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Cell C extends free WhatsApp promo

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 26 Mar 2015
Cell C says it was a tough decision to take, but it needs to embrace OTT players like WhatsApp.
Cell C says it was a tough decision to take, but it needs to embrace OTT players like WhatsApp.

Cell C is extending its free WhatsApp promotion to run for another three months, due to what it says has been widespread demand.

The popular instant messaging app has been zero-rated for Cell C's contract and prepaid customers on MegaBonus since 19 October last year, as part of a limited time promotional drive to attract more subscribers.

The promotion, which Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos said was an attempt to embrace over-the-top (OTT) players, will now be ongoing until the end of June.

Last year SA's mobile operators realised they would have to deal with the threat of OTT services, which have been continuously luring customers away from operators' traditional offerings.

In October, third operator Cell C assumed the adapt-or-die attitude of some of its global counterparts, and took the decision to embrace OTT players, rather than try to block them.

Cell C's executive marketing head, Doug Mattheus, told ITWeb it was not an easy move to make. "It's a tough decision to make in our business, as OTT players do eat into revenue, but you don't want to be a caught with a warehouse full of Walkmans when others are offering iPods.

"We have to be aware of the new dynamics of communication, even if it seems counter-intuitive to embrace these."

Dos Santos said the move to zero rate WhatsApp was "the first step in the game", and that more ventures were planned in the social media space. "We are embracing these technologies to enrich our own customers' lives."

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