While Cell C's contract data promotion - introduced last week - has been welcomed by consumers, who are always on the lookout for a better data deal, many say connectivity issues are curbing their interest in signing up.
Cell C says it is not aware of any widespread data connectivity issues, but "pockets of high-traffic areas" may affect data throughput.
The operator's latest promotion, which sees contract data prices ranging from R39 per month for 500MB to R999 per month for 20GB (SIM-only contracts), represents significant price cuts, and is available for the next three months.
However, ITWeb readers have voiced concerns about the reliability of Cell C's data connection, while consumer complaint forum Hellopeter.com features numerous complaints from customers who say they have slow - to no - connection.
Cell C's response to one of the complaints last week notes: "We are aware that certain areas have been experiencing network problems and the technicians have been working around the clock to have the matter resolved."
On Tuesday, Cell C said, "hopefully all will be in order soon". Since then, however, complaints have continued to feature on the consumer forum.
In response to queries relating to the state of Cell C's data network, Karin Fourie, Cell C executive head of communications, says: "Cell C is not aware of any widespread data connectivity issues. There are pockets of high-traffic areas where Cell C is in the process of upgrading capacity, which may affect data throughput at busy times."
Cell C says capacity upgrades are scheduled to be complete by the end the month.