GloCell has agreed to cede its Cell C contract customer base to the mobile operator, after being appointed as service agent for Cell C’s customers who were migrated from Altech Autopage in 2016. The process to integrate the customers into Cell C’s systems is expected to be completed by mid-July. During the transitional period, GloCell will continue to service the customer base. GloCell CEO Shaun Prithivirajh said: ‘To ensure the best possible experience for customers, ceding these contract subscribers back to Cell C was the best thing to do, as was the case with similar service provision businesses in the past.’
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in May 2015 Altech agreed to offload its one million-strong subscriber base, and four months later it revealed that it entered into agreements with three companies – Vodacom South Africa, MTN and Cell C – for a total consideration of ZAR1.46 billion (USD94.9 million). The deals were subsequently challenged by Altech’s largest customer Saicom Holdings in December, and following a further investigation into the matter, the antitrust authority belatedly approved the acquisitions in February 2016.