How Cell C is running its network without any towers

[Daniel Puchert]

South Africa's second-best mobile network doesn't have any towers

MyBroadband Insights released its Mobile Network Quality Report for the first quarter of 2025, with Cell C ranking in second place behind MTN.

Besides overtaking Vodacom in network quality, what is most interesting about these results is that Cell C no longer owns any radio access network infrastructure.

 

[Adhvik]

Hi Daniel. many thanks for the article. Just as a suggestion to follow up with fibre infrastructure providers . Would this "philosophy" of buying capacity not work where Infrastructure Fibre providers rather rent out Infrastructure to their competitors or would this not work?

 

[TofuMofu]

Hi Daniel. many thanks for the article. Just as a suggestion to follow up with fibre infrastructure providers . Would this "philosophy" of buying capacity not work where Infrastructure Fibre providers rather rent out Infrastructure to their competitors or would this not work?

That does work in a sense. NLD's (National Long Distance) are shared fibre networks. Not all FNO's have a NLD network of their own. Otherwise FNO's can rent a line from other FNO's as well.

 

[Gudnews]

Rain should just copy this playbook as well for some of their services.