Mobile operator Cell C has fired the latest salvo in its public interconnect rate spat with rival MTN.
The row was sparked by the Independent Communications Authority of SA's latest mobile termination rates (MTRs), which favour smaller operators Cell C and Telkom Mobile, and prompted Vodacom and MTN to launch legal action in a bid to have MTR asymmetry reviewed.
This morning, Cell C released a photo of MTN's two-page weekend newspaper ad, with white strips of paper covering most of the words in order to change its meaning.
The original ad was a sarcastic letter addressed to Cell C, which appeared in the Sunday Times last weekend, boldly stating: "We're guilty", and outlining MTN's numerous achievements, while casting negative light on its smaller competitor.
The ad, as altered by Cell C, now reads:
"We're guilty.
"Dear Cell C, You are right.
"We are making billions, instead of playing a major role in the creation of cut prices, we'd rather fight for our wealth
"P.S We've never stopped doing the people of South Africa and we never will [sic]".
Tit-for-tat
This comes less than two weeks since the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint by MTN against a radio advertisement flighted by Cell C last month, in reaction to the yellow operator's stance on asymmetric termination rates.
The ASA found that Cell C implied to consumers that MTN did not want its call rates reduced and that it was trying to stop the reduction of call rates, and ordered the withdrawal of the ad from the airwaves.
Since the ruling, the two operators have taken their battle into the marketing space.
The operators have also clashed through advertising in previous years, resulting the ASA's findings in 2011 that MTN's claims of a "world-class network" were unsubstantiated.
A Cell C radio campaign then took aim at its competitor, prompting an advertising row in 2012.
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