Cell C's popularity plummets

The Independent Communications Authority of SA's most recent assessment of service quality confirmed that Cell C had the worst rate of dropped calls of all cellphone operators in Johannesburg.

In tests to determine the average "retainability" - the ability for a call to stay connected - Icasa found that though Vodacom met the target, MTN and Cell C did not.

Armed with Cell C's tagline, "the power is in your hands", consumers have taken to online consumer website HelloPeter, lodging more than 11 000 complaints in the past year.

Though the site has almost 1,000 compliments, the number of complaints grew by almost 100 on Monday (19 August) alone.

One of the consumers to voice his frustrations was Andrew Baranyay, who complained about Cell C's "terrible network reception".

"I have missed 655 calls in six months. I drop between five and 10 calls a day. My friends, clients and colleagues often can't reach me even though my phone is on," he wrote.

Consumers warn that the 99c-a-minute deal advertised by the network comes at a price.

"Don't be fooled by Cell C's cheap rates. Yes, you will save. But only because you never get to use the services you pay for!" one posted.

Other customers complained about incorrect billing, despite not having coverage or making use of the data.

"The consumer never wins. I will not pay for a service that I don't have access to," said one.

Cell C spokeswoman Karin Fourie said the network had not been given an opportunity to comment on the Icasa report or the results before it was published. "Cell C has, however, taken note of the network issues raised in the Icasa report."

Fourie said some issues were beyond Cell C's control. "The company is upgrading its network to accommodate more capacity as the traffic on our network has doubled over the past 12 to 15 months," she added.

Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge