's dominance of the smartphone market.
Cell C said that pricing alone could not guarantee their success and called for lower Mobile Termination Rates.
"I say again: 'Price is not a strategy', but it sure beats the hell out of strategies based on high prices," said Knott-Craig.
