Has Virgin Mobile hit a wobble?

Personally I think the only impact they've really has is with the 50c/mb data. Their handsets seem to be more expensive than Voda and MTN's, and you don't get "free minutes" with them either. Ok they're not really free but still.

“I’ve seen media reports suggesting that since launch we’ve managed to only attract a paltry 15 000 subscribers. That figure is way below our projection.”
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Notice how he says its below their projection, not below their actual numbers.
 
Yeah - the wobble is called ICASA.
 
I hope they come right. I do not worship Branson or anything but I hope he gets it right here and makes an impact.
 
Hope they come right too, think their main problem as far as pricing's concerned is interconnection charges. But then why don't they offer dirt cheap Virgin to Virgin calls to encourage everyone to join their network?
 
“It’s too early to write us off yet. Rather give us enough time to put our house in order.”
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What worries me is that shouldn't their house already have been in order before launch?

I am a VM subscriber - heck, I signed up just after they launched. And that was a mission in and of itself where they didn't even know how to accept a credit card for payment and had to ask the Musica till guy to show them!

I think they have some ways to go, but it is refreshing that they are still trying to make an impression.
 
Since Virgin Mobile is a collaboration between Cell C and Virgin, they cannot do anyhting without the approval/agreement of Cell C. They piggy back on Cell C infrastructure.

For all intense purposes, Virgin Mobile might as well be Cell C, imho.

They cannot do anything to rock the boat too strongly. All their hype is just that, hype!

We do need more true competition tho, so I wish them well, as constrained as they might be...
 
15,000... Fooitog...

Even a 10 times fold for a increase after MNP, 150,000... Still hardly anything to write home about. Virgin = big bark, bugerall bite... Glad, VERY glad, I avoided them.
 
Virgin should have gone with vodacom or mtn. Virgin is a teen "cool" brand and why would young people want to use virgin if they wont be able to download anything over gprs ?
 
VMSA communications manager Nicholas Maweni says that it has delivered on its promises. Say Maweni: “What subscribers in the local market want are cheaper calls, handsets unbundled from airtime and an end to mandatory two-year contracts.”
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Well I sent an e-mail to this guy more than ten days ago and he hasn't even had the courtesy to send even a "I'll get back to you" let alone a reply. How on earth can they survive with an attitude like that?

Here's the address in case you want to try [email protected]

Virgin isn’t focused on subscriber figures but the quality of its subscribers’ average revenue per user (ARPUs) – the standard measure for cellphone revenue.
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VM are targeting the data market with their 'cheap' rates. How will they maintain MY ARPU when they make the service so slow or, at times, completely unusable??
With Vodacom, MTN and CellC literally handing away free SIM packs, the cost of a Virgin access pack is R89. “It doesn’t help to have plenty of non-income-generating SIM cards in circulation. That’s why our target is the high-end market.”
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Ja, the 50c/Mb market is the high-end :confused:
Plus why issue an R89 data pack when your competition is selling them at 99c? You can't do that and then say you can't afford to have non-income generating SIMs in circulation.

I say give your customers a reason AND a means to spend. A cranky network with a high cost of entry and poor coverage is not going to do it for you.:mad:
“It’s too early to write us off yet. Rather give us enough time to put our house in order.”
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LOL :rolleyes:
 
they are celc #2.thats it. maybe they will get it right?
 
Skeptik said:
Plus why issue an R89 data pack when your competition is selling them at 99c? You can't do that and then say you can't afford to have non-income generating SIMs in circulation.
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By charging more for the SIM they're going to have a customer base that has money to spend and is willing to spend it.
 
DigitalSoldier said:
Virgin should have gone with vodacom or mtn. Virgin is a teen "cool" brand and why would young people want to use virgin if they wont be able to download anything over gprs ?
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Why would MTN and VDC go with Virgin? Let me see. Virgin want to come into the SA market to compete with MTN, VDC and CellC. But they can't because they can't get a license to operate. So MTN / VDC should let let them use their license in order to compete with them and take their customers away. And in return they will give back a small part of the revenue they stole from them.

Sounds like a smart business decision to me. For me, Cell C going into this deal is an admission of defeat. They can't attract users so they are hoping Virgin can.
 
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Dunno why some of you are saying Virgin is the same as Cell C?

They just using their infrastructure. Cell C did exactly the same thing with Vodacom when they 1st launched! I wouldnt say that cell c and vodacom are the same now?
 
As far as I can see, Virgin are not doing exactly the same as Cell C did when they started.

I speak under correction, but I think:
1) Virgin don't have their own licence, but Cell C did.
2) Cell C had their own systems but Virgin don't
 
bwana v.19 said:
By charging more for the SIM they're going to have a customer base that has money to spend and is willing to spend it.
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And those with more cash are usually more discerning about how they spend their money, less likely to accept the attitude dished out when you complain, less accepting of problems etc etc...
 
Skeptik said:
And those with more cash are usually more discerning about how they spend their money, less likely to accept the attitude dished out when you complain, less accepting of problems etc etc...
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Cant really comment as to their customer service as I havent had any problems yet.
ryan411 said:
As far as I can see, Virgin are not doing exactly the same as Cell C did when they started.

I speak under correction, but I think:
1) Virgin don't have their own licence, but Cell C did.
2) Cell C had their own systems but Virgin don't
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They piggybacked extensively off Vodacom's network in the beginning so I can see the similarity.
 
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