R5bn for Cell C broadband

Cell C will negotiate better pricing on the technologies it plans to implement over the next year, says CEO Lars Reichelt.

Newly-appointed CEO Lars Reichelt says the company's shareholders will organise the funding for Cell C to begin its implementation of Internet connectivity to rival its larger competitors.

He says Cell C has been lucky that few companies globally are rolling-out any significant infrastructure, which has allowed it to negotiate better pricing on the technologies it plans to implement over the next year.

According to Reichelt, the company will look at the latest generation HSPA+, which allows a maximum throughput of 21Mbps across the network. Reichelt says Cell C will use whatever spectrum it already owns and will apply for additional spectrum to roll-out a competitive offering.

The company will use the current technologies, saying it is complicated to move into the newer technologies.

The network expansion follows the R7.5 billion invested by larger rival MTN over this year to improve its network coverage and services.

Cell C could use a push in the broadband space, attacking a market that has not yet been saturated. However, Reichelt says roll-out networks can be both expensive and fraught with uncertainty. He points to the time it can take to gain a building permit, which can take anywhere between two weeks and two years.

However, the company may share tower space with other operators. Reichelt says there are discussions with other operators; however, he would not indicate which ones.

Despite the large number of SIM cards on the continent, Reichelt says Cell C still sees room for growth, even in the voice space. He says the company has looked at what has happened in South East Asia and will use certain of these models to grow the local business.

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