• Cell C says it has successfully completed its network migration ahead of schedule.
• The telco is now operating with access to roughly 14 000 towers countrywide.
• 12 000 sites are said to be 4G/LTE enabled.

There are a host of changes happening at Cell C of late, with new leadership taking up roles at the telecommunications company earlier this month. The company has also announced the completion of its network migration, which is said to have been done ahead of schedule.

Cell C says it is now operating with access to roughly 14 000 towers countrywide, with 12 000 of these sites being 4G/LTE enabled.

“It is a win for Cell C’s customers as they will benefit from the expanded national coverage, better quality connection, fewer dropped calls and generally a more stable network during loadshedding as the partner network is investing in back-up power,” the telco enthused in a press release sent to Hypertext.

“This is a huge milestone for Cell C and our valued customers. We have effectively increased our network access close to three-fold in less than three years, from 5 500 towers to 14 000.  We are the first mobile operator to think about our network strategy differently and instead of trying to build out an expensive and unsustainable network we chose to become a buyer of network services,” added Schalk Visser, Cell C’s chief technology officer.

The company explained that it would have had to invest billions yearly to roll out a physical radio access network in the traditional mobile network operator model, so this network migration has assisted it in avoiding a costly infrastructure project as it continues to keep operations as lean as possible.

“This ground-breaking model has propelled Cell C’s network footprint forward by 20 years. We now have access to best-in-class infrastructure, can benefit from scale and have simultaneously reduced our network expenses and capital expenditure on costly infrastructure,” continued Visser.

“We can now focus our investment and energies into innovating products and services that will add value to customers, knowing that we can operate from a competitive platform that offers the same quality connectivity to all South Africans,” he concluded.