Now that the big launch has come and gone...

lotus123

lotus123

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Perhaps we could have a poll to see who's happy with the CellC offerings as announced and who's still serious about changing over to CellC?

To start the ball rolling on this topic I'll start by saying that I'm very disappointed with today's news. To me the critical factor in making CellC a viable alternative would have been affordable top-up pricing. I'm not going to get good mileage out of even 5Gb, especially at the higher speeds. And before anyone says you can't have your cake and eat it (or fast connections AND good bundle pricing) I'd say that I was rather hoping that might be the start of good things to come from CellC.

As it stands, I'll settle for slower connections (3.6) with more affordable bundles so it looks like I'll be with VC for a while yet. And that's why I'm so angry today. Those guys at VC must be smiling broadly today, knowing some of us won't be leaving just yet.

Dammit! Why do we always have to end up having to choose the "least bad" supplier, rather than having a "best" option?
 
It's still going to be a (long) while before 'affordable' mobile internet becomes available. If you compare the days of a 'massive' 200MB data bundles that were going for hundreds of Rands per month and then getting billed R2 per MB OOB to what Cell © is offering then at least we can honestly say they're heading in the right direction. Just my opinion though.
 
Well, I'm still going to get one of those prepaid jobs.
Sounds like a good deal!
 
I'm happy! Last month I didn't even manage to use all of my 5Gb (I'm doing a lot better this month!) so it works out way cheaper for me personally, than when I was with VC.
I'm guessing than most people don't need more than 5Gb a month at the moment?
 
@Lotus123

Are you CRAZY???

How much are you going to pay Vodacom for 5GB a month?

With Cell C you get 5GB a month plus modem for R300.00. per month
Get the 60GB deal and slow your connection down if you like slow speeds so much.
 
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lotus123 said:
Perhaps we could have a poll to see who's happy with the CellC offerings as announced and who's still serious about changing over to CellC?

To start the ball rolling on this topic I'll start by saying that I'm very disappointed with today's news. To me the critical factor in making CellC a viable alternative would have been affordable top-up pricing. I'm not going to get good mileage out of even 5Gb, especially at the higher speeds. And before anyone says you can't have your cake and eat it (or fast connections AND good bundle pricing) I'd say that I was rather hoping that might be the start of good things to come from CellC.

As it stands, I'll settle for slower connections (3.6) with more affordable bundles so it looks like I'll be with VC for a while yet. And that's why I'm so angry today. Those guys at VC must be smiling broadly today, knowing some of us won't be leaving just yet.

Dammit! Why do we always have to end up having to choose the "least bad" supplier, rather than having a "best" option?
Click to expand...

Nothing in your post says why you want to stay with VC. I moved over to Cell C when HSPA+ was launched in Cape town and is more than happy with it.

However, I really expected a realistic top-up rate, and for Cell C to announce a more expensive rate on 2Gb than VC's must be one of Trevor's feeble jokes. So, either I buy a 2Gb/month sim or I buy VC bundles when my 5Gb runs out.
 
Antonf said:
Nothing in your post says why you want to stay with VC. I moved over to Cell C when HSPA+ was launched in Cape town and is more than happy with it.

However, I really expected a realistic top-up rate, and for Cell C to announce a more expensive rate on 2Gb than VC's must be one of Trevor's feeble jokes. So, either I buy a 2Gb/month sim or I buy VC bundles when my 5Gb runs out.
Click to expand...

You make a good point. Buying VC bundles for top-up sounds like a good idea. Why would I stay with VC? Not out of love, I can assure you. But they do have better top-up bundle pricing and they make it quite easy to purchase through the (admittedly badly redesigned) website. I wonder what options CellC has for buying top-ups online?

Sitting here now and coldly analyzing Lars Reicheldt's comments about satisfying the shareholders makes me realise that we could have anticipated this. It's a lot like the ink-jet printer business, in a way. Get the customer on board with a cheap product and make loads of money with the cartridges (or top-ups in this case).

I probably will go over to CellC with a 5Gb package - I'm just so p*****d off right now I'd best wait a bit.
 
Vodacom is more Well Established, and you get 2.3 Gig, and you get Nightowl promotions and stuff, and you probably have better coverage, and you pay less, and you don't have to worry about the network going a LOT slower when people start using the new CellC network.

Sure, the once-off deals are good, but they will be taken away, mark my words. They are just specials.

CellC has always been the small network, out of the 3 Networks, who didn't even see the importance of 3G all these years, while Vodacom and MTN were rolling out huge networks around the country.
Now they hire a comedian CLOWN as their CEO, roll out a few towers and expect us to pay MORE for LESS? I don't think so CellC


-They are just too unstable - we don't even KNOW if their network is going to hold when people start using it
-They put offers on the website, take it down again, back on, down again
-Their shops not even knowing about their own products they themselves launch
-Tell Trevor is a planned scam. He's a gimmick too. Trevor doesn't give a crap about me or you and our connections when we're trying to send/receive documents.
-You just have to look at their marketing department stuffup, when they used the copyright logo as their own, to know this company is dodgy
-Just look at the 4Gs Scam they pulled.
-Only 2GB, not 2.3GB
-R400 for 2 Gigs? NO THANX

Nah, I'll give it a pass, MTN is serving me well thanx.
 
It is only on the 2Gb and higher-top up packages that VC are cheaper.

The promotion packages for high usage are the best value for money in the market at the moment. I think the data bundles are aimed at milder usage smartphones (they are still cheaper <2Gb). Interesting that Lars Reichelt did not want to comment on the timeframe of the promotion.

If the competitors come to the party and reduce their pricing, Cell C would not be able to just stop the promotion without offering something similar in the future. They also cannot ignore its success, just in terms of word of mouth advertising as well. I wonder how profitable the promotion is for them, I do hope the promotion pricing will be sustainable.
 
As a pre-paid subscriber I think the once of launch special is great. The coverage is poor and the top up is a NO NO!!

I have bought my 60Gig bundle in Nelspruit last month and was very happy with it for the first week. That was until the signal suddenly changed from HSDPA+ to EDGE. Since then I am down from 7Mb/s to 7Kb/s, and that has been like that for the whole month so far. So for the price on the launch special I give them a 10/10. For coverage after your 7 day money back guarantee expires, I give the 0/10. And for top up I will give them 1/10.

The verdict is that I will have to top up my Vodacom modem with a 2.3Gig bundle as my Cell C modem is worse than dial up. My advice is for people to stay away from Cell C. I have been suckered and the call center and Cell C shops are useless in helping.
 
Keeper said:
Vodacom is more Well Established, and you get 2.3 Gig, and you get Nightowl promotions and stuff, and you probably have better coverage, and you pay less, and you don't have to worry about the network going a LOT slower when people start using the new CellC network.

Sure, the once-off deals are good, but they will be taken away, mark my words. They are just specials.

CellC has always been the small network, out of the 3 Networks, who didn't even see the importance of 3G all these years, while Vodacom and MTN were rolling out huge networks around the country.
Now they hire a comedian CLOWN as their CEO, roll out a few towers and expect us to pay MORE for LESS? I don't think so CellC


-They are just too unstable - we don't even KNOW if their network is going to hold when people start using it
-They put offers on the website, take it down again, back on, down again
-Their shops not even knowing about their own products they themselves launch
-Tell Trevor is a planned scam. He's a gimmick too. Trevor doesn't give a crap about me or you and our connections when we're trying to send/receive documents.
-You just have to look at their marketing department stuffup, when they used the copyright logo as their own, to know this company is dodgy
-Just look at the 4Gs Scam they pulled.
-Only 2GB, not 2.3GB
-R400 for 2 Gigs? NO THANX

Nah, I'll give it a pass, MTN is serving me well thanx.
Click to expand...

Let's look at this in 3 parts-
1. Network - will their network be able to handle growth. Who really knows? They'd have to become a victim of their own success for it to fail. But it is new technology (even if it's not 4G!), so that's a lot more than VC or MTN have done for their subscribers (disclaimer - as far as I'm aware).

2. Marketing - marketing is really just attention getting. It may not meet your high standards and moral views, but if it gets attention it's all good. A great example is Ryanair, arguably the most loathed airline in the world, and also the largest airline in Europe (yes, bigger than BA and Lufthansa). Not coincidentally they also employ sharp marketing tactics, like hinting at charging to use the on-board toilets. It's aimed at getting attention and free publicity.

So CellC's tactics are working there. Was the logo and 4G a mistake? Not really, when you consider the free publicity they got.

3. R400 for 2 gigs - with you on that one. A definite "PASS".

CellC also need to look at the ease of doing business with them. I asked earlier about how one buys bundles online, and yesterday I wrote about the sheer aggravation of trying to inquire after a business contract through CellC Direct.
 
Keeper said:
Vodacom is more Well Established, and you get 2.3 Gig, and you get Nightowl promotions and stuff, and you probably have better coverage, and you pay less, and you don't have to worry about the network going a LOT slower when people start using the new CellC network.
Click to expand...

I'm based in Randpark Ridge, Randburg and the signal is shocking on Vodacom to say the least.

I've nagged, moaned, had people out to check the signal - but I think ultimatley they don't really care. It wasn't always bad though - and actually deteriorated to this point earlier in the year. So either they're not maintaining or the tower is oversaturated ... but no sign of fixing.

If Cell C quicker is than 1mbps and up more than 70% of the time, it's worth it in my eyes.
 
memyselfandi said:
The verdict is that I will have to top up my Vodacom modem with a 2.3Gig bundle as my Cell C modem is worse than dial up. My advice is for people to stay away from Cell C. I have been suckered and the call center and Cell C shops are useless in helping.
Click to expand...

O NO! :mad: cell c is starting to sound a lot like Neotel
gdiza and many others also had good signal for the first week, and THEN after you can't take it back it goes only like 12kbps :sick: :sick:

cell c = Neotel = TopTv = screamer = digichilly....they're all the same - small companies trying fool customers with their marketing scams
 
Keeper said:
Nah, I'll give it a pass, MTN is serving me well thanx.
Click to expand...
Thats fine, no one holding a gun to you I hope? :) From my experience the network is the best wireless I've had ever (from where I live) and that's a fact and I've tried all the networks. I could care less if it slows down as long as the connection remains stable and available and does not drop to edge speeds. Most people don't really care about the speed so much as the coverage, cost and the the stabilty of the connection.
lotus123 said:
Let's look at this in 3 parts-
1. Network - will their network be able to handle growth. Who really knows? They'd have to become a victim of their own success for it to fail. But it is new technology (even if it's not 4G!), so that's a lot more than VC or MTN have done for their subscribers (disclaimer - as far as I'm aware).

2. Marketing - marketing is really just attention getting. It may not meet your high standards and moral views, but if it gets attention it's all good. A great example is Ryanair, arguably the most loathed airline in the world, and also the largest airline in Europe (yes, bigger than BA and Lufthansa). Not coincidentally they also employ sharp marketing tactics, like hinting at charging to use the on-board toilets. It's aimed at getting attention and free publicity.

So CellC's tactics are working there. Was the logo and 4G a mistake? Not really, when you consider the free publicity they got.

3. R400 for 2 gigs - with you on that one. A definite "PASS".
Click to expand...

Agreed. Not the cheapest prepaid around but I guess it depends on what you looking for. I would rather pay (and I can afford it) R400 for 2 GB that is a stable connection (for my uses) than for a cheaper connection that repeadtedly drops out.

I used to use MTN and vodacom and what fustrated me was not the price but the fact that they could never provide and always available stable connection.

And the reality is that wireless internet is a luxury and not a basic requirement for daily life.
 
They (MTN, Vodacom, CellC) are all bloodsuckers. They want to make money and that is that. To hell with the customer. I have an MTN data contract (will be cancelled at the end of the contract due to their billing F@#!up last year), Vodacom prepaid (best connection, best price for TOP UP), CellC 60GB bundle (Useless as it is only edge connection except for the 5min/day HSPA+).

The thing is we south africans who actually use data are so few and far between that the mobile and fixed line operators do not give a s@!$#t about us. Their value market is the pre-paid voice market, and bitch as we may they WILL not really care! The attitude is "if you are unhappy go to the next provider...and see if you are better off! Hahahahahahaha!
 
MightyMuffinMan said:
And the reality is that wireless internet is a luxury and not a basic requirement for daily life.
Click to expand...

Wrong dude, I'm a consultant on the road a lot and all over the country, wireless internet for me is a basic requirement these days or else I can't get my job done.

What I really want is the cell companies to realise that for people like me, remote industrial areas really could do with 3G cover (many of them only have EDGE).
 
I have already jumped on to tell trevor and send my complaint regarding th new bundle prices...

Feel free to hop on and do the same guys. This is the only way they will know how we feel.
 
What's going on?

I live in pretoria and I don't get 3G signal at all. Tried the sim (which is rica'd) in 2 phones and a e220 modem, and I just can't seem to get a 3G signal.
 
off topic ...
Read the FAQ. E220 does not support CellC's 3G signal (@ 900Mhz)
 
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