Up to now I have avoided signing up for 3G contracts in South Africa ““ despite being someone who is constantly online. True, I do add data bundles to my cellphone, but the idea of signing away 2 or 3 years to a 3G contract seems silly. It is after all such a competitive industry, why would I want to subscribe to a fixed cost for the next few years?
However, things have started to change in the last few months. It is as if someone lit a cracker underneath the cellular operators in SA ““ and for once it is not the Vodacom and MTN who is getting all the attention. Up until now Cell C did not really have any presence when it came to mobile broadband in SA, in fact they did not roll out 3G until recently. Clearly their late entry to into the data market has a few advantages.
Cell C uses a different payment approach ““ instead of signing a 24 or 36 month contract, you pay a once off fee that gives you a certain amount of data every month, for a year. This suits me perfectly ““ because it means in a year from now I have the freedom of choosing a different 3G service, and not be locked in. This helps Cell C as well, seeing as they can get early payment and thus pay off their investments in new supporting data infrastructure.
Cell C is currently in some trouble because they called their service “4G” up to now – which is technically speaking not true, despite being significantly faster than any other 3G offering locally. The CEO of Cell C made a public apology recently regarding this, but not without driving home the fact that Cell C is faster than even 4G networks in the US…. My opinion is that if the product works, I dont mind the name…
Currently Cell C has 2 offers using this payment model:
2GB a month for 12 months, using the included 7.2 mbps modem, for R1499.
5GB a month for 12 months, using the included 21.6 mbps modem, for R2999.
You can also buy it without the modem for somewhat less. My advice – get the modem, because there are not a lot of modems available locally which can access the applicable frequencies that Cell C uses.
Compare this to Vodacom‘s current deal which charges R945 pm for 5GB, and you immediately see why this is such a good deal. Vodacom also released their Internet Starter Pack using a similar payment model, but it clearly doesn‘t cater to the same higher end market as Cell C.
Included in the bundle is a modem ““ I used the faster 21.6 mbps one, and it‘s a pretty simple looking device. Understated in black and dark brown, it looks good. The setup was easy ““ insert the SIM card included in the box, push out the USB plug using the slider, and plug it into your machine, be it PC or Mac. Both versions of Cell C‘s software is included on the stick. Just a tip Cell C ““ you might want to make it available on your site, I only see the updated Windows drivers there. It tried it on both platforms.
Now Cell C has a much better deal money wise ““ but what are the trade offs? Up until now the high speed 3G was only available in certain urban centres, but they have clearly made a big effort to improve their data coverage. For example, I live in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, and in a low lying area that has always had pretty horrific cellular coverage. In fact my Vodacom phone still only gets Edge signal. The Cell C modem gets a full signal and very respectable performance. I also used it in Cape Town and in Bellville, and in all cases I got a full HSPA signal. So lets see how the Cell C network does.
My Speedtest results are as follows:
Local Connections: Cape Town and Johannesburg
International: UK and US
I did these tests with my unshaped 4Mbps ADSL connection as well afterwards, and the speeds were never the same, only reaching 3.5 Mbps maximum of course, but with ever so slightly faster ping times.
The tests were done over the weekend, so your speeds during business hours might differ. I will add them to this post soon. Of course the major concern is whether these speeds will be sustained once more people start using the network ““ and it is a valid concern. After all, Neotel also had very respectable wireless speeds when they first launched, but quickly that speed disappeared.
So here is what we will do ““ for the next 12 months I will occasionally post my speed results using the Cell C network, and in a variety of uses. (Update: You can find my first batch Cell C Speedtest results here) Only time will tell whether Cell C can deliver on their promise.
One has to applaud Cell C for the way they are heating up the mobile broadband market ““ finally some clear competition has arrived after years of very slow price decreases. With all the additional fibre running into SA recently, we have all been promised more affordable internet, and it seems we are inching closer and closer towards that. Cell C is also involved with this fibre rollout with Fibreco. Maybe this means that Cell C will become a dominant player in SA Broadband…
Keep it up Cell C.
