Cell C has announced the commercial availability of its next generation broadband technology, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.
LTE Advanced is the next major step in the evolution of the LTE network, intended to deliver customers much faster data speeds and cater for a fast growing demand in data services and content delivery.
“Cell C has become the leading innovator in the South African mobile telecommunications industry.,” says Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos. “We were the first and only provider to embrace over-the-top services, like Facebook and WhatsApp, by offering free access and true value to customers for services they love. Cell C was the first and currently only operator to offer Wi-Fi Calling giving customers wider coverage and an affordable alternative to international roaming by making any Wi-Fi hotspot a mini Cell C base station. Now we are the first operator in the country to bring LTE-A on such a large scale covering three of the largest metros in SA.”
LTE-A also promises better coverage and greater stability. Cell C’s LTE-A footprint overlaps its current LTE footprint, meaning Cell C customers that have LTE-A capable devices in LTE areas will experience the speed of LTE-A.
The rollout of LTE-A in KwaZulu-Natal will commence in the coming months and will be completed in the third quarter of this year.
LTE-A is available on the following handsets, classified as Category 6 handsets: Samsung Note 5 (SM-920C), Samsung S6 EDGE (SM-G928C), Apple iPhone 6S, Apple iPhone 6S Plus, Huawei Mate 8_DS, Samsung S7 Flat (G930F), Samsung S7 Edge (G935F), LG G5 (H850). All handsets include model numbers for clarity.
More handsets and stand-alone data devices will become available in due course.
Customers using these devices will not see a different symbol (it will still show 4G or LTE depending on the device) on their handsets. However, they can expect to see data download speeds of up to 100Mbps.
“Cell C is committed to becoming the broadband destination of choice for South African consumers and the commercial launch of our LTE-A network just reiterates that promise to our customers,” says Dos Santos.
The LTE-A coverage will be available on Cell C’s website, www.cellc.co.za by 1 May 2016.
