Cell C is set to launch 5G services in South Africa soon, with large-scale activations expected in the upcoming months. The announcement on Thursday marks a significant advancement for the telecommunications provider amid its financial turnaround.
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5G services on the horizon
Cell C’s Chief Executive Officer, Jorge Mendes, confirmed that the company is finalising its 5G rollout plans. “We expect to commence large-scale 5G activations as early as the second quarter of 2025,” Mendes stated.
This development follows extensive testing with Vodacom and MTN since August 2024 as the operator modernises its core network to support 5G services.
Cell C is upgrading from outdated circuit-switched voice calls to Voice over LTE (VoLTE), enabling calls to be routed over 4G/LTE networks alongside its 5G rollout.
Mendes described this transition as a significant advancement: “This is very, very exciting and represents a marked improvement from where we were just 24 months ago in terms of technology.”
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Regulatory approvals pave way for Cell C’s 5G
The launch of 5G services comes after Cell C has received several regulatory approvals. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has granted Cell C permission to transfer control of its network and spectrum licenses to The Prepaid Company (TPC), a subsidiary of Blue Label Telecoms.
This transfer is essential for Cell C’s operational restructuring and financial recovery. “The Prepaid Company has injected funding of R5.5 billion into Cell C,” noted Themba Phiri, regulatory executive head at Cell C.
Cell C asserts that the control transfer changes are necessary and merely administrative, despite stakeholder objections. With Icasa’s approval secured, only one final regulatory hurdle remains before implementation.