Cell C has taken its new network to Nelspruit today, after rolling out in George two weeks ago.
The Mpumalanga capital will now get the operator's high-speed HSPA+ network, which operates in the 900MHz and 2 100MHz frequency bands.
Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt previously stated the network is neither 4G, nor LTE, but an improvement on 3G.
He explained that the concept of 4G has not yet been defined by the global industry, but Cell C's network is based on software - defined radio technology - which could be adapted for LTE or “anything else” in the future. (The International Telecommunication Union has since defined 4G.)
The operator has been rolling out the network city-by-city, beginning in Port Elizabeth, and then heading to Bloemfontein, East London and Cape Town.
Spreading out
Cell C has committed to 34% coverage of the entire South African population by the end of the year, and 67% coverage by mid-2011.
“Our network in Nelspruit will cover 82% of the population as of today, but will be increased to 93% of the city population and surrounding areas by the end of January 2011,” says Cell C's executive head of marketing Simon Camerer.
He adds that the operator has had a tremendous response to its new network in each city it has launched in.
In real-use conditions, according to Cell C, its new HSPA+ network shows average speeds of between 6Mbps and 8Mbps in downloads and speeds of between 2Mbps and 3Mbps for uploads, in Nelspruit.
The mobile operator offers two packages: a modem capable of speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and 2GB of data per month, for a period of 12 months, for R1 499; and a modem capable of speeds of up to 21.6Mbps and 5GB of data per month, for a period of 12 months, for R2 999.
The out of bundle rate is 39c per MB.
Education connection
With the city-to-city network roll-out, Cell C has committed to identify certain schools that would receive full Internet connectivity.
As part of its Nelspruit launch, Cell C donated a modem to Valencia Combined School to provide the school with faster Internet connection. The school will also receive a monthly data bundle and wireless router to allow multiple users connectivity at the same time.
In Port Elizabeth, Reichelt announced Ethembeni Enrichment Centre would be the first to receive the offering.
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