Cell C’s Chief Technology Officer, Schalk Visser, has revealed that the company is actively testing 5G technology in collaboration with its network partners, Vodacom and MTN, within its lab. “That’s coming along well,” Visser stated.
Read: Huawei Pura 70 Review: Ultimately Underperforming
Simultaneously, Cell C is working on enabling support for Voice over LTE (VoLTE). Visser noted, “VoLTE is basically ready on the core side. Now it’s just getting the OEM approvals through the gate.” VoLTE allows cellular subscribers to make and receive phone calls without reverting to 3G, ensuring they remain connected to the faster LTE data service during calls.
Additionally, Cell C is in the process of migrating subscribers to a new billing system. In mid-August, 1.2 million prepaid subscribers were successfully moved to the new system, with the remaining prepaid and contract customers expected to transition by the end of the month. The company has notified subscribers about the migration, warning of potential disruptions on the evening of Sunday, 25 August.
Cell C has been modernizing its core network to the latest architecture necessary for 5G deployment, progressing in discussions with its network partners. Earlier this year, the company completed its network migration, which involved establishing agreements with MTN and Vodacom. Currently, MTN provides a virtual radio access network for Cell C’s prepaid and mobile virtual network operator subscribers, while contract customers roam on Vodacom’s network.
Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes explained that updating wholesale and roaming agreements with MTN and Vodacom was essential for 5G access. However, Mendes emphasized that having access to these 5G networks wasn’t the only requirement—upgrading Cell C’s core network was also crucial.
Mendes previously stated that Cell C is not in a rush to launch 5G products, as the technology offers limited consumer benefits. “2G to 3G unlocked data, 3G to 4G unlocked [streaming] video, 4G to 5G unlocks nothing,” he said, highlighting that while 5G connectivity offers significant enterprise benefits, operators like Vodacom and MTN struggle to monetize their 5G networks at the consumer level.
Despite this, Mendes assured that Cell C customers won’t incur extra charges for roaming on 5G networks, as it is in the operators’ interests to maximize traffic on their 5G networks for greater efficiency.
