Cell C's old logo launched in 2010 and its new logo.
  • In the first half of 2018 its effective data price was 28% down from the year before, Cell C says.
  • In the same period its effective price for voice calls went up by 3% – even while customers kept switching to WhatsApp voice calling.
  • Vodacom reported a 17.1% decrease in data costs during April, May, and June.

On a per-megabyte basis its effective price for data declined by 28%, year on year, in the the first half of 2018, Cell C said in an investor presentation released by its new parent company, Blue Label, on Tuesday.

At the same time its data revenues increased by a fifth, as data traffic spiked by 62% compared to the previous year.

The numbers are roughly in line with those reported by Vodacom in July, when it said its average data cost had decreased by 17.1% in the three months prior, with a 10% increase in revenue as usage spike.

See also: Vodacom says its data was suddenly a lot cheaper in the last three months – and it is thrilled about that

At the same time its customers continued to make old-style phone calls less and less, Cell C said, with a 10% year-on-year decline in voice traffic. However, its revenues for voice calls were down only 6% – because it effectively charged 3% more for every minute in telephone calls.

Like other networks, Cell C is seeing customers shift to WhatsApp voice calling, or other similar platforms, as WhatsApp calls become increasingly cheaper than voice call.

Cell C also report 60,000 "completed transactions" on its entertainment service Black, which competes with the likes of DSTV, though it said it had 260,000 people on free trials for the service.

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