South Africa's Cell C Dismisses 3G As "hype"
When South Africa's smallest GSM network operator, Cell C announced its first ever operating profit, at the presentation - CEO, Jeffrey Hedberg dismissed 3G as "hype". He said that while the operator's core network is configured to support 3G services, the company would not invest in the air interface as it does not offer a good return on the investment.
"3G is hype and we won’t fall prey to hype" he said at the presentation.
Cell C Chief Financial Officer Fabrizio Mambrini also noted that he thinks WCDMA technologies are already being supplanted, with operators starting to talk about 4G based services.
Cell C subscribers climbed to 4.8 million in the full year. The number has already topped 5 million this financial year, Hedberg said.
Based on figures from the Mobile World, MTN ended last year with just over 900,000 3G subscribers, while Vodacom had 159,000 subscribers. Both Vodacom and MTN have engaged in a very public battle to recruit 3G subscribers, offering special deals and upgrading their networks to support HSPA speeds. WiMAX trials have also proven popular with customers when offered.
Posted to the site on 16th April 2008