Cell C Archives - Memeburn

#SocialMediaBlackOut: South Africa, here’s everything you need to know
By Andy Walker: Editor on 20 June, 2017
If you were scrolling through your Twitter timeline Monday, you might've noticed the hashtag #SocialMediaBlackOut out the corner of your eye. Don't worry though. It isn't some death knell for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram -- they're probably still function as per normal come Wednesday. But there might be considerably fewer users from South Africa on them if the hashtag's primary narrative is to be believed. What is #SocialMediaBlackOut? The thought of one might strike fear into amateur breakfast photographers, but the content isn't the reason for the campaign. It's largely how South Africans access said content. #SocialMediaBlackOut can be seen as a spinoff...

5
Shepherd Bushiri debuts South Africa’s latest MVNO
By Andy Walker: Editor on 16 September, 2016
South Africa is about to get yet another virtual network operator from a rather unlikely source. Nope, it's not a retailer, an Austrian beverage company, or even a bank. Instead, it's Malawi-born church leader, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, who's entering the market with his own, eponymous network. The alternatively-titled Prophet Shepherd Bushiri (PSB) Network, according to a press release, will "provide a service to like-minded primarily individuals who were looking for a more community focused, inclusive operation." PSB Network will also use Cell C's mobile infrastructure and airtime system, which is a route that many other mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) like...
20+ essential USSD codes to remember for Vodacom, MTN & beyond
By Staff Reporter on 28 July, 2016
If you're a prepaid user on one of South Africa's mobile phone networks, chances are that you use a USSD code every day. Whenever you check your airtime, load more airtime or request a call from someone who has more airtime than you, you're using a USSD code. Often, you'll remember these as some of the most used codes, but there are a few you might not know exist. Below, we take a look at some of the USSD codes you really should remember, as well as their functions, for the biggest networks in South Africa. Note: we'll be sure to...

2
Cell C now services 24-million subscribers, one million from MVNOs
By Staff Reporter on 11 July, 2016
Cell C might be South Africa's third largest cellular network, but the company today announced a big milestone. Thanks to partnerships with its various mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), the network now supports one million customers using its network through an MVNO. "The rise of MVNOs and their success is also testament to the confidence that business and consumers have in Cell C’s network, following significant investments to upgrade, expand, and introduce new technologies like LTE and LTE-Advanced, over the last few years," Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos notes. The MVNOs serviced include the likes of FNB Mobile and me&you Mobile. Beyond...

1
Cell C launches super-fast LTE-Advanced in SA
By Hadlee Simons on 26 April, 2016
It's fair to say that Cell C had a reputation for years as the network with decent prices but terrible coverage, but things have been changing somewhat over the past few months. The company launched LTE connectivity late last year, delivering much better speeds and coverage for users - albeit several years after MTN and Vodacom. The carrier has wasted no time though, launching the much faster LTE-Advanced network in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria this week. "Cell C has become the leading innovator in the South African mobile telecommunications industry. We were the first and only provider to embrace over-the-top services, like Facebook...
Cell C CEO in hot water over ‘bitch switch’ comments
By Hadlee Simons on 19 April, 2016
Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos has come under fire for his remarks on women in the workplace. The Cell C CEO explained that roughly 42 percent of staff were female when he started. "Today, we're just over 60 ," he said during an interview on CliffCentral, citing female empowerment policies at the network. "We have good-looking women, we have clever women, we have smart women, and that's created a different environment," Dos Santos continued. The network head said that he hopes for a female CEO to replace him when he steps down. "We no longer live in the society of, you know, the woman stays at home...

3
Cell C just pissed off the wrong people, massive banner ad sparks big laughs on Twitter [Update]
By Staff Reporter on 7 November, 2014
One of South Africa's major telecom firms is starting the weekend on a bad foot. A massive billboard stating that the network operator is "the most useless service provider in SA," was just put up in Johannesburg. Needless to say, this opened up a whole can of worms on the twittersphere. The banner ad makes things personal, publishing Franchise Manager Riaan van Rooyen's personal contact details. "Cell C's Riaan van Rooyen, 'Franchise Manager', says his unnamed executive head refuses to assist the customer!!" it reads. It's often said there's no such thing as bad publicity. We're contemplating whether that applies to this...

8
VoIP is the future for the world’s telcos, but it won’t be an easy one
By Rob Lith on 23 October, 2013
I recently wrote about operators saving a packet on toll charges by using IP technology at the core, while failing to pass the benefit on to consumers and businesses with retail voice over IP (VoIP) products. This, I pointed out, is because very cheap voice products will quickly decimate their revenues, so it seems reasonable to expect that the fixed-line and mobile telcos will hold on to their traditional business models a little longer. Writing on the wall But the writing has been on the wall for a long time. Telecoms research firm Telegeography estimates that global VoIP traffic grew...

9
CellC sees 8ta’s BlackBerry social deal, raises it one more
By Nur Bremmen: Staff reporter on 22 June, 2012
A few days ago South Africa's fifth mobile operator 8ta announced that it would be offering a BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) package for around half its usual price. Today, the country's third operator Cell C responded with two offers of its own. Like 8ta, it will offer the ‘BlackBerry Social & Email’ which gives you full access to online browsing, BlackBerry’s native messaging app BBM, BlackBerry mail, internet browser, social networking, and...
Price war erupts among South Africa’s mobile players
By Stuart Thomas on 16 May, 2012
A price war has erupted among South Africa’s mobile operators, as each seeks to increase its slice of the pie in a country where there are nearly as many active SIM cards as there are people. The country’s third mobile operator Cell C recently slashed its data prices, halving them in some cases. It’s followed up this move with a new voice deal for its prepaid customers. South Africa’s first-and-largest operator Vodacom...
SA Gmail users get free SMS…at last
By Stuart Thomas on 13 March, 2012
Gmail users in South Africa are reporting that they can now send free SMSes from Google chat. The reports are coming through even though South Africa is not listed among the countries supported by the service, which has been around since 2008. At present, however, the service only allows you to send messages to MTN and 8ta numbers. According to MyBroadband, any attempts to SMS Vodacom and Cell C numbers resulted in...
If Android’s so popular, where are all the Android phones?
By Hilton Tarrant: Columnist on 17 November, 2011
It’s "all Android, all the time". That's what they’ll tell you. It's "totally blowing away the competition". According to Gartner, Google's pet project (which as we all know, doesn't generate any meaningful revenue) Android now commands 52.5% of the global smartphone market. Huh? Where are all these Android phones? On the face of it, the market share numbers make sense. You have a powerful operating system and ecosystem (second in number of apps only to Apple). You have numerous device makers, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung, SonyEricsson (now just Sony) and LG, pegging their future (at least on the high-end) on Android....

5
Google announces Umbono winners
By Mich Atagana on 1 November, 2011
Google’s startup incubator, Umbono, has officially launched with the announcement of its first set of winning teams. The pilot programme based in Cape Town, South Africa presented the teams in their new office space at an event on 1 November. The programme, a Google first worldwide, is being tested in Cape Town, South Africa which was chosen because Google believes the city is in “the process of positioning itself as a hub for innovation and technology”. Google's vice president of engineering, Nelson Mattos said that the Umbono project is part of Google's effort to grow its ecosystem in Africa. "We...

7
Cell C facing fire for ‘ripping-off’ ZANews Peter de Villiers parody
By Mvelase Peppetta on 3 October, 2011
In an attempt to capture some of the buzz around the Rugby World Cup, leading South African mobile operator Cell C released a YouTube video which has come under dual-fire for being a “rip-off” of satirical puppet show ZANews, and for being “offensive”. The video, published the morning of South Africa’s pivotal match against the Samoan rugby team, was described as follows: We've been trying to get on the inside for weeks and finally we've broken through. From the very heart of the camp comes coachie, mere hours before the big game in an exclusive video blog that details...

1
Competition is getting us all converged
By Steven Ambrose on 5 September, 2011
Summer is almost here and in an unlikely turn of events, South African telecoms giant Telkom, decided spring day was the day it was going to get all competitive. Business communications is, and always will be, a hotly contested market. At a recent launch, Telkom Business finally unveiled Telkom Mobile, which must have been the culmination of months of intensive work. Telkom Mobile is clearly focused on business telecommunication users, small and large. The launch of a business mobile product in order to take on the big boys MTN and Vodacom was not actually the real news for...