South Africa’s third largest mobile operator, Cell C says it will make WhatsApp Calling free to its customers from Sunday (24 January) to the end of\u00a0the month.<\/p>\n
The aim, Cell C said, is ‘to show its support for all over-the-top (OTT) players and their unhindered participation in the South African mobile industry’.<\/p>\n
Both Vodacom and MTN, have successfully lobbied the government to investigate potentially regulating Over-The-Top (OTT) services, like WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos shared his views on the possible regulation of WhatsApp in the country.<\/p>\n
“MTN and Vodacom have declared war on consumer interests.<\/p>\n
“The infamous duopoly wants to limit how we use Internet services like WhatsApp \u2013 and it has nothing to do with fairness, competition or the future of South Africa.<\/p>\n
“To the contrary, it is all about maintaining their stranglehold on a vital artery feeding our country\u2019s economic and social future,” Dos Santos said.<\/p>\n
Cell C\u2019s contract customers and prepaid customers on the MegaBonus plan will be able to make calls free of charge, with no data costs incurred when using WhatsApp calling.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor two years, Cell C has embraced services like WhatsApp and Facebook by offering customers innovative and very affordable products and services,\u201d said Dos Santos in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n
Cell C said that by creating partnerships with OTT players, network providers have the ability to find ways for everyone to benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cCell C has a use case, having grown its customers using WhatsApp and Facebook since the introduction of its social application-focussed products.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese services offer some of the most affordable communications in the market today, and regulating them will only increase the cost to the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cell C is launching fibre-to-the-home in February<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Vodacom and MTN only care about money: Cell C<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n