is cell c worth it?

kolaval

kolaval

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Hi all

I used to be on Cell C, moved to MTN.
Now my MTN contract is almost done, and I'm thinking of getting a Cell C contract again(esp the red bull one) since they offer better value for money.

However I still have my doubts on call quality and network consistency.
Reason why is I have a colleague that is on Cell C
and I stood next to him in a parking lot outside P n P hyper in centurion (which should have excellent coverage i assume)
His phone showed coverage but if I phoned him it never rang just went to voicemail
we tried it about three times.
It could have been his phone as well(who knows)

can anyone confirm this happening to them or never?
Had people tell you they tried to phone you but only got your voicemail, yet you know you had coverage?

before I lock myself in for 24 months...
 
kolaval said:
Hi all

I used to be on Cell C, moved to MTN.
Now my MTN contract is almost done, and I'm thinking of getting a Cell C contract again(esp the red bull one) since they offer better value for money.

However I still have my doubts on call quality and network consistency.
Reason why is I have a colleague that is on Cell C
and I stood next to him in a parking lot outside P n P hyper in centurion (which should have excellent coverage i assume)
His phone showed coverage but if I phoned him it never rang just went to voicemail
we tried it about three times.
It could have been his phone as well(who knows)

can anyone confirm this happening to them or never?
Had people tell you they tried to phone you but only got your voicemail, yet you know you had coverage?

before I lock myself in for 24 months...
Click to expand...

Cell Is OK for data if you have coverage, but 2 of my colluegues took the Redbull deal and are struggling with voice and data reception. No Reception at work. keep on getting dropped calls and missed calls. Make sure you try someone else redbull phone at all the places you need to receive and make calls before signin up....
 
My data collapsed after 4 months - from super awesome to dead in the same area.

I held on for 2 months waiting and hoping they'd fix the error, but after wasting my money and cap, I decided to sell the card to prevent further headaches. Signed with 8TA for data and so far, so good. Just hoping they're more reliable
 
Rather stick with MTN...

kolaval said:
Hi all

I used to be on Cell C, moved to MTN.
Now my MTN contract is almost done, and I'm thinking of getting a Cell C contract again(esp the red bull one) since they offer better value for money.

However I still have my doubts on call quality and network consistency.
Reason why is I have a colleague that is on Cell C
and I stood next to him in a parking lot outside P n P hyper in centurion (which should have excellent coverage i assume)
His phone showed coverage but if I phoned him it never rang just went to voicemail
we tried it about three times.
It could have been his phone as well(who knows)

can anyone confirm this happening to them or never?
Had people tell you they tried to phone you but only got your voicemail, yet you know you had coverage?

before I lock myself in for 24 months...
Click to expand...

I say this (stick with MTN) not because they are great, but because I have real experiences to report about the different networks.

I have been looking for a data contract ever since these R149/mth for 2GB promotions started and MTN cames out tops in terms of coverage.

At the beginning of June I bought a USB modem which I thought I would use with Cell C's WHOOSH! It did not work. So I thought perhaps it is the modem that I was using since my area is supposed to be well covered. The Cell C modem itself gave me the same results as my modem. EDGE. I got the same results with Vodacom and Virgin.

However, MTN is always on 3G on my phone and on my USB modem. Always on and get speeds of 1 to 2 mbps (download and upload). Look at my results in the MTN Broadband discussion under 'Speed Tests'.

I have had billing problems with MTN but I sorted this out by taking a TopUp contract. I haven't had problems since then.

Stick with MTN, they are the better company (esp. in terms of coverage) since all of them are pretty much crappy in one way or the other.
 
Last edited:
Do not..i repeat do NOT go anywhere near cell C..their support sucks..its dismal,for lack of a better word..sometimes they over debit from your account,its taking them three weeks to return money they took from my account "by mistake"..its not worth the headache..
 
Stick with MTN.
They are the worst when it comes to being competitive, service, billing...
But they have the better coverage.
 
Depends on what phone you intend to use.. Cell C's network isn't quite good enough yet for serious smartphone use, especially if you go with an Android phone. I'm having a few issues with dropped calls at my work and poor network reception. I was trialling 8ta for a while and whilst roaming on MTN's network I had a decidedly better experience coverage and reliability wise. If Cell C didn't sort out my contract I would probably have switched networks. My phone also sometimes ended up in emergency phone mode which was a real pain when people are trying to get hold of you, but this looks to be resolved in the 2.3.3 Gingerbread update onwards. Using a Samsung Galaxy S BTW.
 
sigh, I suspected as much
i cannot have people phone me and not get the call etc...

If someone from Cell c is reading this, remember volume cannot always make up for quality:
I love my WOOSH 5GB even though I never get more than about 3Mbps, volume wins for my data
I will not stand dropped calls/non received calls etc, quality wins for my phone

Thank you all who replied
 
My daughter changed from VC to CellC because of bad signal strength in her townhouse complex.

However, every time we chat on the phone (I am on VC and reside within 200m from the VC base station), we have endless problems with dropped calls. It makes no difference who initiated the call.

I can only assume that the problem is on her side, i.e. Cell C.
 
right now today for data, no.
My signal for the past 8 months has just gone & dissapeared & im left roaming on voda with edge.
 
Already have my 5G WOOOOOSSH and it works ok
I'm concerned about getting a voice contract and then regretting it, since I have to sit with it for 24 months
 
Use them for internet and dont phone a lot. Since December.

1st few months was great but went all downhill from there. Mostly have problems over weekends when I cant even connect. Yesterday I was roaming on Vodacom towers and today I had nothing. I normally switch to my VC pre paid if I need internet on weekends. I can tell you end of the year I will not be renewing my Cell C. Even thinking of taking a Vodacom contract now as I end up paying them R100 a month anyway just to get internet on the weekends.

Joke is I am in the area that they launched there new 43k towers...
 
But I'm not interested in the data
I wanted a voice contract since it offers way better value for money than the big red and big yellow (as long as it works!)
have a look at the red bull mobile contracts, or even the Cell C all week 100
!
 
Good day kolaval

The best value for money it the RBM 200
Get 200 anytime minute , 100 SMS and 500MB.
every month.the Motorola Defy is a nice phone.

Regards
~AM~
 
yup is eyeing that one, hence my question at the beginning of the thread
Is Cell c's network (for making and receiving calls) up to scratch?

But the majority of the replies indicated that it was not...
 
kolaval said:
yup is eyeing that one, hence my question at the beginning of the thread
Is Cell c's network (for making and receiving calls) up to scratch?

But the majority of the replies indicated that it was not...
Click to expand...
Based on my son and daughter's complaints about CellC coverage when making/receiving calls, I would stay far away. In fact, when their contracts expire, I would certainly not renew.

And don't ask me about my CellC data experience.....
 
Knersie said:
Cell Is OK for data if you have coverage, but 2 of my colluegues took the Redbull deal and are struggling with voice and data reception. No Reception at work. keep on getting dropped calls and missed calls. Make sure you try someone else redbull phone at all the places you need to receive and make calls before signin up....
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, I was also looking at one of these phones but I'll test it out first.
 
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