Continuing the trend started by its “99c” deal in the mobile telecommunications price war, Cell C adds contract pricing to its barrage of deals, which have so far included data, prepaid and international pricing.
Recently-appointed Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig has fired round number six in his aggressive pricing campaign, today announcing reductions in contract rates with the upcoming launch of six “Straight Up” packages for postpaid and hybrid (Top-Up) customers.
Knott-Craig says the packages, which will officially be unveiled on 22 June, range from Straight Up 30 to Straight Up 800. He says Straight Up enables customers to “see exactly what they are paying for”.
Straight up selection
“A Straight Up 100 package means you get 100 minutes, 100 SMSes or MMSes, and 100MB of data anywhere, anytime, for R100. The same applies for all Straight Up packages.”
Furthermore, says Knott-Craig, Cell C has done away with high out-of-bundle rates. “[Customers] will pay 99c per minute, with per second billing anywhere, anytime out of the bundle, for every bundle.”
“Customers get to choose the duration of their contract. If no cellphone is required, then one month is the shortest contract. If the customer wants a cellphone, the price of the cellphone will be calculated depending on the length of the contract period chosen; six, 12, 18 or 24 months. Add the cellphone monthly price to the contract monthly subscription, and you have your total monthly subscription.”
Knott-Craig further explains: “If, when using a hybrid or top-up package to control your monthly spend, you run out of minutes, or data, or SMSes, simply add a prepaid SMS voucher or data bundle, or prepaid airtime voucher at 99c per minute anywhere, anytime. If you make international calls, the rate for the country will be the applied tariff.
“If you are on a postpaid contract, simply continue using the service at 50c per SMS, 50c per MMS, 99c per MB of data, and 99c per minute for voice. If not used, the voice minutes, messaging and data will automatically roll over and remain valid for 90 days.”
Knott-Craig says the latest move is not the operator's last. “We have still not finished giving consumers what they want. Not perfect yet, I know, but a helluva lot better in terms of simplicity, choice and price than they can get today anywhere.”
He says, however, that - being a relatively small player in the mobile space - Cell C cannot continue to bring down the price of communication in SA without the authorities' assistance.
“Once government and the Independent Communications Authority of SA start actively pumping for a more competitive market, we will make it even better for the consumer.”
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