Virgin Mobile South Africa is planning to launch its own mobile broadband service using Cell C’s HSPA+ network, Cell C has confirmed. Since launch, Virgin Mobile South Africa has been piggybacking on Cell C’s network to provide voice and data services. As reported in TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate last week, Cell C expects to cover 34% of the South African population with its 900MHz HSPA+ network by end-2010 and aims for 67% population coverage by mid-2011.
Virgin Mobile has not yet announced a launch date for its HSPA+ services, but any time frame will be dependent on Cell C’s own commercial launch; it is currently trialling the network in six cities. Virgin Mobile’s Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Jonathan Newman promised that consumers can expect ‘the best value for the cellular services that our subscribers use the most’. He added: ‘So expect simple, market challenging broadband offerings designed to meet the real needs of savvy South African consumers’. Virgin Mobile South Africa is a joint-venture between Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Cell C. It launched in 2006.