Cell C’s 21.1 Mbps broadband plans

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Cell C announced in January that it has signed a R2.9bn deal with the Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE Corporation, something which Cell C CEO Lars P. Reichelt hailed as the operator’s “first big step towards transforming Cell C into a possibilities provider”.

This development came after Cell C’s announcement in late 2009 that it will be spending over R5bn on a 4G network in 2010 which will provide broadband access in the 900MHz band.

Cell C has now revealed that Nokia Siemens Networks was appointed as the second vendor in its network expansion and upgrade plans.

According to Cell C the network rollout has started, and it is planning to launch services when they have “meaningful coverage and good quality levels.”

“We have begun with a network transformation program to improve our coverage and data services.  The all-IP HSPA+ network, that in its end state will provide nationwide coverage is in the process of being rolled out. This network will represent a step-change in terms of voice quality and in offering multi-megabit data-services,” said Reichelt.

One of the biggest obstacles in providing high speed mobile broadband services is the provisioning of adequate transmission capacity across the cellular network. 

Both Vodacom and MTN are building their own fibre networks to compliment their current Telkom controlled infrastructure, but Cell C opted to partner with Dark Fibre Africa and Neotel to provide fibre backhaul links to its base stations.

While no pricing plans have been discussed yet, Reichelt has indicated that he is well aware that he will have to be competitive on price if they want to gain market share in an aggressive mobile broadband environment.

Cell C HSPA+ network << comments and views