Customers of cellular service provider B Clear and Simple on the MTN network were yesterday informed that they had been transferred to M-Tel, the service provider owned by MTN.
Customers were contacted by M-Tel and have yet to hear from B Clear.
B Clear customers on the Vodacom network are apparently unaffected and Vodacom has confirmed that its relationship with the provider has not changed.
B Clear is owned by listed Australian company B Digital, which is largely held by Seven Network. It entered SA in early 2000 and acted as a reseller for both MTN and Vodacom, packaging cellphones with airtime contracts on a 24-month basis.
At the time, MTN had the option to take up a 26% stake in B Clear and Simple Telecommunications SA. B Clear hoped to piggyback on MTN`s expansion into the rest of the African continent, but MTN says it never exercised the option and had no other relationship with the company bar as a service provider.
According to MTN, B Clear terminated the contract between the companies, leading to the automatic transfer of clients to M-Tel. The terms and conditions of customer contracts will not be affected by the change.
B Clear officials could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.
B Digital, the company`s Australian parent, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in mid-2000. A large part of its A$80 million capital was earmarked for international expansion, but plans to break into the American market failed. The company is currently valued at little more than A$7 million after its share price collapsed last year.
Company policy is to demand profitability from its subsidiaries within 24 months, which in the case of the SA operation would be in March this year.
Subscribers affected by the switch to M-Tel can phone 083 169 with queries.
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